Broughton Castle, which is located near Banbury, Oxfordshire, is one of the most magical properties in England – a historic, fortified manor house surrounded by a moat and entered through a gatehouse.
The core of the house was built in 1306 and the gatehouse in the early fifteenth century, but most of what you see today dates from the 1550’s.
The castle played a key role in the English Civil War when the 8th Lord Saye & Sele, William, raised an army to oppose Charles 1’s efforts to rule without Parliament. William and his four sons all fought at the 1642 Battle of Edgehill, following which the Castle was besieged and captured.
A fabulous place to visit
Nowadays, Broughton is a fabulous place to visit (Trip Advisor’s No.1 thing to do in the area) and boasts some fabulous gardens as well as arms and armour from the Civil War displayed in the magnificent Great Hall.
Broughton was selected by Simon Jenkins as one of only twenty to be awarded five stars in his book England’s Thousand Best Houses.
The Castle has featured in many films, commercials and corporate events. Notable films include The Madness of King George, Three Men and a Little Lady, Shakespeare in Love, Jane Eyre and Wolf Hall.
Martin has started to reopen the gardens on Sundays and Wednesdays 2-5pm, with a maximum of 150 tickets available for each open day on a first come first served basis. Further details can be found on the Broughton Castle website and their Facebook.
The feature photo was taken by Paul Barker and the video was produced by Colin Watts of Image Factory.
Fun fact!
I remember rowing around the moat with my brothers when I was about 9 years old – with Lord Saye & Sele shouting encouragement!
