On Friday John and I packed the car and headed to our favourite hotel in Somerset for a quiet, relaxing and rejuvenating weekend. These weekends leave me feeling calm and refreshed and the added advantage is that my favourite quilting shop is not far away from the hotel. On Sunday I will be visiting the shop and making a few purchases. We try to do something on the way to our hotel and we decided to visit Ludgershall Castle. This castle is a ruin but it was interesting to visit and we didn't need to go out of our way to visit it.
Ludgershall was probably built in the late 11th century by Edward of Salisbury, Sheriff of Wiltshire. By the early 12th century it was owned by the Crown. It was situated on the edge of a medieval forest, and so it was often used as a royal hunting lodge. King John and his son Henry III made improvements in the 13th century but it fell into ruin by the 16th century.
The castle was set within two adjacent enclosures, surrounded by earthwork banks and ditches. The outline of these enclosures can still be seen but a farm now occupies the middle of the castle. Most of the castle buildings were made of timber but some of them were made of stone. All that remains today are the flint aspect of the walls as the original facings of the walls were robbed for other buildings. The 12th century tower remains but is currently fenced off due to the risk of falling stone work.
It was Henry III who made Ludgershall a comfortable place to live and visit.In the middle of the ruins were two lone red poppies.
It is good to see flowers instead of just weeds growing up among the ruins. Great history here.
ReplyDeleteThese places you visit are so interesting, historically. I always enjoy seeing the things you post about your country. Barbara @ Cat Patches.
ReplyDelete