Rainbows At Nunney Castle

A Trip To Nunney Castle

A little while ago Adam and I were attending one of my appointments which happened to be in Nunney (about a 30 minute drive from the Bath town centre) so we thought it would be a good idea to check out Nunney Castle before. I had heard a lot about it and had seen photos online numerous times, and it looked beautiful, so I was really excited to take photos and have a look around.

When we got there, it was actually empty! We had the castle and surrounding grounds to ourselves for about 10 minutes before other people came in, but it was still mostly deserted due to the location and the fact that it’s in ruins now. As it is quite big, we couldn’t get much of the castle in focus with our 85mm lens, as most of it is just bricks now, but the actual castle itself in full looks like this from afar (click here) so it’s really quite striking.

Nunney is in the county of Somerset which is why it’s not far from me, and the castle dates back to the Medieval times! It was built in the late 14th century by Sir John Delamare on the profits of his involvement in the Hundred Years War. The moated castle’s architectural style is said to possibly be influenced by the design of French castles, and the bridge still works over the moat. It was remodelled during the late 16th century, but Nunney Castle was unfortunately damaged and ruined during the English Civil War by order of Parliament. The shell of the tower was taken into state guardianship in 1926 and cleared of plants and rubble while the moat and the medieval drawbridge pit beneath the far end of the bridge were re-excavated, which I’m pleased about.

I always get so sad when I hear stories like this as I think back to how life would have been with this castle as your home, and then it was blown apart. I know most castles are in ruins now, as expected from centuries of deterioration, but a castle as small and cute as this seemed so homely. How the castle actually looked during its lived in time is something I looked up, and here is what I found:

The tower formerly stood within a larger courtyard enclosed on three sides by a wall and on the fourth by the brook. Within the courtyard there were probably several service buildings. The tower is laid out on a four-lobed plan and encircled by a moat. On each corner, there is a turret capped by a conical roof. A projecting line of battlements ran round the wall tops. Inside the tower were a kitchen at ground floor level, a hall on the third floor and withdrawing chambers on the top floor. Opening off these into the far right-hand corner tower was a chapel.

Anyway, since I wanted to make this blog post mostly dedicated to the heritage and history of Nunney Castle (I’m always fascinated by things like this) I didn’t think it would make much sense to add in all my outfit links as I was wearing mostly old, casual items. I don’t remember who my rainbow jumper is by as it’s old, my jeans are Citizens of Humanity Rocket and I have a pair of black trainers, however if you are interested in my bag, you can check out my Gucci Marmont Velvet Belt Bag review that I did last year and buy it or find out information on it there.

So I hope you enjoy these photos and if you do ever get chance to check out Nunney Castle, I recommend it! It’s only small now and mostly just bricks, but if you love heritage and architecture, it might be good. It’s free entry as it’s just a landmark now, and you can tour it in about 5-10 minutes if you want to, or spend longer, as you can’t climb any stairs, it’s just a shell. Let me know what you think and do tell me if you have been before! Lorna xx.

P.S. – I’m currently hosting a giveaway on Instagram to win a pair of rose gold earrings from Dower and Hall! You can enter for free by clicking here. I love the earrings so much!


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50 Comments

  1. Tefta
    November 9, 2018 / 11:12 am

    Hi Lorna…I would like to buy a boda skin jacket…I’m 5 feet 2 inches and am very concern about sleeve length..I am aware the sllsaints jacket sleeve length is perfect. How tall are you and weight…what is sleeve length? Thanks

    • Lorna
      Author
      November 10, 2018 / 2:23 am

      Hi, I replied to you on the question you left me yesterday on the Boda Skins blog post. Thanks!

    • Lorna
      Author
      November 10, 2018 / 2:24 am

      Thank you!

  2. Ian
    November 9, 2018 / 12:29 pm

    Love the jumper and the castle make a nice back drop , thank you for the history of it . take care Ian

    • Lorna
      Author
      November 10, 2018 / 2:24 am

      Happy to be of service!

    • Lorna
      Author
      November 10, 2018 / 2:24 am

      Thank you!

    • Lorna
      Author
      November 10, 2018 / 2:24 am

      Thank you!

  3. November 10, 2018 / 3:01 am

    What a cute rainbow knit! I love it with all of the black 🙂

    It looks like an interesting spot to visit although it’s a shame it’s just in ruins now, it would have been wonderful in its original state. Does make a nice backdrop for your photos! There is no old buildings like that in Australia unfortunately, nothing that old anyway!

    Hope that you are having a wonderful weekend 🙂 It’s a relaxing one here!

    Away From The Blue Blog

    • Lorna
      Author
      November 11, 2018 / 4:05 pm

      Oh that’s a shame there isn’t any places like that over there. Glad you like the jumper though!

  4. November 10, 2018 / 3:04 am

    Ah, history. Where would we be without it? Over on this side of the pond, we just don’t have a whole lot of castles, even ruined ones.

    As always, you look like you own the place. I think it’s the rainbow jumper: just the right amount of je ne sais quoi.

    • Lorna
      Author
      November 11, 2018 / 4:05 pm

      Thank you so much! I’m really pleased we still have so many over here, ha ha.

  5. polarbearstyle
    November 10, 2018 / 4:10 am

    It makes for a very picturesque backdrop and while it’s unfortunate that it’s mostly in ruins, that also gives it a certain charm. I also love your pretty outfit. The sweater is so fun.

    Kathrin | Polar Bear Style

    • Lorna
      Author
      November 11, 2018 / 4:06 pm

      Glad you like it!

    • Lorna
      Author
      November 11, 2018 / 4:06 pm

      It really is!

    • Lorna
      Author
      November 11, 2018 / 8:05 pm

      Glad you agree too!

    • Lorna
      Author
      November 12, 2018 / 2:07 am

      Thank you!

  6. This Main Line Life
    November 11, 2018 / 9:52 pm

    The photos in the castle look great and I love the bright colors in your sweater. Really pretty. That is such a cute castle with it’s little moat.
    X, Julie | This Main Line Life

    • Lorna
      Author
      November 12, 2018 / 2:07 am

      So glad you like it!

    • Lorna
      Author
      November 12, 2018 / 2:08 am

      There really is!

    • Lorna
      Author
      November 12, 2018 / 2:08 am

      Thank you!

  7. Angela
    November 12, 2018 / 1:09 am

    Cool!! Beautiful pics. I wish we had castles here in Canada; I’m jealous!

    Angela | http://www.lenorth.com

    • Lorna
      Author
      November 12, 2018 / 2:08 am

      Thank you!

    • Lorna
      Author
      November 12, 2018 / 6:30 pm

      Thank you!

  8. November 12, 2018 / 4:44 pm

    Hi Lorna, you found the perfect location for your amazing sweater!
    Xx Rena

    • Lorna
      Author
      November 12, 2018 / 6:30 pm

      Thank you!

    • Lorna
      Author
      November 12, 2018 / 8:27 pm

      Thank you!

    • Lorna
      Author
      November 13, 2018 / 2:21 am

      Thank you!

  9. November 13, 2018 / 5:06 am

    Amazing photos! I absolutely love that beautiful sweater too! The bright colors are so fun!

    • Lorna
      Author
      November 13, 2018 / 1:13 pm

      Thank you!

  10. November 13, 2018 / 12:22 pm

    such a lovely sweater xx

    • Lorna
      Author
      November 13, 2018 / 1:14 pm

      Thank you!

  11. November 13, 2018 / 1:53 pm

    Love your jumper and its such a beautiful castle 🙂

    • Lorna
      Author
      November 13, 2018 / 2:42 pm

      Thank you! 🙂

  12. karasclosetblog
    November 13, 2018 / 9:41 pm

    It looks beautiful there! I always love places that are rich with history. Your rainbow sweater is so fun too!

    x Kara | http://karascloset.net

    • Lorna
      Author
      November 13, 2018 / 10:45 pm

      Thank you so much!

  13. Steven Whaley
    November 25, 2018 / 5:03 pm

    I absolutely love the jumper. 🙂 It’s so cheerful… I would very happily wear such a colour combination myself!

    The castle makes for a lovely backdrop. It’s great to be able to visit such historical sites and try to imagine how life might have been for the people who once lived there. Lincoln Castle always gets my imagination going – it is more than ruins ( though not fully intact, of course) and you can walk a full circuit of the battlements and go into the dungeons.

    • Lorna
      Author
      November 25, 2018 / 5:13 pm

      Oh that’s so cool you can go into the dungeons! Do they smell really fousty and damp? I always get that smell when I go in old underground areas lol! 😀

      • Steven Whaley
        November 25, 2018 / 8:07 pm

        Yes! Dark and a bit damp. But also within the castle grounds is the old Victorian prison. One of the castle towers contains the graveyard for the hanged prisoners… It’s a very unsettling place to walk into.

        • Lorna
          Author
          November 25, 2018 / 10:00 pm

          Oh my goodness, that does sound quite terrifying!

Thanks for your comments =) I read & reply every one =)