Broughton Castle facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Broughton Castle |
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| Type | Fortified manor house |
| Location | Broughton, Oxfordshire |
| OS grid reference | SP4180938173 |
| Built | 1306, 1406 Crenellated, 1550 Rebuilt |
| Owner | Private |
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Listed Building – Grade I
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| Official name: Broughton Castle and attached walls | |
| Designated | 8 December 1955 |
| Reference no. | 1248742 |
| Official name: Broughton Castle | |
| Designated | 1 June 1984 |
| Reference no. | 1001088 |
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Broughton Castle is a very old, strong house in the village of Broughton. This village is about 2 miles (3.2 km) southwest of Banbury in Oxfordshire, England.
The castle is the home of the Fiennes family, who are also known as the Barons Saye and Sele. It sits on its own island in a field and is surrounded by a wide moat (a deep, wide ditch filled with water). Right across a small bridge is the local church, St Mary the Virgin, with its old cemetery. Broughton Castle is a special historical building, and you can visit it during the summer months.
Contents
History
Ancient Roman Times
Did you know that people lived near Broughton Castle even in Roman times? In 2021, the TV show Time Team dug up parts of a Roman villa (a large Roman country house) right on the castle grounds. This villa was found by a metal detectorist (someone who uses a metal detector to find things) named Keith Westcott.
Before that, in the 1960s, a special lead coffin was found. It held the body of a rich Roman-British woman. Experts think the villa was very grand, like a large country estate. It was used from the 1st to the 4th century AD. They also found pieces of mosaic floors and special tiles for heating systems, which shows it was a high-status home.
From the 1300s to Today
The castle was first built as a large house by Sir John de Broughton in the year 1300. He chose this spot because three streams met there, making it easy to create a natural moat around the house. In 1377, the house was sold to William of Wykeham, who was a powerful Bishop. The castle has stayed in the same family ever since!
In 1406, Sir Thomas Wykeham added special battlements (the tooth-like tops on castle walls) to the house, making it look more like a castle. Later, in 1451, it passed to the Fiennes family. Around 1550, Richard Fiennes made the medieval house much bigger and changed its style to the popular Tudor look. Even King James I visited Broughton Castle many times!
In the 1600s, a man named The 1st Viscount Saye and Sele (nicknamed "Old Subtlety") was a leader against King Charles I. Because of this, the castle became a secret meeting place for people who supported Parliament, like John Pym and John Hampden. These meetings happened in the years before the English Civil War.
During the war, in 1642, the 1st Viscount gathered soldiers to fight against the King at the Battle of Edgehill. Soon after, the King's soldiers (called Royalists) attacked the castle. They quickly took over and stayed there for a while. After the war ended, the castle needed repairs because of damage from the Royalist cannons. Luckily, Lord Saye and Sele was able to make peace with the King and keep his home.
In the 1800s, Broughton Castle started to fall apart. But it was saved by Frederick Fiennes, 16th Baron Saye and Sele, who brought in a famous architect named Sir George Gilbert Scott to fix it up. Around 1900, a lady named Lady Algernon Gordon-Lennox rented the house. She made the gardens beautiful and even hosted King Edward VII at the castle. It was also the childhood home of Ivy Cavendish-Bentinck, Duchess of Portland.
Today, Broughton Castle is still the home of the Fiennes family.
Main Rooms to Explore
The main entrance, called the gatehouse, was built in 1406. The building to its left, which is now a shop and cafe, has old Gothic windows facing the moat. The front of the castle looks medieval on one side, but more like a grand Elizabethan house in the middle and on the right.
The castle's chapel is from the 1300s and has a beautiful Gothic style. Most of the other main rooms you can visit are from the Elizabethan period. The great hall runs along the front of the castle. Upstairs, there's a very long room called a long gallery that looks out over the gardens. The castle also had a private room called a Solar, but this was later changed into a kitchen.
Some of the best bedrooms have amazing fireplaces. In the Queen's Bedroom (where Anne of Denmark stayed), there's a stone fireplace with lots of decorations. It shows the start of a new art style called the Renaissance, but it still has some older medieval touches. The other fireplace, in the bedroom King James I used, is very grand and smooth, made of stucco. It might have been made by Italian artists. It has a central picture with a story from old myths.
You can also see beautiful plasterwork ceilings, especially in the Great Parlour and the Oak Room below it. Three bedrooms have lovely 18th-century Chinese wallpaper with trees, birds, and flowers, and it's still in great condition! At the very top of the castle, there's a room believed to be the "room with no ears." This is where the 1st Viscount secretly planned with other leaders before the English Civil War, so no one could overhear them. The gardens have long flower beds that look their best in summer.
Broughton Castle on Screen
Broughton Castle has been a popular spot for filming movies and TV shows! You might have seen it in:
- The Slipper and the Rose (1976)
- The Scarlet Pimpernel (1982)
- Oxford Blues (1984)
- Three Men and a Little Lady (1990)
- The Madness of King George (1994)
- Shakespeare in Love (1998)
- Jane Eyre (2011)
It has also appeared in TV shows like:
- Elizabeth The Virgin Queen
- Mary & George
- Renegade Nell
- My Lady Jane
- The Crown
- Becoming Elizabeth
- Friends and Crocodiles
- 1975 Morecambe and Wise Christmas Show
- Wolf Hall
- Keeping Up Appearances
- The opening titles of Noel's House Party
Concerts at the Castle
In August 1981, the British folk rock band Fairport Convention held their yearly concert at Broughton Castle. Usually, they play in a different town, but this time they chose the castle! The concert was recorded and released as an album called Moat on the Ledge in 1982.
Broughton Castle in Books
In April 2009, a book called The Music Room was published. It's a memoir (a true story about someone's life) written by William Fiennes, who is the youngest son of the 21st Baron Saye and Sele. The book talks about growing up with his older brother, who had brain damage. It describes their home, Broughton Castle, without ever calling it by name. People have said it's a beautiful tribute to his family and the "magical, moated castle" where he grew up.
