Reblogged from Medieval Wanderings:

My Low Castles warning light has been doing a lot of flashing this year. Luckily though, between lockdowns I’ve managed to cram in quite a few medieval sites, and that’s helped to keep me relatively sane. Last month we headed down to a quiet corner of the scenic Wiltshire countryside to wander around the delightful castle of Old Wardour. This romantic late medieval ruin has long held a special place in my affections, partly because of its green and pleasant location, but also because as far as castles go, Old Wardour was the setting for one of history’s biggest mistakes.

Old Wardour Castle in it’s tranquil Wiltshire setting

Apart from the obvious fact that it’s a castle, one of the main things that attracts me to Old Wardour is the fact that it was built by an ancestor of Francis Viscount Lovell of Minster Lovell Hall in Oxfordshire, one of my favourite local haunts – as indeed it still seems to be for Francis himself. The man who built Old Wardour was John, Lord Lovell, the great great grandfather of Francis, and this ambitious baron rose through the noble ranks through his marriage to a kinswoman of King Richard II.

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