Newton St Loe Castle

En un regard

Le château en bref

In the landscaped park of Newton Park, west of Bath, two fragments of a former fortified manor house survive: a tall residential tower and a gatehouse. Long called the “keep”, the first building in fact belonged to a defended manor arranged around a rectangular courtyard, with square corner towers, ranges of lodgings built against a curtain wall and a ditch on at least three sides. Excavations have identified several medieval phases, the main one dating from the early 14th century. The site is associated with the St Loe family, who gave their name to the village. In the 18th century, Joseph Langton had a new country house built and entrusted the park to Lancelot “Capability” Brown, who demolished most of the medieval buildings but kept the tower and gatehouse as picturesque follies punctuating the walk around the lakes. Today, the tower and gatehouse are Grade I listed and protected as a Scheduled Monument. The estate, owned by the Duchy of Cornwall, is leased to Bath Spa University, whose main campus it hosts; the remains are not set up for tourist visits.