Woodhouse Castle, Horningsham

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Woodhouse Farm

In the civil parish of Horningsham.
In the historic county of Wiltshire (Modern Authority of Wiltshire, 1974 county of Wiltshire).

Fortified medieval manor house surviving as rectangular earthworks and masonry in the south and east. It would appear that the first structure dates back to after the Norman Conquest in 1066, when it was given to one of King William’s knights, Sir John Vernon. Subsequently the Manor House and surrounding lands was owned by the same family for over 400 years. It came into the possession of the Arundels in C16. The first attack on the house by parliament forces is not recorded but in 1644 it was garrisoned for the Parliamentary forces, besieged and taken by Royalists. The ruined house was never re-inhabited. The current building on the site is a late C18/early C19 farmhouse said to contain old stonework from the manor house. A survey of the site indicated that this was a three sided structure with a tower at each corner.

This site has been described as a;
Fortified Manor House.
The confidence that this site is a medieval fortification or palace is Certain.
Masonry footings remains.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is ST80104205

Modern Map from Good for landscape form and features	Modern Map from Good for general location
Air Photo from	1st edition OS Map from

Sources of information, references and further reading

PastScape number; 207644

• Web site links
  • http://www.woodhousecastle.co.uk/
• Books
  • Salter, Mike, 2002, The Castles of Wessex (Malvern) p91
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol2 p499
    Hoare, Richard Colt, 1822, The History of Modern Wiltshire Vol1 pt1 p51
• Other sources and unpublished works (Theses, in-house reports and other such)
  • Snelgrove, John and Forward, Michael, 200?, The Lost Castle-Woodhouse in Wiltshire (DVD or VHS recording)