Farleigh Hungerford Castle

 

Farleigh Hungerford Castle was our last Somerset stop before we settled down in our flat for the night ready for our grand Arthurian adventure the next day.

Once again we'd never planned to visit this one, but following the disappointment at Nunney, we wanted to find something nearby which would capture our interest. The second Ren read the words 'lead coffins' the satnav was programmed and we were on our way.

Yet another property to see action during the English Civil War, interestingly Farleigh Hungerford was a Parliamentary settlement and not one for Royalist support. This makes the first castle during our visit to have been on the Parliament side. The Royalists did capture the castle but it was recaptured without a fight following numerous failed attempts as the Royalist supporters began to fall elsewhere. This meant that the castle didn't need to be slighted and it continued on, in tact, for many years following this. Sir Edward Hungerford was appointed commander in the Parliamentary forces and was the one to take Old Wardour castle which was an interesting connection baring in mind we had been there that very morning.

It was when the castle was sold on following the extravagant lifestyle of one of the younger Edward Hungerfords due to his massive debts. The castle was then taken apart for salvage and used to furnish and build other properties.

None of this is the interesting bit though. The truly interesting aspect of this particular ruin is the surviving lead coffins in the crypt. These coffins are a rarity now and way back when they were only reserved for the richest of people in high society. Both adults and children are buried in these coffins, some of course are lost to history due to damage.

Fascinatingly, before the crypt was fenced off in order to protect the coffins, eager visitors destroyed the coffins in order to see the macabre remains within. Some going as far as to drill holes into the lead to consume the decomposed remnants! This was of course back in Victorian times as both an unnatural party favour and medicinal uses. The embalming liquor is of course just that, alcohol and god knows what else to pickle the body within the led tomb. Naturally due to this they've taken the wise precaution to fence them away so you can only view them from afar rather than go in and touch.

The castle also has quite the gruesome history with a few murders and attempted murders as well as false imprisonment. Lady Elizabeth was confined to one of the towers, likely the north tower but the south is named after her. Her husband had fallen out with her father so had opted to punish her. Numerous poison attempts were made as well as starvation tactics. Lady Elizabeth survived by drinking her own urine and relying on food smuggled to her by trusted friends and servants. Justice was sweet however as her husband fell from power alongside Thomas Cromwell and was executed for homosexuality, witchcraft, and treason. She was his third wife but went on to marry again and had six children by her new husband.

Another dark chapter in the castle's history is that of Lady Agnes who murdered her first husband with two servants in order to marry the Lord Hungerford at the time. They strangled him and burnt his body in the kitchen fire in order to destroy the evidence. It was a quest for wealth that paid off until her husband died and he could no longer protect her. With that her inheritance was passed to her son and she was taken to London with her accomplices and executed. 

So bloody, beaten, and just generally down on its luck, this castle was an interesting find for us. We headed straight for the chapel where we saw the elaborate tombs inside. One of these was merely a place marker however, the coffins of those it paid tribute to being laid to rest in the crypt. These tombs were for Edward and Margaret who lay in the coffins below, another relation lay above ground in the chapel however. The murals in the chapel were bright and airy, the whole chapel was light actually, a nice quaint place of worship which differed from the wood heavy, dusty places of worship we've visited beforehand with lavish stonework and plush furnishings. 

It is said that the ghost of Lady Agnes haunts the chapel on occasion, flickering before witnesses. 

We moved down to the crypt and had our turn at ogling the lead coffins. Some of these were blank while some were crafted with death masks and faces. It was eerie and down there had quite a negative atmosphere. Despite the raging heat at the top of that short staircase, the crypt was stone cold. We got goosebumps while standing there and Yogi was going mental. There was certainly a presence there and it didn't feel like a nice one, it was a feeling which lingered with us the entire visit from then onward.

Ren went off to the loo as we made our way past the priest rooms and had quite an odd experience. She could hear footsteps and then a knock on the other side of her cubicle door which got her heckles raising. As she went out to wash her hands she could hear laughter so she left quite quickly but she was alone in that toilet and there was no one else visiting nearby. It was spooky for sure!

It was stranger still when the three of us visited the intact rooms with artefacts and models. When we reached the upstairs Yogi got very antsy and both of us came over with pounding headaches. The strangest thing was that they both disappeared once we went back downstairs and Yogi returned to normal.

We went on to explore the ruins including the most intact tower named Lady's tower. There were cold spots all around the place despite the head so we reckon there is more than just Lady Agnes haunting the site! 

The ruins themselves arent too impressive. Bare bones reduced to almost just a footprint of its former self. The most impressive parts were the intact chapel, crypt, tower and gatehouse which was a lovely thing to drive in through. It was interesting to see how it used to be and how it ended up. It's funny to think how if Edward the younger had curbed his gambling the castle may still be intact to this day and in their family, but due to bad fortunes it is but a ghost itself.

Would we go back? Absolutely. We'd love to have another look at those coffins and maybe learn a bit more about them! We love a bit of macabre history and its something Ren specialises in as it feeds the myths and legends which are her area of expertise. 

The gift shop is also the entrance point and a lovely little thing. We saw a leaflet advertising Dover Castle which was a nice callback to home and the lady was lovely asking us where we were from and where we should go.

Haunted: 8/10

Worth the visit: 7/10

Giftshop: 6/10

Ghost count: 1

Dog friendly: Yes

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