10 Cool Facts About Bodiam Castle in East Sussex
Bodiam Castle looks and feels like a fairytale castle set in the beautiful East Sussex English countryside. Like many of the most picturesque castles now, it lies in ruins. The National Trust though run an excellent job of preserving Bodiam Castle’s history and beauty for the future. Here are some fun facts about Bodiam Castle, one of the most beautiful castles in England and an easy visit from London.
Facts About Bodiam Castle
Bodiam is a moated castle built in the 14th century.
It was built by a Sir Edward Dalyngrigge who was a younger son of an aristocratic family and so had to make his own way in the world. He made a fortune hiring himself out as a mercenary during the Hundred Years War.
With the spoils of pillage and plunder, Dalyngrigge built himself a castle that was intended to look as a more impressive fortress than it really was.
For example, the moat is only about 5 feet deep and an enemy if they really wanted to could drain it quickly. On the other hand, the moat isolates the castle in the landscape and makes it look bigger and more formidable.
The moat is incredibly attractive nowadays. In historic times though the 28 latrines in the castle opened directly into the moat. Just imagine the smell!
We loved climbing up the circular staircase to the top of the castle walls. There are fantastic views from the battlements over the surrounding countryside.
The interior of the castle is in ruins which is a shame because it would have shown how during this period in history castles were moving away from being fortresses to country manors.
The interiors were gutted during the English Civil War and then never restored. You can just about make out where certain of the buildings would have been, such as the Castle kitchen.
Even during the Civil War though, Bodiam was never actually attacked but merely surrundered its attackers.
Lord Curzon restored Bodiam Castle and gave it to the National Trust in 1925.
Family-Friendly Bodiam Castle
Bodiam Castle is a very family-friendly English castle near London.
Bodiam Castle runs regular events that encourage children’s participation. For example, for Halloween they have special events. People dressed in costumes of the time tell stories about the castle as well.
Visiting Bodiam Castle
Bodiam Castle is near the town of Bodiam in East Sussex. Although the castle has a coffee shop, we thought the Castle Inn just outside the castle grounds located on Main Road (what else??!) served up excellent pub grub.
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