England · 15th century
Berry Pomeroy Castle, a Tudor mansion within the walls of an earlier castle, is near the village of Berry Pomeroy, in South Devon, England. It was built in the late 15th century by the Pomeroy family which had held the land since the 11th century. By 1547 the family was in financial difficulties and sold the lands to Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset. Apart from a short period of forfeit to the Crown after Edward's execution, the castle has remained in the Seymour family ever since, although it was abandoned in the late 17th century when the fourth baronet moved to Wiltshire.
After lying in ruins for a hundred years, in the 19th century the castle became celebrated as an example of the "picturesque", and it became a popular tourist attraction, a status which it retains today—aided by its reputation of being haunted. Between 1980 and 1996 the castle was subjected to extensive archaeological excavations that clarified much of its history and overturned beliefs regarding its age and cause of destruction.
Text adapted from “Berry Pomeroy Castle” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Berry Pomeroy Castle ranks #1,932 of 9,079 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #127 of the 360 mapped in England. Founded 1496, it is older than 44% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 554 atlas entries founded in the 15th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 3,376 times in the last 60 days, more than 80% of the atlas. 5 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. See how England compares in the castle statistics.
View on the interactive castle map →