Broughton Castle
Situated near Banbury, Broughton Castle is a stunning moated, fortified manor house built from warm, local golden ironstone. Surrounding a three-acre island, the wide moat reflects a structure that began as a fourteenth-century medieval home before being grandly expanded into a Tudor masterpiece. Owned continuously by the Fiennes family, Lords Saye and Sele, since 1377, the estate combines rich domestic elegance with dramatic military history. The castle played a pivotal role in national politics during the seventeenth century. In the 1630s, it served as a secret headquarters for Parliamentary opponents of King Charles I. Conspirators gathered in an isolated rooftop chamber known as the room with no ears, plotting rebellion in total secrecy without fear of eavesdroppers. Following the Battle of Edgehill in 1642, Royalist forces attacked and besieged the castle, capturing it after a brief siege. In modern times, its preserved beauty has made it a popular filming location for productions like Shakespeare in Love and Wolf Hall. Inside, visitors encounter grand interiors spanning medieval and Tudor eras. The Great Hall forms the historic heart of the house, featuring soaring ceilings, family portraits, and large Elizabethan windows.
Broughton United Kingdom
You will find it at Broughton Castle, Banbury, Oxfordshire OX15 5EB, just outside the village of Broughton. It is about two and a half miles southwest of Banbury, and only three miles from junction 11 of the M40, so it is easy to reach. You turn off the B4035 at the Saye and Sele Arms pub and you are there. The castle itself is a fortified manor house from 1306, surrounded by a wide moat and lovely gardens. What makes the location so good is how much history is around it. Banbury itself is close with its famous cross, the Banbury Museum and Spiceball Park. You are right on the edge of the Cotswolds here, so you have got wonderful villages to explore. A short drive away you have some great big days out. Blenheim Palace in Woodstock is about half an hour away, and Warwick Castle is not much further. For more history, Upton House and Gardens, Compton Verney Art Gallery and Park, and Sulgrave Manor, the ancestral home of George Washington, are all nearby. Oxford with its castle, museums and colleges is also within easy reach for the afternoon.