Bodiam is the location of perhaps one of the most famous castles in England. It looks exactly like a castle should - round towers on the corners and square ones midway along each side. It is surrounded by a moat. It was built in 1385 as comfortable home and with considerable defences. The exterior is virtually complete, although the interior has been largely destroyed. It was the home of the Dalyngrigge family and the centre of the manor of Bodiam.
The south west tower and a view out through one of the openings in the south wall.
View from the south west.
Although much of the interior has been destroyed, there is enough remaining to visualise how it must once have been. This view is of the inside of one of the corner towers - notice the fireplaces still in the walls. The castle's survival is thanks to John Fuller (see below), who purchased in 1829 and put an end to the quarrying of stone from the ruins.
The north side of the castle contains the gatehouse, which still has the original wooden portcullis. There was once a barbican between the Octagon (an island in the moat) and the main gatehouse, of which only a fragment of the west wall remains.
In November 2001 I attended a lecture at Bodiam Castle to listen to Geoff Hutchinson speaking about John (Mad Jack) Fuller of Brightling, Sussex. This eccentric gentleman is famous for his follies scattered around his estate and the fact that he is buried in a pyramid in the parish church yard at Brightling.
I thoroughly recommend Geoffs book, "Fuller of Sussex ~ A Georgian Squire", ISBN 0 9519936 6 6
Also check out this website about Mad Jack Fuller
Digital Photograph
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Photographs © Mark Collins 2006
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