Knepp Castle

Knepp Castle stands on an oval mound beside the River Adur in West Sussex. Built in the 12th century by the Braose family, it was later used as a hunting lodge by King John, who visited several times and ordered its destruction twice during the First Barons’ War. The castle hosted monarchs including Henry III, Edward II and Richard II before falling into ruin by the early 18th century. Stone from the ruins was taken for roadmaking, and the site became part of Knepp Wildland. The castle’s history is marked by royal visits and conflicts. John’s orders to destroy it in 1215 and 1216 followed political tensions with the Braose family, whose lands he confiscated. Later, a skirmish during the English Civil War may have damaged the structure further. By the 1720s, most of the castle had been demolished, leaving only a single Horsham-stone wall standing eleven metres high. Visitors today see the tall north wall of the keep rising above a grassy mound and a surviving causeway crossing the old moat. The ruins sit within Knepp Wildland, a 1,400-hectare rewilding project where rare breeds roam freely. The site is protected as a scheduled monument, with the wall and mound preserved to show the castle’s original form.