Marshwood Castle

Marshwood Castle was a motte-and-bailey castle in Marshwood, Dorset, within the Vale of Marshwood. William de Mandeville built it after King John made him Baron Marshwood in 1205. The castle first appears in records in 1215. Today only ruins remain, protected as a scheduled monument. The site once commanded the Honour and Barony of Mandeville of Marshwood. Its lands stretched across the South West. The remains lie within Lodge House Farm, where barns and farm buildings stand close to the earthworks. Lower walls of a fortified house survive, possibly built between the 1350s and 1360s. Other traces include the ruins of St Mary’s Chapel and scattered earthworks. The fortified house walls are listed at Grade II*. The whole site appears on the Heritage at Risk Register. Visitors find low stone walls and grassy mounds where the castle once stood. Farm buildings surround the earthworks, blending agriculture with history. The fortified house walls show the thickness and style of 14th-century defence. St Mary’s Chapel adds a religious element to the remains. The quiet Vale of Marshwood frames the scene with rolling countryside.