Midford Castle

Midford Castle stands three miles south of Bath in Somerset. It is a folly built in 1775 for Henry Disney Roebuck to a design by John Carter shaped like the clubs symbol from playing cards. The plan is a trefoil of three semi-circular towers joined in Gothic style. English Heritage recognises it as a Grade I listed building. The porch that forms the stem of the clubs was added later by the Conolly family. Nearby are stables and a priory, both Grade II listed. The castle’s history includes a failed stone railway scheme proposed by William Smith, the ‘Father of English Geology’. In 1819 Charles Conolly took over Smith’s property after a debt dispute. The Fenwick Briggs family restored the castle in the 1960s, turning the chapel into a garden ruin. Nicolas Cage owned it briefly before selling to Scott Adams, who converted it into a boutique hotel. The grounds contain several listed structures, including a Grade II archway and a Grade II* stable block. Visitors find a castle shaped like a playing-card symbol, with three rounded towers and Gothic detailing. The chapel ruin lies 500 yards to the north-east, set among the grounds. The stables and coach house form part of the stable yard, enclosed by high walls. A lodge and screen wall mark the entrance archway. The hotel occupies the restored interiors, blending historic fabric with modern comforts. Views extend over the surrounding Somerset countryside.