Fenny Castle.

08/05/2026

The new gate is coming along nicely (as the old wobbly gatepost finally fell off).
Once the height is trimmed and the wooden facing put onto the front of the gate it should look rather good.

18/04/2026

That’s a bit better for the drinking water ✅

20/03/2026

Site office has gone NATO green, the borehole electrics are done and the water system is just waiting for the filters to be fitted and it’s good to go - Real progress.

08/01/2026

Today……we have mostly been digging a hole (to start to connect up the water system etc).

15/12/2025

Let me share a theory with you:
I propose that the walls on the castle (now covered by soil) will turn out to be originally Roman, altered later to fit a Norman design.
Why do I believe that?…Well, to start with I think we currently drastically underestimate the amount and importance of the roman activities in our area (Mendip- Wells, Shepton, Uphill, Charterhouse etc). A big chunk of Shepton Mallet has Roman remains under it….much more than most folk realise.
Plus, the Lead and other minerals were of huge value and significance and the escapement was vulnerable due to the fact the levels were largely underwater allowing attacks from the sea.
Secondly, to build a stone castle, with substantial walls (as described) requires money, power, workers and would almost certainly be recorded somewhere if it happened post 1066….which it isn't.
So, Saxon?…. unlikely as there doesn't seem to be much evidence of them building in that style.
And so, that leaves the thought that it was Roman,…. garisoned to help protect the ‘mineral hills’, as the area was known.

So, ‘what did the Romans ever do for us’? - Potentially, the answer just might be that they first put the walls on Fenny!
Thoughts???

02/12/2025

A little extra we may be offering in the near future……

14/10/2025

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1121189376789525&id=100066954184001

17/09/2025

Five years ago we started work to save this scheduled monument!…….I think since then we have managed to largely tame the jungle and reclaim a safe future for this wonderfully historic site.
Fenny Castle- The lost and forgotten Norman gem in deepest Somerset.
Next year I think we will invite some leaders of Somerset to come and see the fruits of our endeavours.

13/09/2025

Our friends at The Orchard at Fenny Castle….A superb venue that we heartily recommend 🥂

Never heard of it? It’s no surprise.

Fenny Castle is only a tiny hamlet nestled between Wells and Glastonbury. But it packs some history.

It’s the site of a Norman motte-and-bailey castle built around 1140 on a natural hill on the Somerset Levels. (Privately owned)

There’s a vineyard too.

Lovely walks or cycling (complimentary bikes) and pubs/cider farms. Cafes and delicatessens.

What more could you need? 💯 (if you even want to go out!)

20/08/2025

Hard to believe this was three years ago……..