Wardour Castle is a ruined 14th-century castle at Wardour, on the boundaries of the civil parishes of Tisbury and Donhead St Andrew in the English county of Wiltshire, about west of Salisbury. The castle was built in the 1390s, came into the ownership of the Arundells in the 16th century and was rendered uninhabitable in 1643 and 1644 during the English Civil War. A Grade I listed building, it is managed by English Heritage and open to the public. History Construction and design In the 1300s, the land on which the castle was built was owned by the St Martin family until Sir Lawrence de St Martin died in 1385. Later in that year the land was acquired by John, the fifth Baron Lovell. In 1392 or 1393 Baron Lovell was granted permission by King Richard II to build a castle on the site. It was constructed using locally quarried Tisbury greensand, and the master mason was William Wynford. The design was inspired by the hexagonal (6-sided) castles then in fashion in parts of the Continent, particularly in France (with similarities being noted to the château de Concressault); but its own design is unique in Britain. The inclusion of several self-contained guest suites was also unique in Britain at that time. Arundells After the fall of the Lovell family following their support of the Lancastrian cause during the Wars of the Roses, the castle was confiscated in 1461 and passed through several owners until bought by Sir Thomas Arundell of Lanherne in 1544. The Arundells were an ancient and prominent Cornish family, the principal branches of which were seated at the manors of Lanherne, Trerice, Tolverne and Menadarva in Cornwall. The family held several estates in Wiltshire. The castle was confiscated when Sir Thomas – a staunch Roman Catholic – was executed for treason in 1552, but in 1570 was bought back by his son, Sir Matthew Arundell, later a Sheriff and Custos Rotulorum of Dorset. Arundell greatly altered the castle, with windows being enlarged and classical doorways and niches being added. The work would likely have been completed by around 1578 (since this is the year inscribed above the entrance). Civil War The Arundells, led by Thomas Arundell, 1st Baron Arundell of Wardour, subsequently became known as some of the most active of the Roman Catholic landowners in England at the time of the Reformation; they were naturally Royalists