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The castle you see today is the result of over 900 years
of alterations and changes. It has Norman foundations;
a mediaeval gatehouse; the Gloriette, built by Edward
I and updated in Henry VIII’s times; a Tudor tower;
and a 19th century country house - all of which were substantially
refurbished in the 20th century.
The last private owner of the castle, Olive, Lady Baillie,
left an indelible mark on the place. The heiress to an
American fortune from her mother’s family and the
daughter of an English Lord, she married three times.
It was with her second husband, Arthur Wilson Filmer that
she bought the castle in 1926, and embarked on a complete
refurbishment, using the finest French architects and
designers to create an elegant country residence.
She filled the castle with art and antiques, collected
on her frequent buying trips around Europe, and with glamorous
house parties at which she entertained princes, film stars
and politicians. Her guests enjoyed the use of the castle’s
cinema, swimming pool, squash and tennis courts, and marveled
at the extraordinary creatures in the grounds; Lady Baillie’s
fascinating collection of birds and waterfowl, zebras
and llamas as well as the more usual horses and dogs.
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| Named after an earlier tower which housed a
religious recluse, the Maiden’s Tower was built in Tudor
times as the castle’s bakery and brew house, to make the
“small beer” which would have been drunk at every
meal, as a safe alternative to water. In Lady Baillie’s
day it was first the “bachelor quarters” for houseguests,
with a cinema and smoking room downstairs, and later the home
of her younger daughter and her family until 2003. It is now
used for special exhibitions and functions.
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