Nunney Castle is a wonderful example of a moated medieval residence. It served more as a statement of power and status rather than as an effective fortification. It was built by Sir John de la Mare, who obtained a royal licence to crenellate in 1373. He was a career soldier who made a fortune on the battlefields of the Hundred Years War with France. It remained in the family until the last male heir died during Henry V’s 1415 campaign in France.

The castle was held by Royalist forces during the English Civil War but was besieged by a Parliamentary army under Sir Thomas Fairfax and bombarded into submission in 1645. The ruin was returned to its owners in 1660 and restored to a habitable condition. It was finally abandoned in the 18th century.