Midford Castle
Midford Castle is a folly in the village of Midford , 3 miles south of Bath in the English county of Somerset .
Henry Disney Roebuck had the medieval-style castle built according to plans by the architect John Carter in 1775 in the form of a cross symbol from playing cards (♣). An article in a magazine from 1899 postulated that Roebuck had the Folly built in the shape of a playing card cross because he had won the money for it from a card game. But this is unlikely because the vestibule that represents the trunk of the cross was added later. It is more likely that it took the form from an article in Builder's Magazine in 1774. The house has a three-leaf clover floor plan formed by three semicircular towers that are joined together in a Gothic style. The building has been listed as Grade I Historic Structure by English Heritage .
In 1810 the castle was bought by one of the Connollys from Castletown House in County Kildare , Ireland , who had the vestibule added and the stables and chapel built nearby, now known as the Priory. The latter fell into disrepair after the last Connolly sold the house in 1901.
Soon after 1810, Kingham Field , part of the estate, was operating as a quarry similar to the nearby Combe Down and Bathampton Down Mines . William Smith , who came to be known as "the father of English geology, " suggested that the stones should be transported by railroad down to Tucking Mill , where they were machine-sawed and then loaded onto canal barges and across the Somerset Coal Canal and the Kennet and -Avon Canal to Bath and London . In April 1814, Smith mortgaged the remainder of the property to Charles Connolly , who then controlled the railroad and presumably had it extended to the Vinegar Down Quarry. The system didn't work, and in 1819 Connolly had Smith incarcerated in King's Bench Prison on debt and took over the sawmill and Smith's house in Tucking Mill.
Michael Briggs and his wife Isabel (better known by her pseudonym Isabel Colegate ) bought Midford Castle in 1961. They had extensive renovations carried out. a. the chapel was integrated into a garden as a picturesque ruin.
In July 2007 the castle was sold to actor Nicolas Cage for £ 5 million . Cage resold the castle in 2009.
Individual evidence
- ^ A b Sadie Gray: A first-class return . In: Times Online . April 1, 2007. Retrieved July 19, 2016.
- ↑ Midford Castle . In: Bath Daily Photos . Retrieved July 19, 2016.
- ^ Midford Castle with former Offices and Coach-houses . In: Images of England . Archived from the original on July 14, 2016. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved July 19, 2016.
- ^ The Priory, in Priory Wood, 500 yards to the north-east of Midford Castle . In: Images of England . Archived from the original on July 14, 2016. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved July 19, 2016.
- ↑ Midford Castle, Somerset . In: Country Life . Retrieved July 19, 2016.
- ^ William Smith's Tucking Mill to Kingham Quarry Tramway . In: The Somersetshire Coal Canal (Society) . Archived from the original on May 27, 2011. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved January 15, 2008.
- ^ Hollywood actor is king of the castle in Bath . In: Daily Mail . July 29, 2007. Retrieved July 19, 2016.
- ^ Martin Hodgson: Nicolas Cage joins Britain's castle-owning classes . In: The Independent . July 30, 2007. Archived from the original on December 23, 2007. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved January 15, 2008.
- ↑ Nicolas Cage biography . In: IMDb . Retrieved July 19, 2016.
- ↑ Maurice Chittenden: Another day, another castle: Cage adds to his empire . In: Times Online . July 29, 2007. Retrieved July 19, 2016.
- ^ Richard Kay: Debt-ridden Nicolas Cage sells his English castle . In: Daily Mail . October 15, 2009. Retrieved July 19, 2016.
Web links
Koordinaten: 51° 21′ 2″ N, 2° 20′ 47″ W