Broughton Things to Do

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Built in 1300 by Sir John de Broughton, the original house had battlements added to it by Sir Thomas Wykeham in 1406, but those are no longer there. The mediaeval house was later added to by the Fiennes family and gradually transformed into the Tudor manor we can see today. In the 16th century the west wing was added with the Great Parlour and the Oak Room, decorated with ornate plaster ceilings, panelling and fireplaces. Further alterations to the manor were made in the 17th and 19th centuries. The house featured in a number of films, like 'Shakespeare in Love', 'The Madness of King George' and 'The Scarlet Pimpernel'. The manor is a home to the descendants of the Fiennes family, Lord and Lady Saye and Sele. Remember about it when you visit its halls and gardens, respect their right to peace in their own house and leave no traces of your visit.
Wheelchair access to the ground floor and gardens.

Opening times: 1 May - 15th September - Wednesdays & Sundays 2-5 pm,
July and August - also Thursdays
Groups welcome at other times by appointment
Admission: Adults - 6 GBP, children - 2.5 GBP, concessions - 5 GBP
Garden only: 2.5 GBP, but I don't see where you get the tickets for that, you can enter it without crossing the house
Free car park

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The first room you come into is the Great Hall, a large part of which dates back to 1300. In the hall there is a display of suits of armour and all kinds of mostly medieval weapons. You can also see the Fiennes family tree. Look at their colourful coat of arms in my picture. Other interesting rooms in the manor include Queen Anne's Room named after Queen Anne of Denmark, wife of James I, who slept here in 1604. Her husband stayed in the Kings Room, as did King Edward VII nearly 300 years later. At the other end of the Long Gallery from Queen Anne's Room is the Great Parlour, where you can view two Coronation chairs - from the coronations of George V and Elizabeth II, purchased afterwards by Lord Saye and Sele. The parlour is a small museum displaying various family memorabilia. You will see some of them in my Customs tips. One of the most interesting of all the castle's rooms is the Council Chamber, 'the room that hath no ears' or so Sir William Fiennes and his distinguished friends: Lord Warwick, Pym, Lord Brooke and others thought when they held their secret meetings there to organise opposition against King Charles I in the 1630's.
But my favourite room in the castle is not mentioned in any guidebooks. It is a beautiful room of a lady or young girl with wonderful floral patterns on the walls and delicate looking furniture. Wouldn't you like to stay there, if only for a while? I would, that's for sure.

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The castle gardens are a real beauty. The formal Ladies' Garden, enclosed within low walls, has gravelled paths and a beautiful pattern of low hedges which can be best appreciated viewed from the castle roof (see my previous tip). The informal garden on the other side of the stone wall is charming too - don't miss the lovely seat encircled by roses, just the place for a romantic rendezvous.
Apparently, the whole garden is at present managed by just one gardener. Poor man, how the heat wave must have upset him! Just imagine having to water all those plants without the use of a hose, which was forbidden due to persistent drought at the time we visited the place. That's why the grass in my pictures is not as green as it would normally be in 'England's green and pleasant land.'

To get to the castle we had to cross the bridge across the moat and then go through the crenellated Gatehouse, looking really imposing with its contours sharpened by the bright sunshine coming from behind. The structure was built in 1405 by Sir Thomas Wykeham and is the only one there nowadays, apart from the moat, to point out to the castle's defensive character. It did not, however, stop the Royalist troops from besieging and occupying the castle in 1642 after the Battle of Edgehill, as the then lord of the castle Sir William Fiennes, 8th Lord Saye and Sele, had been plotting against the King and had sent his troops to join the Parliamentary army. Even now, there are still marks left by the bullets from the siege on the castle walls.
I should add here that, later, Sir Fiennes strongly disapproved of the King's execution, withdrawing from public life as a sign of protest.