Qualla: Picton Castle

Picton Castle: Introduction

Sun, 24 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Waterborough, CC BY-SA 3.0. The Philipps family has held Picton Castle since the 1490s. Five hundred and thirty-odd years, give or take. Generations have come and gone, the building has been remodelled twice, the entrance has moved, a Renoir of contested authenticity hangs in the drawing room - but the family name on the deeds has not changed since Henry VII was on the throne and Christopher Columbus was alive. There is no courtyard inside the castle, just one continuous building protected by seven circular towers that project from the wall like the points of a crown. It looks defensive. It is also, and has been continuously, a home.

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Image: Waterborough | CC BY-SA 3.0

Picton Castle: A Flemish Beginning

Sun, 24 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Ian Knox, CC BY-SA 2.0. The castle owes its existence to a flood. In 1108, the low-lying lands of Flanders suffered catastrophic inundation, and many of their inhabitants - Flemings - asked for refuge from Henry I of England, whose mother had come from there. Henry settled them in the hinterland of his ...

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Image: Ian Knox | CC BY-SA 2.0

Picton Castle: The Seven Towers

Sun, 24 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Tudor Williams, CC BY-SA 2.0. Sir John Wogan rebuilt Picton between 1295 and 1308. His design was unusual then and remains so now. Most medieval castles surround a courtyard with curtain walls and buildings against them. Wogan built a single solid block - the main building itself - and ringed it with seven ci...

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Image: Tudor Williams | CC BY-SA 2.0

Picton Castle: A Baronetcy for £1,095

Sun, 24 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Michael Garlick, CC BY-SA 2.0. Sir John Philipps inherited the castle in the 15th century and remodelled it, creating a new entrance that stood until the 1820s. The Philippses prospered - through marriage, through politics, through careful management of their Welsh estates. In 1611, King James I needed to fund...

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Image: Michael Garlick | CC BY-SA 2.0

Picton Castle: Gardens and a Possible Renoir

Sun, 24 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit judy dean from Cotswolds, United Kingdom, CC BY-SA 2.0. The gardens at Picton run to more than forty acres and are Grade I listed - the highest possible designation. The Royal Horticultural Society recognises them as a Partner Garden. Inside the enclosing walls are the Walled Garden, the Jungle Garden, Peach House Woods, Peep-In Woods...

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Image: judy dean from Cotswolds, United Kingdom | CC BY-SA 2.0

Picton Castle: Lived In

Sun, 24 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Waterborough, CC BY-SA 3.0. Picton Castle is now owned and managed by the Picton Castle Trust, a registered charity, but the building remains a living house rather than a museum piece. The gardens are open daily; the castle has guided tours; the gatehouse lodges offer self-catering accommodation. Events, fa...

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Image: Waterborough | CC BY-SA 3.0