A rare opportunity to visit Merdon Castle near Winchester recently came up and a friend and I took the opportunity to take a look. The site is normally closed to the public, so a chance to see it during a recent Heritage Open Day was not to be missed. Recently removed from Historic England’s “At Risk” Register, following restoration work by Home Farm Estate and Historic England, it is the remains of one of the castles built by Henri de Blois, Bishop of Winchester and brother of King Stephen during the tumultuous years of “The Anarchy” that ended the Norman era in England.
The weather was kind to us and the people staffing the visit were very knowledgeable, filling in a lot of historical details albeit some of it being speculation due to lack of complete records. I’d taken my drone along and asked for permission to fly while the other visitors were not around the tower, which I was pleased to be granted. Here are just a few of the pictures and a short video from the visit.
You can find out more about the castle here.
