Compton Castle, Devon

National Trust.
A jumble of buildings and curtain walls enclose a courtyard. There are towers incorporated into the house and curtain wall, a great hall rising to the roof, a chapel, and an ancient kitchen wing. The house was built between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries, and fortified in the reign of Henry VIII, no doubt in response to French raids on the Devon coast. The house was bought back by the Gilbert family in 1930 and restored as a family home after centuries of neglect.
The reconstructed great hall and a few other rooms are open to visitors, and there are rose, knot, and herb gardens adjoining. Don’t miss the rose garden (to left of front). This is a really unusual building and worth a visit if you are in South Devon. Opening dates are restricted to three days in the week. (Bradley (NT) nearby opens on the same dates.
Access to the house is via narrow lanes. Parking (on grass) at the house is limited and additional hard standing parking is available at the Castle Barton tearooms 100 yards away.