A Hunting Retreat

From the time of Henry III, Ludgershall Castle was used as a country residence and was surrounded by extensive parkland for hunting.

 The field names shown here, recorded on a map dating from 1841, suggest that the north park was used for activities such as bowling and rabbit coursing; ‘coneygre’ indicates a rabbit warren © English Heritage There were two separate parks at Ludgershall. The northern park was probably laid out in about 1100 and was designed to be seen from a viewing platform. It stretched away giving the impression of an enormous park extending beyond the horizon.

The park was actually too small for hunting, but could have staged hare and rabbit coursing, or tournaments. The south park was a separate hunting area on the other side of Ludgershall town, and was probably kept well stocked with deer.

From about 1317, Ludgershall was referred to as 'the king’s manor', and was given to successive queens and royal dependents, including Queen Philippa (d.1369), wife of Edward III, and her daughter Isabel, countess of Bedford (d.1379).

It is unknown when the castle stopped being used by the royal family, but by the 1540s the buildings had been dismantled and levelled over to form the garden of a nearby house; the tower was kept as a garden feature.