The restoration work on-going at Castle Freke today is yet one more chapter in a long series of alterations this magnificent structure has undergone since its inception, which is believed to date to the early 1700’s. Now a listed National Monument, Castle Freke started out as a six-bay Elizabethan style of “strong house” one-room deep.

Today, it’s in part a monument to the Palladian style of mansion with huge state rooms and arched windows, the result of a major expansion project dating to the mid-1700’s. By the end of the 1700’s, Sir Richard Morrison was commissioned to put his stamp on the structure. A leading proponent of the neo-gothic revival movement, Morrison left the classic interiors alone, but introduced many gothic elements to the exterior, altering the window designs and castellated roof, together with its towers and curtain walls – which is the romantic style it still boasts today.

For more about the Evans-Freke family history and the Castle Freke, click here…