In the present day, the castle serves principally as a wedding venue, though at times is open to the public by appointment.

During the English Civil War Charles I's queen, Henrietta Maria stayed in the castle as a guest of Sir Henry & Lady Dorothy Carew in 1644, on her way to Exeter.

Shortly after her visit she gave birth to Princess Henrietta Anne Stuart, who later married Le Duc d'Orléans, the bisexual brother of King Louis XIV of France; there is a plaque commemorating the birth of the Princess in Exeter, which is now displayed in the Princesshay Shopping Centre.

The "slighting" of Bickleigh was a response to the Royalist sympathies of the Carew family and its use as a stronghold during the conflict with the main manor house and inner keep being destroyed.

The building was substantially altered in the 15th century by the Courtenay family, and restored in the 1920s and 1930s during the ownerships of Francis Harper and Lt Col Jasper Henson.

It was built in the mid-15th century as a magistrates' court for Thomas, the 6th Earl of Devon, who was executed after the Battle of Towton in 1461; however, it has been revised and added to many times and part of the structure may have been demolished.

[citation needed] The North Range was built in the latter half of the 17th century and served as a farmhouse, housing staff for the owner, Sir Henry Carew, Kt.

In the left end room is a 16th-century overmantel (c.1550) carved with scenes relating to the Reformation and specifically the trial and execution of Henry Courtenay, Marquis of Exeter & Earl of Devon, Sir Nicholas Carew, and Henry Pole at the Tower of London in January 1539 following the alleged 'Exeter Conspiracy'; in the carving is a stylised depiction of the City of Exeter and the Inner Keep of Bickleigh Castle.

[4] The carving was originally in the part of the Castle demolished by the Parliamentarian Forces in the Civil War; for safe-keeping, it was stored in the vaults of Exeter Cathedral until the 1930s, when it was returned to the owner, Lt Col Jasper Henson, after a chance conversation with William Cecil, Bishop of Exeter, and eventually installed in its current position.

[10] The outer wall, gardens and fish ponds in front of the Keep Gatehouse were landscaped during the ownership of Sir Thomas Carew, Bt, in the 18th century.

[12] The Castle is currently open to public visitors by prior appointment; guided tours last approximately one hour.

The Castle and surrounding buildings are now used principally to host weddings, and also house parties, events and bed & breakfast.