Castle Cary (/ˌkɑːsəl ˈkɛəri/) is a market town and civil parish in south Somerset, England, 5 miles (8 km) north west of Wincanton and 8 miles (12.9 km) south of Shepton Mallet, at the foot of Lodge Hill and on the River Cary, a tributary of the Parrett.

The second castle was abandoned by the mid-15th century in favour of a manor house, and the stones pillaged for other buildings in the town.

It would seem that the second castle was begun in the 13th century around 1250 and built in Cary stone, indicating that the Hadspen Quarry was in operation at this time.

It suggests the Church of All Saints, Castle Cary was begun at a similar time and completed over centuries.

Castle Cary Manor was given to the Lovels by King Stephen of Blois, who reigned from 22 December 1135 to 25 October 1154 (18 years 308 days).

The castle was besieged by King Stephen of Blois in 1138 in his struggle for the throne of England with his cousin Matilda.

When the Lovels failed to produce a male heir during the reign of King Edward III, it passed through marriage to Nicholas de S. Maure, a Baron.

The Greene King George Hotel is said to have been constructed around this time, rebuilt after a fire and the Market House from Cary stone 150 years later, 1616.

In 1837 John Boyd began making horse-hair textiles, for which he is still renowned today and produces on the original 1870 looms.

The diary of Reverend James Woodforde born in Ansford in 1740 provides an insight into 18th century life in the Parish.

The Donnes established flax mills making twine, sail cloth, webbing still situated today in the 1877 Florida House.

[14] The Market House is a grade II* listed building built in 1855 in anticipation of increased trade after the projected arrival of the railway in 1856, to a design by Francis Penrose.

[16] A room is dedicated to the life and work of Parson James Woodforde who was born at the Parsonage in nearby Ansford in 1740.

For nearly 45 years he kept a diary recording an existence the very ordinariness of which provides a unique insight into the everyday routines and concerns of 18th century rural England.

Castle Cary Community Primary School dates from 1840,[25] whereas Ansford Academy built in 1940 with additional rooms for science, technology, mathematics and modern languages being added in the 1970s.