The castle was built in two phases: the inner court was constructed between 1377 and 1383 by Sir Thomas Hungerford, who made his fortune as steward to John of Gaunt.

The castle was built to a quadrangular design, already slightly old-fashioned, on the site of an existing manor house overlooking the River Frome.

At the outbreak of the English Civil War in 1642, the castle, modernized to the latest Tudor and Stuart fashions, was held by Sir Edward Hungerford.

By the 18th century, the castle was no longer lived in by its owners and fell into disrepair; in 1730 it was bought by the Houlton family, Trowbridge clothiers, when much of it was broken up for salvage.

The castle chapel was repaired in 1779 and became a museum of curiosities, complete with the murals rediscovered on its walls in 1844 and a number of rare lead anthropomorphic coffins from the mid-17th century.

[2] Sir Thomas Hungerford was a knight and courtier, who became rich as the Chief Steward to the powerful John of Gaunt and then the first recorded Speaker of the House of Commons.

[6] Although the castle sat on a low spur it was overlooked by higher ground from the west and the north and was not ideally placed from a purely defensive perspective.

[14] Opposite the entrance, and running across the middle of the court, was the great hall of the castle, with a grand porch and steps leading up to the first floor, where prestigious guests would have been entertained amongst carved wall-panels and murals.

[23] Walter prospered: he became known as an expert jouster, in 1415 fought at the battle of Agincourt during the Hundred Years War, was made Steward of the Royal Household and was a major figure in government during the 1420s, serving as the Treasurer of England and as one of the legal guardians of the young Henry VI.

[35] Records of the castle at the time show considerable luxuries, including valuable tapestries up to 60 feet (18.3 m) long, silk bedclothes, rich furs and silver bowls and utensils.

[36] Unfortunately, Robert's eldest son, the later Lord Moleyns, was captured by the French at the battle of Castillon, which was fought at the end of the Hundred Years War in 1453.

Moleyns was a Lancastrian supporter and fought against the Yorkists in 1460 and 1461, leading to first his exile and then his attainder, under which Farleigh Hungerford Castle was seized by the Crown.

[35] Meanwhile, the late Robert's youngest son, Sir Walter, had become a close supporter of Edward IV; nonetheless, he joined the failed revolt of 1483 against Richard and ended up detained in the Tower of London.

[39] Walter became a political client of Thomas Cromwell, the powerful chief minister of Henry VIII, and operated on his behalf in the local region.

[41] When Cromwell fell from power in 1540, so did Walter, who was executed for treason, witchcraft and homosexuality: Elizabeth was allowed to remarry, but the castle reverted to the Crown.

[42][nb 6] Farleigh Hungerford Castle and the surrounding park remained in good condition — indeed, unusually for the time, the visiting antiquarian John Leland was able to praise its "praty" (pretty) and "stately" condition — but Walter continued to update the property, including adding more fashionable, Elizabethan style windows and improving the east range of the inner court, which became the main living area for the family.

[46] The resulting feud between the two men turned violent before Parliament finally settled the issue by appointing Hungerford as its commander in Wiltshire at the start of 1643.

[47] His military record during the conflict was unexceptional: he abandoned several towns to advancing Royalist armies and fought on the losing side at the battle of Roundway Down, although he did successfully seize Wardour Castle in 1643.

[45] Farleigh Hungerford Castle was captured by a Royalist unit in 1643, following a successful campaign by the King's forces across the south-west.

[48] The castle was taken without a fight by Colonel John Hungerford, a half-brother of Edward, who installed a garrison that then supported itself by pillaging the surrounding countryside.

[51] The renovation effectively blocked most of the access into the north chapel, making the new tomb the focus of attention for any visitor or religious activity.

[54] Edward lived a lavish lifestyle, however, including giving a huge gift of money to the exiled Charles II shortly before his restoration to the throne, and later entertaining the royal court at Farleigh Hungerford Castle in 1673.

[55] Edward later fell out with the king over the proposal that the Roman Catholic James II should succeed to the throne on Charles's death, and after the discovery of the Rye House Plot in 1683 the castle was searched by royal officials looking for stocks of weapons that might be used in a possible revolt.

[55] Meanwhile, Edward had been living a truly extravagant lifestyle, including extensive gambling, resulting in his running up debts of some £40,000, which in 1683 forced him to sell many of his estates in Wiltshire.

[54] Over the next two years, Edward incurred further debts of around £38,000 (£5,270,000) and in 1686 was finally forced to sell his remaining lands in the south-west, including Farleigh Hungerford Castle, to Sir Henry Bayntun, who purchased them for £56,000 (£7,750,000).

[56][nb 7] Antiquarian curiosity in the castle had begun as early as 1700, when Peter Le Neve visited and recorded some of the architectural details, but interest increased in the 19th century.

[59] This was partially due to the work of the local curate, the Reverend J. Jackson, who undertook the first archaeological excavations at the site during the 1840s, uncovering many of the foundations of the inner court.

[62] The foundations that Jackson discovered during the excavations were left exposed for the benefit of visitors and larger numbers of tourists began to come to the castle to see the ruins, including Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte in 1846.