Castle hotel
Bickleigh Castle
Bickleigh, Tiverton, Devon
Level 2 Castle Estate StayLevel 2: a medieval fortified manor site with a moat and a Saxon chapel, according to the hotel. Overnight guests stay in three Grade II listed cottages on the estate, not inside the main historic building.
Rooms outside the historic walls
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Bickleigh Castle is a historic moated site near Tiverton, Devon, with a chapel the hotel dates to around 600 AD and a manor house remodelled from an earlier fortress. Level 2: guests sleep in estate cottages, not the historic buildings. It suits weddings and house parties up to 40.
Quick facts
- Castle Authenticity Scale
- Level 2: Castle Estate Stay
- Where you sleep
- Rooms outside the historic walls
- Built
- Norman fortress after 1086, remodelled as a fortified manor house in the 1400s
- Architecture
- Moated Norman fortress site, later a fortified Tudor manor house
- Heritage status
- Guest cottages are Grade II listed
- Rooms
- 18
- Sleeps
- 40
- Star rating
- Two-star (Booking.com)
- Guest rating
- 7.0 out of 10 on Booking.com (September 2026)
- Weddings
- Yes (hotel website)
- Exclusive use
- Yes (hotel website)
- Listed on Booking.com
- Hot tub, Family rooms, Parking, Free wifi, Accessible rooms
- Last checked
- September 2026
The story
The story of Bickleigh Castle
Bickleigh Castle sits on a moated site beside the River Exe near Tiverton, Devon. According to the hotel's own history, the estate's chapel began as a Saxon meeting house around 600 AD, and was later restored in 1929 and reconsecrated in 1933.
The hotel's history describes an early defensive structure on the site from 1018, with a substantial Norman fortress, including an inner and outer keep and a moat, following after the Domesday survey of 1086. The Courtenay family took the estate in 1292, and in the 1400s remodelled it into what the hotel calls a fortified manor house, adding larger windows, fireplaces and a manor house wing.
The New Model Army attacked and damaged much of the site in 1646 during the English Civil War, and the hotel says an Act of Parliament afterwards prevented the castle from being rebuilt in its earlier form. The buildings were restored between the 1930s and 1950s, and again from 2002 under the current ownership.
The sleep
Rooms at Bickleigh Castle
Overnight accommodation at Bickleigh Castle is in three cottages on the estate, which the hotel describes as Grade II listed and which together sleep up to 40 guests across 18 bedrooms and suites, according to the hotel's website.
The cottages are described as traditional and thatched, overlooking the courtyard and the historic castle buildings, rather than being inside the medieval fortress or manor house themselves.
An outdoor four-seater jacuzzi is available for guests to use, according to the hotel's website.
The table
Eating at Bickleigh Castle
The hotel's website describes a wedding breakfast room and what it calls five-star dining for wedding parties, along with full English breakfast service for guests staying on site.
The grounds
Around Bickleigh Castle
The estate borders the River Exe and includes the moated site of the historic fortress and manor house, along with gardens open to visitors as part of castle tours, according to the hotel's website.
Activities offered on site for groups and wedding parties include clay pigeon shooting and archery, according to the hotel's website.
What we'd flag
What we'd flag
- Guests sleep in cottages on the estate rather than in the historic castle or manor buildings themselves, so this is not a stay inside the medieval fabric.
Who it's for
Who Bickleigh Castle suits
This suits wedding parties and groups booking the whole estate, since it sleeps up to 40 people across three cottages and includes a Great Hall and chapel setting for ceremonies.
It does not suit guests who specifically want to sleep inside a medieval castle or fortified manor house, since the overnight accommodation here is in later cottages rather than the historic buildings.
Where Bickleigh Castle is.
Map tiles from OpenStreetMap.
Also on these lists
Similar stays nearby
Level 2 Castle Estate Stay
Bickleigh Castle
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Rooms outside the historic walls
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Colcombe Castle Hotel
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Dunster Castle Hotel
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Bickleigh Castle: questions
Is Bickleigh Castle a real castle?
The site includes a moat and the remains of a Norman fortress later rebuilt as a fortified manor house, according to the hotel. However, overnight guests sleep in three Grade II listed cottages on the estate, not inside the historic castle or manor buildings themselves.
How many people can stay at Bickleigh Castle?
The hotel's website describes 18 bedrooms and suites across its cottages, with capacity for up to 40 overnight guests.
Can you get married at Bickleigh Castle?
Yes. The hotel offers the Great Hall and outdoor spaces by the River Exe for ceremonies, a Wedding Breakfast Room for receptions, and exclusive use of the estate with on-site accommodation for up to 40 guests, according to its website.
Sources and checks
Last checked: September 2026. We checked these sources for this page. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.
- bickleighcastle.com: overview, room count, sleeps 40, location
- bickleighcastle.com: Saxon chapel c.600 AD, 1018 defensive structure, Norman fortress after 1086, Courtenay family 1292, 1400s remodelling into fortified manor house, 1646 Civil War damage, 1930s-1950s and 2002 restoration
- bickleighcastle.com: thatched cottage accommodation, outdoor jacuzzi
- bickleighcastle.com: Great Hall, chapel and River Exe wedding spaces, three Grade II listed cottages, exclusive use, wedding breakfast room, activities