Cowdray House

 castle, house, ruins

Cowdray House is constituted of the ruins of one of England's great houses, outside the West Sussex town of Midhurst, standing on the north bank of the River Rother. It was gutted by fire on 24 September 1793, but what remains hints at its former glory with significant parts of the walls remaining at full height.

Started in the early 16th century on the site of an earlier building, this noble house became the home of the Browne family, later the Viscounts Montague and a repository of some of the key artefacts from English history. Its heyday was during the Tudor period; architecturally it compared to many of the great palaces and country houses of that time.

It re-opened to the public on 31 March 2007, having undergone a major preservation project.