This text has been reproduced with the kind permission of Castle Cary website organisers.The town has no recorded history prior to the Normans, although a Saxon charter mentioned Cari in 725AD. It is likely that early fortifications were built either by the Britons or the Saxons. At the time of the Norman Conquest (1066AD) the population of Cary was about 300 souls, with some 1,000 acres under cultivation and three mills in use. By 1138AD the Normans had built a castle at the foot of Lodge Hill, giving the town part of its name. Sometime in the late 12thC, following two sieges during the wars between King Stephen and the Empress Matilda, the castle was dismantled. Although nearby earthworks can still be seen on the side of Lodge Hill, no trace of the original castle remains. It may be that the Horse Pond is part of the ancient moat.

During the Middle Ages, Castle Cary developed as a market town and a large number of rural industries were established. By the end of the 14thC there was a flourishing wool industry, when a cheap, coarse and hard-wearing cloth was made for the poor. The town was granted a market charter by Edward IV in 1468. At about this time All Saints Church was redeveloped in the Perpendicular style and the George Hotel was built. In the late 16thC, when Spain threatened invasion, a list of militia showed that Castle Cary could muster 17 billmen, 8 archers, 4 pikemen and one gonner (thanks to Colin Hatcher for explaining that this means 'hand gunner')..

The 17thC was at times turbulent, although it saw the building the first Market House. The civil War did not pass the town by: a Parliamentary Army en route from the siege of Sherborne Castle to Bristol stripped the church roof of its lead for musket balls and threw down the bells. In 1654 King Charles II is said to have stayed at the old Manor House or a house in Fore Street following his defeat at the Battle of Worcester. At about this time a new road was constructed along the line of the present day A371 Wincanton to Shepton mallet road. The last part of the century saw Jane Brooks hanged for witchcraft and Celia Fiennes passing through on her tour of England.

In the 18thC The Reverend James Woodforde lived for several years in Ansford during which time he kept a diary, subsequently published and still available. John Wesley (the brother of Charles Wesley, founder of the Methodist movement) preached in the town on various occasions. The town lock-up, known as the Round House was built in Bailey Hill with charitable funds at a cost of £23 in 1770. By 1700 Castle Cary was one of the principal cloth-making towns of the area, now making good quality cloth. With the collapse of the wool industry by the end of the century, linen weaving took it place, owlas and tick being specialities.

The 19thC saw considerable change in the town. Rope-making and horse hair factories were established. Between 1840 and 1855 the National School in Church Street was built, the Church was enlarged and the Market House was rebuilt as it is today. St John?s Priory was built as a private residence known as Florida House 1887. The Railway Station came into operation in 1906, on the Great Western Line, although the Somerset and Dorset Line had been completed in 1862, the nearest station being Cole three miles away.

The names of those that died in the two World Wars can be found on the War Memorial standing in the Horse Pond. The Second World War saw the stationing of elements of the Guards Armoured Division in and around the town in the years before the invasion of Normandy. The local Company of the Home Guard was part of the 12th (Somerton) Battalion. On 3rd September 1942 a bomber wrecked a goods train at Castle Cary Station as well as demolishing the signal box, killing a signalman, and destroying the Station Hotel.

Over the last 50 years the town has expanded to the North, but the centre has changed little. The streets are still recognisable from old photographs, even if the names on some of the shops have changed.

For more details surrounding Castle Cary Go to website
http://www.castle-cary.co.uk

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