II*Church · listed 1961Church of All SaintsPhoto: J Tucker · CC BY-SA 2.0
Waggon and Horses Inn · Photo: Roger Cornfoot · CC BY-SA 2.0AHistory Grade
History of Castle Cary · Historic England
100 listed buildings, 7 of them Grade II*
On the Historic England list, all of them stand inside Castle Cary’s built-up area, 290 for every 10,000 residents. It also has 2 scheduled monuments. 21% of its homes were built before 1919. We have photos of 7 of its listed buildings. Castle Cary grades A for history: #8 of 49 in Somerset.
Listed buildings
100
290 per 10,000 residents
Grade I
0
exceptional interest
Grade II*
7
more than special interest
Scheduled monuments
2
nationally important sites
Homes built before 1919
21%
typical UK town 15%
In pictures
Castle Cary in 9 photos
Nearly every Grade I and II* building, photographed. Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
Church of All SaintsGrade II* listed
A motte with two baileys immediately north of Park PondScheduled monument
The Market HouseGrade II* listed
Ansford LodgeGrade II listed
Ansford War MemorialGrade II listed+4See all photosPhotos from Wikimedia Commons and Geograph, copied to our own server, each credited to its photographer with its licence; names open the building’s page or its official list entry.
The map
Where Castle Cary’s history is
Every Grade I and II* building, monument and historic park.
Grade II*Scheduled monument
Hover a dot for its name; tap one with a photo to open it.
100 listed buildings by grade
0 Grade I7 Grade II*93 Grade II
Historic England lists buildings in three grades: Grade I for buildings of exceptional interest (about 2.5% of all listed buildings), Grade II* for particularly important buildings of more than special interest (about 5.8%), and Grade II for buildings of special interest (about 91.7%). Listing protects the whole building, inside and out.
Every entry on the National Heritage List for England whose point lies inside the ONS 2022 built-up-area boundary. One list entry can cover a terrace or a group of buildings.
Grade II*
The 7 Grade II* listed buildings in Castle Cary
Particularly important buildings of more than special interest. 4 are photographed. Each opens its own page, with the official list entry.
II*Public · listed 1974Market HouseOn the list as The Market HousePhoto: Trish Steel · CC BY-SA 2.0
II*Church · listed 1961Church of St AndrewPhoto: Tim Heaton · CC BY-SA 2.0
II*House · listed 1986Higher Flax MillsPhoto: Chris Allen · CC BY-SA 2.0
House · listed 1961The Old Parsonage
House · listed 1961The Pines
What’s protected
The largest group of Castle Cary’s listed buildings is homes
Every listed building sorted by what its list name says it is.
Houses, terraces & villas48
Churches, chapels & priories18
Inns, shops & warehouses11
Walls, gates & bridges9
Public & civic buildings7
Street furniture6
Memorials, crosses & tombs1
48 entries (48%) are houses, terraces and villas. 18 are churches, chapels and priories.
Buildings are sorted by words in each entry’s name (church, gate, inn, memorial…): the list’s open data has no building type. An entry named only by its address counts as a house.
Grade II
93 Grade II listed buildings
Most listed buildings are in this grade, which covers buildings of special interest. Open any building to read its official list entry.
All 93 Grade II listed buildings, A to Z
Ansford HouseAnsford LodgeAnsford War MemorialAshcot and Candle CottageBarn 15 Metres East of Old Ansford InnBartlet Monument in Churchyard 4 Metres South of South Transept, Church of All SaintsBeechfield HouseBelle Vue Villa and Ferndale Villa, With Front Boundary Walls and RailingsBonds Chemist LimitedBurge Monument in Churchyard 11 Metres South of South Transept, Church of All SaintsCancot, May Cottage and RosamundeCary Antiques, With Front Boundary RailingsCary Fruit and Greens, And House AttachedCary Pet Supplies Hair AffairCary Style Cherswood Swan JewellersCastle Cary Health Foods Collets Shop and RestaurantCastle Cary Primary SchoolCastle Cary War MemorialChapel Yard HouseChurch CloseCountryhideCul-de-CottageCumnock Terrace Including Front Garden Walls, Railings, Gates and PiersDelaware House, And Gateway to EastEast Boundary Wall, About 12 Metres East of All Saints ChurchElizabeth Crossley Fox and SonsEntrance Gateway About 90 Metres South of St John's PrioryEntrance Lodge to Higher Flax MillsFormer Congregational ChapelFrancis Monument in Churchyard 3 Metres South of South Transept, Church of All SaintsGlebe CottageGoldly Monument in Churchyard 4 Metres East of South Transept, Church of All SaintsGothic Villa, And Front Boundary Wall, Railings and GatesGrant Monument in Churchyard 8 Metres South East of South Transept, Church of All SaintsGreenhillsHalf Moon HouseHaywood Monument in Churchyard 3 Metres South-East of Porch, Church of St AndrewHighfield HouseHill HouseHillcrest School House, And Front Boundary RailingsHouse Immediately West of Cary Pet StoresK6 Telephone Kiosk Outside Museum, The PitchingKnowle House, And Front Boundary RailingsLaylocksLongleys Antiques Shop (Immediately North East of Colletts) with HouseLush, The Butchers, And Attached HouseManor Farm HouseMartins Shop, With House and Gates on West CornerMaxdene, With Front Boundary RailingsMessrs Parker's Shop, With HouseMilepost at Southern Corner of Yard of White Hart InnMill Building to Ansford FactoryNational Westminster BankNicholas House, With Front Boundary RailingsOchil Tree HouseOffice Wing Immediately North-West of Hillcrest School HouseOffices to Ansford FactoryOld Ansford InnPark CottageRuddock Monument in Churchyard 3 Metres South of Organ Chamber, Church of St AndrewSandybankScotland HouseSilver AshSouth Cary HouseSouth CottageSouth Dene, And Front Boundary Walls and RailingsSouth and East Boundary Walls, Railings and Gates to South CottageSt John's PrioryThe Britannia HouseThe Countryman Inn and Alma CottagesThe Drive Gate, Front Railings and Boundary Wall to the PinesThe George HotelThe Old Bakehouse, And Front Boundary RailingsThe Old Fire Engine HouseThe Old HouseThe Old VicarageThe Post Office, And Front Boundary WallThe Round HouseThe Round House Farm Shop and Newport, ButcherTorbay HouseTriangle House, Triangle Stores and Mead, NewsagentTuckers and Carysports, And House overTudor Cottage, Fairdene, Unnamed Cottage and Dene CottageUnidentified Monument in Churchyard 2 Metres South of Porch, Church of St AndrewUnidentified Monument in Churchyard 3 Metres East of Chancel, Church of St AndrewWaggon and Horses InnWesleyan Methodist ChurchWestholme and Avenue HouseWhite and Sons, Ironmongers, And Attached HouseWoodcock HouseWoodfords CotatgeWoodville House, And Front Boundary RailingsWychwood Cottage
Conservation areas
3 conservation areas cover 19% of Castle Cary
Areas the council protects as a whole: demolition and changes to how buildings look need consent, and trees are protected.
Castle Cary 197122 ha
Ansford 19716 ha
Higher Flax Mills 20032 ha
30 hain conservation areas, of 153 ha inside the built-up area.
The first, Castle Cary and Ansford, were designated in 1971; the newest, Higher Flax Mills, in 2003. 91 of the 100 listed buildings stand in one.
Historic England’s conservation areas layer, supplied by councils (incomplete in places, so a page fact, never graded). Hectares are the part of each area inside the built-up area.
How the list grew
More than half of Castle Cary’s listed buildings were added in one year, 1986
The year each building now on the list was first listed.
1986 · 631961 · 25
19501960197019801990200020102020
The first 25 entries were listed in 1961. 63 came in 1986, in the national resurvey of the 1970s and 80s. Only 2 have been added in the last 15 years.
Monuments & landscapes
Monuments, parks and gardens
Designations that overlap the town by a tenth of their area or half a hectare.
2 scheduled monuments
Nationally important archaeological sites and monuments, protected by law; work on them needs consent from the Secretary of State, advised by Historic England.
History Grade
Castle Cary grades A for history
Protected heritage and the age of the town’s homes, against all UK towns.
Protected heritage, for its size and in all (111 points, 322 per 10,000 residents)More than 90% of UK towns
Homes built before 1919 (21%)More than 63% of UK towns
Two measures, each ranked against every UK town of 1,000 or more, with protected heritage counting twice as much as the age of homes. Protected heritage counts each listed building by its grade (Grade I three points, II* two, II one), each scheduled monument and battlefield two, and each registered park or garden by its grade; it is ranked both per 10,000 residents and as a total, so a village with one fine church doesn’t outrank a historic city. The second measure is the share of homes built before 1919, from the Valuation Office Agency’s council tax records. History is a character grade: it describes the town and isn’t part of the overall grade.
Born here
3 notable people born in Castle Cary before 1900
Their lives on one timeline, earliest first.
James Woodforde
Theodore Thring
Douglas Macmillan
170017501800185019001950
James Woodforde1740–1803 · Clergyman and author
DM
Douglas Macmillan1884–1969 · British civil servant and charity founder
Theodore Thring1816–1891 · English cricketer and barrister
Everyone born in Castle Cary → Birthplaces from Wikidata; portraits from Wikimedia Commons.
Neighbours
Listed buildings in the places around Castle Cary
| Town | People | Listed | Grade I | History |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Castle Cary | 3,451 | 100 | 0 | A |
| Bruton | 2,816 | 132 | 3 | A+ |
| Evercreech | 2,165 | 34 | 1 | A |
| Wincanton | 6,744 | 113 | 1 | A− |
| Keinton Mandeville | 1,216 | 20 | 0 | A− |
| Pilton | 1,104 | 41 | 2 | A+ |
| Shepton Mallet | 9,645 | 211 | 1 | A |
| Templecombe | 1,657 | 15 | 0 | B+ |
In brief
Castle Cary in brief
Few towns are as rich in listed heritage as Castle Cary: per resident it has more than 90% of UK towns. In all there are 100 listed buildings, including Church of All Saints. Its older streets lie in 3 conservation areas, the first designated in 1971.
James Woodforde (1740), Douglas Macmillan (1884) and Theodore Thring (1816) were all born here before 1900. More than half went on the list in a single year, 1986: 63 of 100. Beyond that, like most towns its size, it has no Grade I building; it also has 2 scheduled monuments; and 21% of its homes were built before 1919, close to the 15% in the typical UK town.
Questions about Castle Cary’s history
How many listed buildings are there in Castle Cary?
Historic England lists 100 buildings inside Castle Cary’s built-up area: 0 Grade I, 7 Grade II* and 93 Grade II.
Are there scheduled monuments in Castle Cary?
Yes, 2 scheduled monuments, including A motte with two baileys immediately north of Park Pond and The Round House.
How many conservation areas are there in Castle Cary?
3, covering about 30 hectares of the town. The largest are Castle Cary and Ansford.
When were Castle Cary’s buildings listed?
The first in 1961; the most, 63, in 1986.
Who was born in Castle Cary?
Among people born before 1900: James Woodforde (1740), Douglas Macmillan (1884) and Theodore Thring (1816).
How old are the homes in Castle Cary?
21% of homes were built before 1919 and 30% before 1940, from the Valuation Office Agency’s council tax records (March 2025).
© Historic England 2026. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. The National Heritage List for England is the official, up-to-date register of all nationally protected historic buildings and sites in England; check an entry on Historic England’s website before relying on it.
Sources: Historic England, National Heritage List for England (listed buildings, scheduled monuments, registered parks and gardens, battlefields, World Heritage Sites), October 2026, inside the ONS 2022 built-up-area boundary · Valuation Office Agency, Council Tax: stock of properties by build period (31 March 2025) · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only · Historic England conservation areas (supplied by local planning authorities; October 2026). All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.