Midford Castle is a folly castle located in Midford, England, just outside the city of Bath. In 2007, it became known, unofficially, as the ‘Nicholas Cage Castle’ when the American actor purchased the property for £5 million.
The History of Midford Castle – The Nicholas Cage Castle
Midford Castle was built in 1775 for Henry Disney Roebuck, using designs by John Carter. A magazine article in 1899 suggested that the property had been built using the proceeds from gambling, as the castle was designed in the shape of a club.
However, the porch of the castle, which makes up the stem of the club, wasn’t added until a long time after the original castle was built. Therefore, it makes this theory about gambling winnings unlikely and simply a coincidence that it now looks like a club.
It’s more likely that the design of the ‘Nicholas Cage Castle’ was taken from an article in a 1774 builders magazine which showed a sub-triangular building with three semi-circular towers conjoined in Gothic style.
In 1810, Midford Castle was sold to a member of the Conolly family, who also owned Castletown House in County Kildare, Ireland. A huge 800-acre estate originally built for William Conolly in 1722, he was the Speaker of the Irish House of Commons.
Castletown House
It was during the years the Conolly family owned the property (1810 to 1901) that the porch was built, as well as nearby stables and a chapel known as the priory.
In 1901, the property was purchased by Captain Ottley. However, he was almost immediately recalled to his post in St Petersburg, Russia, and so Major Edwin Wilson Gresham Williams Hepworth purchased the property.
After Hepworth died in 1937, the property was purchased by Henry Whatley in 1939. Whatley was a retired solicitor who opened the castle grounds to raise money for charity. He died at Midford Castle at the age of 102 in 1957.
In 1961, the property was purchased by Michael Fenwick Briggs and his wife Isabel, better known by her pen name, Isabel Colegate. Colegate was an award-winning author who also happened to be an extended family member of the British royal family through her cousin Katharine, Duchess of Kent.
Isabel Colegate
Katherine married Prince Edward, the grandson of King George V, and after the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, Isabel became the oldest surviving member of the royal family until her own death in March 2023 (Michael died in 2017).
The couple owned Midford Castle for 45 years, carrying out extensive renovation works and buying up nearby land that had previously been sold off. It was Michael and Isabel who sold the property to the American actor Nicholas Cage in 2007, just a year after he reportedly purchased Neidstein Castle in Etzelwang, Germany.
Neidstein Castle, also once owned by American actor Nicholas Cage.
However, Cage didn’t hold on to Midford Castle for long due to a tax issue in the United States. It was reported that Cage owed more than $6 million in unpaid taxes and that he had recently been on a spending spree, purchasing three additional homes, twenty-two cars, and several expensive pieces of art and jewelry.
Midford Castle was sold by Cage (as was Neidstein Castle) to help clear his unpaid tax bill. The new owner of Midford Castle was Scott Adams, owner of Nutrisport, a company specializing in sports nutrition.
Midford Castle Today
Today, Midford Castle is a Grade I listed building; Scott and his seven children did at one time live on the property. However, more recently, it has been used by Scott to house three refugee families from Kharkiv in Ukraine.
The outbuildings and the Castle vaults, which have been lovingly restored, are now available as unique, luxury holiday stays that can be booked through Airbnb.
If you like this folly castle, check out Dinton Castle.
