The castle was actually besieged twice during the English Civil War,
and damaged badly by a mine that may or may not have accidentally ignited armaments
within the castle during the second siege in 1644. It was never restored.

When New Wardour Castle was built in the 1770s, the old castle survived as a rather grand "ornamental feature"
(complete with grotto -- constructed from brick and volcanic lava, which was found near Bath -- built by Josiah Laine,
from nearby Tisbury, in 1792: and which stands on the location of the 14th century gatehouse...!),
deliberately integrated into the landscaped gardens (now long gone), to be admired as a "romantic ruin".