Eastnor Castle is a 19th century mock castle, two miles from the town of Ledbury in Herefordshire, England, by the village of Eastnor. It was founded by John Somers Cocks, 1st Earl Somers and is now inhabited by the family of James Hervey-Bathurst, the grandson of Arthur Somers-Cocks, 6th Baron Somers.
It was constructed in 1810 at a cost of £85,000 or equivalent to approximately between £6 to £28 million in present day (2007).
The estate was started in the late 16th century when the Cocks family purchased local land. Subsequent marriages into the Somers and Nash families helped provide the wealth and substance necessary to build this imposing castle which was designed to look like a medieval castle guarding the Welsh borders. The architect was Robert Smirke and Augustus Pugin designed the Gothic drawing room.
In 1984, both the band Slade and the BBC made use of the castle. Slade used it to film their video for Run Runaway and the BBC to film the exterior shots of Abner Brown's theological college in their adaptation of The Box of Delights.
The grounds are used by Land Rover to test their vehicles. The off road circuits at Eastnor Castle provide some of the most challenging all-terrain driving experiences in the UK. Each year in June Eastnor castle is host to the Landrover World Event. and offers visitors the chance to try off roading in the the latest models of Range Rover, Freelander and the classic Defender.
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