You would be hard pushed to come up with any period not incorporated into this 12th-century Norman castle “with later additions”. Set in two acres outside Ross-on-Wye in Herefordshire, Wilton Castle is a scheduled ancient monument with features from the Norman, Tudor, Elizabethan, Georgian and Victorian eras.

First built as a wooden motte-and-bailey castle to defend England’s border at the Wye river crossing against the Welsh, it was gradually rebuilt in stone with a wet moat and, for 300 years, housed a garrison. In 1731 Guys Hospital bought the castle, which included a manor house created from its walls to farm the area. Nowadays, the privately owned property is surrounded by landscaped gardens, a curtain wall and a dry moat.

Over the past 10 years it has been restored into a fabulous five-bedroom residence.

There are two reception rooms, a dining room, two kitchens, a galleried former chapel area and a walk-in pantry.

Of the castle’s five original towers, three remain, of which two have been restored. The castle’s new owners will have the opportunity to develop the Great Tower into more living accommodation, involving three en suite bedrooms, a new glass entrance and a drawbridge.

And if owning this pile isn’t aspirational enough for you, the property also comes with the chance to buy the grand title of lord of Wilton Castle. The property is on the market for £1.5m. Jackson-Stops & Staff, 01285 653334. All photographs by Pete Sadler Images.