Castle Hotel, Taunton

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The Castle Hotel at Taunton is on the site of former 12th century Taunton Castle a Norman fortress, located in Taunton, Somerset.

In 1685, the Duke of Monmouth used the castle as a base before his troop's defeat by King James II at Sedgemoor. Judge Jeffreys then held his Bloody Assizes in the Great Hall of the Castle.

The Chapman family have been running the hotel for 50 years, with its restaurant and brasserie,Brazz, considered one of the 20 best places to dine in Britain. This is due to its fame for culturing young talented English chefs, and giving them their first Head Chef position. Past incumbents include:

Christopher Oakes
Gary Rhodes
Phil Vickery

The current head chef is Richard Guest, who regained the Castle's Michelin star first awarded to Gary Rhodes and lost under Phil Vickery's tenure. Richard Guest also holds 3 AA rosettes.

The Castle is owned by Christopher (Kit) Chapman (brother of Gerald Chapman, the second generation of Chapmans to run the hotel.) Kit Chapman has written several books including "An Innkeepers Diary", about a year in the life of the hotel; where amongst other activities, Kit Chapman was on This is your life and when the hotel lost its Michelin star. He has also written 2 volumes of the title "Great British Chefs" championing British chefs including, not surprisingly, Gary Rhodes and Phil Vickery.