Clearwell Castle is a mock Gothic mansion located in Clearwell, Gloucestershire. First known as Clearwell Court, it was built for Thomas Wyndham in 1728 to replace an older house which occupied same site. Its name was changed to Clearwell Castle in 1908.
The building was constructed of local stone in Gothic style with battlements. It has an imposing gateway formed by two three-storey towers.
For a time after 1947 it lay empty and deserted but in 1953 it was bought and restored by the son of the former estate under-gardener, Frank Yeates. Frank sold his bakery business in Blackpool and along with his wife, Alice, and two sons, Graham and Bernard worked quietly and tirelessly to restore the Castle room by room to its former glory until his death in 1973. Friends and relatives would spend their spare time and holidays helping the family work on the Castle. ("Clearwell Castle - a Family Affair" Cathryn Yeates 1987)
In the 1970s Clearwell Castle was used regularly as a rehearsal and recording studio by bands including Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Sweet, Mott the Hoople and Bad Company. Deep Purple wrote their album Burn there in 1973. Peter Frampton recorded his 1975 album "Frampton" there. Led Zeppelin composed and rehearsed some of their album In Through the Out Door there in 1978. Black Sabbath came to the castle in 1973 seeking inspiration after a series of fruitless writing sessions in California. The band found what they were looking for (including "the riff that saved Black Sabbath") in an underground recording studio built by the Yeates family there, writing the critically acclaimed album Sabbath Bloody Sabbath.
Clearwell Castle is now a wedding venue.