Archaeological monitoring and recording was undertaken during the installation of new foul drainage to link Stourhead House to the mains sewer network. The new sewer was designed to sit above the remains of the demolished Stourton Castle (the precursor to Stourhead House), consequently no further building remains were exposed. The monitoring revealed that Stourton Castle appears to have been built either in a terrace cut into the natural landscape or on a flatter part of the natural topography. Demolition deposits beneath the 18th century landscaping deposits suggests that building was about 55 m long. No activity pre-dating the existing yard was found in the Stable Courtyard Area and no evidence was found to confirm the hypothesis that the Stable Courtyard originated as part of the outer court of Stourton Castle.
Peter S Bellamy (2025) studied this question.