Kenilworth Castle

Last week B wanted a lift to a pub to meet friends for lunch so D and I dropped him off and carried on to Kenilworth Castle.  As expected it was busy there but at least we managed to park fairly easily. 

I will give the history of Kenilworth Castle for any new readers but if you have read my blogs on the castle before I would skip this bit.

• The first castle at Kenilworth was built in the 1120's by Geoffrey de Clinton (The Royal Chamberlain) who had been given the land by Henry I.  He built the Great Tower (or Norman Keep) and also founded Kenilworth Priory nearby.
• In the early C13th King John added an outer circuit wall and built a dam to retain a large lake. The castle was now well defended and withstood a siege in 1266.
• John of Gaunt, son of Edward III, built the Great Hall and its apartments.
• C15th Lancastrian kings visited to hunt and Henry V built a retreat at the end of the lake called "The Pleasance in the Marsh".
• In 1563 Elizabeth I gave the castle to Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester.  He turned the castle into a place where he could entertain her building apartments and a privy garden for her use.
• After the Civil War the fortifications were removed and in 1650 Colonel Hawkesworth, a Parliamentarian Officer, turned Leicester's Gatehouse into a private residence.
• In 1958 Lord Kenilworth gave the castle to the people of Kenilworth and it has been managed by English Heritage since 1984.

I think this is part of a Folktale Creature Trail for children.

Great Tower or Norman Keep

Queen Elizabeth's apartments

Lord Leicester's Gatehouse

We spent most of our time walking around the Queen's Privy Garden. Originally this was a private garden for Elizabeth I  created by Robert Dudley.  This was recreated by English Heritage in 2009.  The designed was based on descriptions by Robert Longham who sneaked into the garden in the C16th.  Archaeological surveys and historical research were also used to help plan the garden.

The Aviary

 

 

The Swan Tower in the north west corner of the outer curtain wall  may once have been part of C13th defence. It was perhaps altered in the C14th  and then converted for use as a small banqueting house for the C16th privy garden.

Plants in Walls - Mystery plant growing on top of the curtain wall.

Lunn's Tower

We then went for lunch. Again we were hoping for a toasted sandwich but again they hadn't got any!  D had the last cheese scone which meant I had a fruit one!

We popped in the gift shop and I bought an English Heritage book with old fashioned traditional recipes.  Then on our way to picking up B we stopped off at the farm shop. It was good to get out for a few hours.  

Reference EH Guide Book to Kenilworth Castle

All photos taken by me and D with the Panasonic Lumix FZ330 bridge camera. (I don't particularly rate my photos but if anyone wishes to use one of mine or my son's I would be grateful for an email first - thanks).

Another Trip to Herefordshire - Part 4: More from Croft Castle - The Walled Garden and Castle Interior

 

On the Saturday afternoon after we had looked around the Ghost Tree Exhibition we wandered into the 3.5 acre walled garden which was restored in the 1950's.  The restoration was due to Diana Uhlman, her daughter Caroline Compton, the gardener and volunteers.  Diana wanted to reflect the "Picturesque" Movement.

The Owain Glyndwr Connection

Owain Glyndwr's daughter married Sir John Croft in the 1390's so the Croft family were caught up in Glyndwr's 1400 Welsh revolt against the reign of King Henry IV of England.

Following Owain Glyndwr's final defeat he evaded capture and was last seen in 1412.  It has been suggested the prince moved between Monnington Straddle at Vowchurch and Croft Castle during his final days.  He may have died at Croft Castle. In 1920 the base of the turret room in the SE tower was excavated and there is speculaton that the tall skeleton found there was that of Owain Glyndwr.

However it has to be said that I have also heard that he was buried in a mound at Monnington Straddle and a Welsh historian has suggested he is buried in the chapel at Kimbolton church (based on evidence from manuscripts in the National Archives).

Wyvern and lion (the latter emblematic of the Croft's family coat of arms) standing guard at the main door to the castle.

I left B sitting on a bench and had a quick look round the interior rooms that are open to the public. Despite having been to Croft Castle many times in recent years this is actually the first time I have ventured into it!

There are 6 rooms downstairs and one upstairs that you can see although I didn't bother with the latter. It was a really quick whizz round the rooms as I also wanted to revisit the church and it wasn't fair to leave B sitting on a bench for too long.

Principal Salon

The Blue Room

Ghosts

There are reports of two ghosts appearing from time to time at Croft Castle. Firstly, a tall ghostly man dressed in leather who could be Owain Glyndwr who had a connection with the castle (see above).

Secondly, sightings of the benign ghost of Sir James Croft who built today's castle. The ghost can be seen when building work is in progress. He appears for a few seconds as if inspecting the changes and then fades away.

There are already far too many photos in this blog post! so I will write about my visit to St Michael and All Angels in a separate post.

All photos taken by me with the Panasonic Lumix FZ330 bridge camera. (I don't particularly rate my photos but if anyone wishes to use one of mine or my son's I would be grateful for an email first - thanks).

Reference:

National Trust Guide Book to Croft Castle

"Haunted Herefordshire" by Rupert Matthew, Logaston Press, 2008.