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Kenilworth Castle

(vero;2022-July-15)

We also have a blog entry about our visit of Kenilworth Castle.

Located south of Coventry and near Warwick this is a castle steeped in history. It is mainly the creation of three men and each building within the walls reflects its creator: the keep was built by Geoffrey de Clinton in the 1120s , John of Gaunt Duke of Lancaster added a whole new wing with the great hall and apartments in the 14th century and finally Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester who was given the castle by Queen Elizabeth I built a new residence just for her, Leicester's building the so called Elizabethan Palace in the 16th century. The castle was dismantled during the Civil War by the Parliamentarian Forces but what remains is still very impressive and worth the visit: one of the highlight of our EH season.

Panorama of Kenilworth castle seen from the base court. From left to right: Leicester's building (Robert Dudley's Elizabethan palace), John of Gaunt's palace with the great hall and Geoffrey de Clinton's keep. Press F to expand the picture to its real size and use the bottom scroll bar to navigate through it.

The keep on the right and a part of the 14th century castle seen from Dudley's Elizabethan palace. Press F to expand the picture to its real size and use the bottom scroll bar to navigate through it.

View of Dudley's Elizabethan palace from outside the walls.

The Norman keep was built three stories high with walls four metres wide and is a dominant feature of the castle. Originally built in the 12th century by Geoffrey de Clinton, it was strengthened by King John Lackland a century later and modified for entertaining by Robert Dudley in 1570.

Leicester's gatehouse. Built in the 1570s by Robert Dudley this was the new castle entrance and was transformed into a private house after 1650, the only part of the castle which survived dismantling during the Civil War. It has been left furnished as it was when it was last used in the late 1930s. Inside is the so-called Elizabethan bedroom and the Oak Room which contains an ornate alabaster fireplace which once stood in Elizabeth I's private rooms in Leicester's building.

The Oak Room in Leicester's gatehouse: the alabaster fireplace bearing Dudley's shield and his motto "Droit et Loyal" meaning Just and Loyal.

The Oak Room in Leicester's gatehouse: detail of the fireplace with Dudley's shield displaying in bend the "Ragged Staff" of the Earls of Warwick, with the letters R and L for Robert Leicester in other words, Robert Dudley. Around the shield is the motto of the Order of the Garter of which Dudley was a Knight: honi soit qui mal y pense (shame on him who thinks evil of it).

The Oak Room in Leicester's gatehouse: carved oak panel.

Leicester's gatehouse: bedroom furnished as it was left by the last occupants in the late 1930s. The door on the right leads to a small oratory.

Small garden next to Leicester's gatehouse.

Remains of Lunn's tower next to Leicester's gatehouse.

The timber-framed stables. Attached right to them are the remains of the Water tower. The marks on the ground in front of it are the foundations of the Collegiate chapel.

John of Gaunt's palace seen from the west.

Geoffrey de Clinton’s keep with original Norman round-headed windows on the ground floor and Elizabethan windows inserted by Robert Dudley into 12th-century apertures on the first floor. The windows on the left are from the Elizabethan palace.

The Elizabethan gardens created by Robert Dudley to please Elizabeth I and recreated from documents of the time by English Heritage. The pavilion at the back is an aviary and there is a Carrara marble fountain in the middle.

Detail of a base panel of the marble fountain in the Elizabethan garden.

Bear and Ragged Staff in the Elizabethan garden. The Bear and Ragged Staff are a heraldic emblem or badge associated with the Earldom of Warwick, title held by John Dudley (Robert Dudley's father) and Ambrose Dudley (Robert's elder brother who owned Warwick Castle).

The castle was built of local sandstone, some of which stands today quite eroded by time and weather.

The great hall seen from the place where the palace's kitchens once stood.

Storage room in the lower level of John of Gaunt's palace. The ceilings were made of stone, built to last (and they did!)

The 14th century palace: the lower level was used for storage and service spaces at the time of John of Gaunt. The great hall was in the first floor, where the ornate windows are. The hall had six huge fireplaces to warm the place, one of which is visible on this picture.

View of John of Gaunt's palace from the keep. The lower level was underground and the great hall was at the level where the huge windows are.

The keep with its original Norman round-headed windows on the ground floor and the Elizabethan windows on the first floor. The arched door on the left was the entrance to a spiral staircase which led to the upper levels and connected the keep with John of Gaunt's kitchen aisle.

View of John of Gaunt's palace. The adjoining building on the right with the wide arch was the kitchen aisle.

View of the Elizabethan garden from the keep.

John of Gaunt's palace seen from Leicester's building.

Leicester's building partly hidden by a tree seen from the base court.

The elegant windows of Leicester's building.

Go back to EH North East Sites or go on to Audley End House

$updated from: English Heritage Snapshots.htxt Mon 04 Mar 2024 16:04:47 trvl2 (By Vero and Thomas Lauer)$