Kenilworth Castle

Now this is my kind of castle!

My last full day visiting my cousin started a little easy, having been out in Stratford the night before. We headed out to the Touchdown Café at Wellesbourne Airport around midday for a hearty full English before making the short journey north to Kenilworth.

The castle and town are commemorating the 750th anniversary of the siege of Kenilworth. The six month long siege between supporters of the late Lord, Simon de Monfort and the Crown forces was only lifted when disease and starvation forced the defenders to surrender, although they did so under favourable terms as a result of the failure of successive assaults.

The castle was originally established in the 1120s by the royal chamberlain, Geoffrey de Clinton who constructed a Norman great tower. Future enhancements included an outer circuit of stone walls and the creation of an artificial mere which made the castle the impressive fortress it was by the time of the siege.

By the time Elizabeth I granted the castle to her favourite, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, in 1563, the castle had been developed into a palace with the addition of a great hall and apartments and additional structures. Subsequent conversions were made by Leicester including the creation of the formal gardens and the great house entertained Elizabeth in a 19 day celebration in 1575.

The fortifications were dismantled in 1650 by Parliamentarian forces following the Civil War to prevent it's use in any potential future uprising.

The main picture looks out from Leicester's Building onto the remains of the State Apartments on the left and the Great Hall on the right.

The stairs leading to the upper floors of the Strong Tower are home to a few spiders whose webs adorn the staircases in my first extra.

There's a real treat for colour photo fans too with not one but two shots making up the remaining extras. The first of those is a shot of the castle looking from the outer court and the second looks out from the first floor of the Strong Tower overlooking the remains of the Norman Great tower to the left and the Great hall to the right. Of course, I had to have a play with those...