Kenilworth Castle

Kenilworth Castle was built in 1122 AD

Purlieu Lane, Kenilworth

CV8 1NE

Only a few miles south of Coventry Kenilworth sits in rolling countryside and must have been a remarkably atmospheric place when Robert Dudley transformed the medieval fortress into a luxurious palace where he famously entertained Queen Elizabeth the first.

The first surprise is that Kenilworth is so big. The name never registered in my conciousness like Warwick, Windsor or Hever Castle, yet it dwarfs the latter and is a good match to the former two.

The name Kenilworth is believed to derive from the saxon for 'Cynehild's Enclosure'. Kenilworth Castle has a classic Norman keep and lots of ruined buildings. Kenilworth, like so many of our historic castles was slighted after the civil war.

The earlier history of the castle is bound up with royal struggles for power. King Edward II was imprisoned at Kenilworth Castle in 1326.

The 1266 siege of Kenilworth lasted for nine months and the castle only surrendered to the forces of King Henry III after disease ran rife within the walls.

Fifty years earlier it was King John who payed for extensive improvements to be made to the structure of Kenilworth Castle. By then it was already getting close to a centry old, having been originally built by King Henry I's chamberlain, Geoffrey de Clinton.

One of the great medieval castles of England.

 

 

 

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