Kenilworth Castle

Early History

The first mention of Kenilworth dates back to 1086 - the Doomsday Book describes it as a small settlement in the Arden Forest . It is believed that earlier on the same spot on the Khom hill there was a fortress, which was built by King of Mercia Kenwulf and his son Kenelm , and their names gave the name of the fortress. This fortress was destroyed during the war between the Saxon king Edmund II and the Danish king Canute II . Around 1122, Jeffrey de Clinton , treasurer of Henry I , decided to build a castle on the site of the destroyed fortress, which was destined to become one of the most magnificent castles in England . Quarries were located nearby, which gave high-quality stone, and this was one of the reasons why Jeffrey chose this place for construction.

Simon de Montfort

Soon Kenilworth became too important to remain in the hands of a private person, and de Clinton was forced to hand over the castle to the Plantagenets . In 1244, King Henry III appointed Simon de Montfort , Earl of Leicester, to be the manager of the castle, and granted him and his wife Eleanor (who was the king’s sister) the right to live in the castle. The count, as the chroniclers wrote, “had a wonderful arrangement of the castle and kept in it many military vehicles and devices never before seen in England”.

In 1265, Simon de Montfort and his eldest son were killed at the Battle of Evesham . Kenilworth moved on to the next oldest son of de Montfort, who was also named Simon and who survived the battle due to the fact that, together with some allies, he managed to escape from the battlefield.

Deciding to take revenge, Simon sent his soldiers to rob and burn settlements on enemy lands. In the summer of 1266, King Henry III, who was informed of the actions of Simon, sent an army to the castle. Once at the walls of Kenilworth, Henry discovered that the castle was almost impregnable - it was surrounded by such a wide moat that it was impossible to get close and dig up the walls. As a result, the siege of the castle lasted six months - it was the longest siege in English history. Both the attackers and the besieged used catapults and other military vehicles. However, the siege could not last forever. When food supplies ran out and pestilence began in the castle, Kenilworth fell. Simon only asked the king to give him four days to pack up and leave the castle.

Elizabeth I and Lord Dudley

The kings, the subsequent owners of the castle, continued to decorate and improve it. In the 14th century, John Gaunt attached the Great Hall, kitchens and the Grand Chamber to the castle. John was the son of King Edward III , and when Edward died, Richard II ascended the throne. At that time, Richard was only 12 years old, so in fact, John ruled the country. His daughter, Joan , married Ralph Neville . They had a son, Richard , and one in turn, a son, Richard Neville, the 16th Earl of Warwick , nicknamed the Kingmaker .

In 1563, Queen Elizabeth I bestowed Kenilworth on her favorite Robert , Lord Dudley. A year later, she awarded him the titles of Baron Denby and Earl of Leicester. Wanting to please the queen, Robert turned the castle into a real palace. He rebuilt some parts of the building, made in the heavy Norman style, in accordance with the requirements of the era - for example, narrow lancet windows were enlarged to allow more light into the room.

Elizabeth visited Robert three times in Kenilworth - in 1566, 1568 and 1575. On one of her visits, which occurred in mid-July and lasted 19 days, Robert spent up to £ 1,000 a day on entertainment and treating the Queen.

The splendor of these festivities overshadowed all such tricks that have been taking place in England so far. Historians wrote that Elizabeth arrived at the castle around 8 pm. Along the way, she was met by an oracle, "elegantly dressed in a white silk dress." He expressed his admiration for the queen in verse and predicted a long and happy reign for her. When Elizabeth approached the first gate of Kenilworth, six trumpeters appeared on the castle wall, who greeted the queen with the sounds of fanfare. After that, Elizabeth was presented with the keys to the castle. When the queen passed the gate, she was met by the legendary Lady of the Lake - in the light of torches, she sailed across the lake towards the queen in a boat disguised as an island, accompanied by nymphs dressed in silk clothes. The sounds of flute and drums and the roar of fireworks was heard at a distance of 20 miles.

Shakespeare was only 11 years old during the visit of the queen and probably he could witness the triumphs in her honor. Researchers believe that the play “A Midsummer Night's Dream” , which Shakespeare wrote 20 years later, was created on the basis of memories of those grandiose festivities.

Clarendon Counts

In the XVII century, after the Restoration of the Stuarts , King Charles II ascended the throne. He gave the castle to Sir Edward Hyde , who became Baron of Kenilworth and Earl of Clarendon. The castle remained the property of the Earls of Clarendon until 1937, and then it was bought by Sir John Siddle. On the 400th anniversary of the accession of Elizabeth I to the throne, his son gave the castle a castle. In 1984, the English Heritage organization took custody of the castle.

• List of castles in England
• “ The Ruins of Kenilworth Castle ” is a painting by the Belgian artist Guillaume van der Hecht from the collection of the State Hermitage Museum.
• Kenilworth is a Walter Scott novel.

• Castle page on the site of the organization "English Heritage"
• An article from The Penny Magazine
• Castle Photos on Flickr.com