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| View of Robert Dudley Tudor phase left and 12th century keep from the entrance, May 2016 |
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| The Keep by Geoffrey de Clinton, in the 1120s |
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| Reconstruction of Robert Dudley's temporary garden for Elizabeth I, 2016 |
In these pages, I do not include normally the most famous sites as they are already well covered by books and photographs. However, Kenilworth, owned and run by English Heritage, is such a treat that I share a few photographs here with those who have not yet been. English Heritage has a splendid brochure with mouth-watering photographs. Pictures from both dates were taken around midday because of the journeys involved. Sunrise and sunset would give a wonderful glow to the stone.
Kenilworth Castle was founded in the 1120s during the Norman period. It was enlarged by King John in the early 1200s. Water defences were made by damming streams., with development through to the Tudor period. Kenilworth played an important historical role: it was the subject of the six-month-long siege of Kenilworth in 1266. This was during the Barons' War when the forces of Simon de Montefort fought against Prince Edward, later King Edward I. Kenilworth was the scene of the removal of Edward II from the English throne. John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, the son of King Edward III, turned the medieval castle into a palace fortress designed in the latest perpendicular style in the late 1300s. It was a base for Lancastrian operations in the Wars of the Roses. Kenilworth was the location for the perceived French insult to Henry V in 1414 of a gift of tennis balls (said by John Strecche to have prompted the campaign that led to the Battle of Agincourt in 1415). It was also the place of Robert Dudley, the Earl of Leicester's expanded the castle during his tenure in the 16th century, constructing new Tudor buildings and exploiting the medieval heritage of Kenilworth to produce a fashionable Renaissance palace. He gave a lavish reception for Elizabeth I in 1575.
Source: Wikipedia
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| View of Robert Dudley Tudor phase left and 12th century keep from the entrance, May 2016 |
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| The Keep by Geoffrey de Clinton, in the 1120s |
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| Reconstruction of Robert Dudley's temporary garden for Elizabeth I, 2016 |
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| Built by Robert Dudley in 1571 for the Queens' visit. | The range built for John of Gaunt in the period 1373- 1380 | |
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| Side of the keep, 2016 | Cellars in Gaunt's range | |
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| Garden Statue | Robert Dudley's Gatehouse |
1.0 Strict 