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Top 10 Unbelievable Facts about Kenilworth Castle

Kenilworth Castle was built in the 1120s. The castle was built by Geoffrey de Clinton, who was King Henry I’s treasurer. Over the centuries, changes were made to the castle by Henry II and King John. From 1210 to 1215, King John fortified the castle making it impenetrable. In 1266 when Henry III tried to gain access to the castle, it did not falter. The 6-month siege saw the resident anarchists give in only when their food ran out.

From 1563, Kenilworth Castle was the property of Robert Dudley, the Earl of Leicester. Dudley was said to be the queen’s, true love. He made extensive renovations to the castle as a way of making it fit for the queen and her entourage. After the English Civil War, the castle began to decline.

The castle was shunned and condemned to ruin in 1649 after being under Parliamentarian rule since August 1642. It later became a tourist destination and has been visited by renowned people including Queen Victoria, Charles Dickens, and J. M. W. Turner.

Below are ten amazing facts about Kenilworth castle.

1. Kenilworth’s Castle ruins became well known more than a century after it was condemned

Kenilworth Castle, Keep on the left and windows of the Great Hall on the right. Photo by Robek/

One of England’s most amazing castles, Kenilworth is surrounded by a big man-made lake. It stood in the middle of a big hunting ground and was the prize for all those who owned it.

Over the years, Kenilworth has been owned by several people including Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, Henry V, and John of Gaunt. After being dismantled in 1650, the castle ruins became popular in 1821 due to Walter Scott’s novel titled Kenilworth.

2. Henry I, granted his chamberlain the land on which Kenilworth Castle was built

A model of Kenilworth Castle is on permanent display in the site’s visitor center. This model shows the castle as it may have appeared from about 1575 to 1580. Photo by Hchc2009 /

Henry I, who reigned from 1100 to 1135, gave Geoffrey de Clinton, his chamberlain and treasurer land from his manor of Stoneleigh. De Clinton who died in 1133, gave the southern part of the land to the Augustinian priory he founded in 1124.

De Clinton kept the northern part for a park, castle, and mere. A generation later, the castle was in the possession of the royal family. Henry II, who reigned from 1154 to 1189, garrisoned the castle from his rebellious sons from 1173 to 1174. In 1180, Henry II out rightly acquired the castle.

3. Kenilworth Castle was fortified at a cost of about GBP 1,100

Kenilworth castle, view from the South West. Photo by ChrisSinjo on Flickr/

King John who reigned from 1199 to 1216, spent about GBP 1,100 making Kenilworth the fortress it became. He built the dam, towers, and curtain walls. Henry III, who reigned after John from 1216 to 1272, gave the castle to his sister Eleanor and her husband.

Simon de Monfort, Eleanor’s husband was the 6th Earl of Leicester. In 1265 de Montfort died at the Battle of Evesham and his son Simon took over the castle. In a six months siege, Simon held Kenilworth against the king and surrendered it on 13 December 1266.

4. The Ownership of Kenilworth castle has changed hands several times over the years

Kenilworth Castle in Warwickshire is a very imposing ruin with a very colourful history, which includes Simon de Montfort, Henry III,John of Gaunt and Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. Photo by Dave/

With Kenilworth Castle under Henry III, the king gave the land, title, and castle to Prince Edmund (1245 to 1296), who was his second son. Edmund became the 1st Earl of Lancaster and Kenilworth remained in the royal family for a century. Edmund’s son Thomas who died in 1322, became the 2nd Earl of Lancaster in 1303.

Thomas acquired rights that enabled him to include a hunting park on the castle grounds and a chapel. Thomas was estranged from his first cousin Edward II who reigned from 1307 to 1327. By the 1320s Thomas had rebelled against his cousin and in 1322,

Thomas was captured and executed. Edward II held onto Kenilworth for only four years. After this duration, Thomas’s brother Henry (1326 to 1345), who was the 3rd Earl of Lancaster, held Edward prisoner. Edward was later forced to surrender the throne.

5. Kenilworth Castle was rebuilt by John of Gaunt

Gaunt’s great hall in Kenilworth. Photo by Adam Pontiek on Flickr/

The fourth son of Edward III, who reigned from 1327 to 1377 John of Gaunt, gained ownership of Kenilworth Castle. Gaunt got the castle after marrying the Lancastrian heiress, Blanche who died in 1368. John and Blanche were married for only 9 years.

Gaunt’s second wife, whom he married in 1371, was the daughter of the king of Castile and León. Having acquired his father-in-law’s titles, Gaunt began rebuilding Kenilworth Castle.

6. It took two decades to Rebuild Kenilworth Castle

Photo of Kenilworth Castle taken in 2005. Photo by David Stowell/

Construction of the castle took 20 years. It included building the great hall, remodeling kitchens, services, and apartments, as well as works on the park, and bridge, and enclosing the garden.

7. Kenilworth Castle became part of the crown estate for one and a half centuries

Kenilworth Castle by George Willis Pryce. Photo by Thomas Cubitt/

In 1399, Henry IV who was Gaunt’s son became king. At that time Kenilworth became a part of the Crown estate where it stayed for 150 years. The Lancastrian kings preferred the castle due to the hunting grounds.

8. Sir Robert Dudley was granted Kenilworth in 1553

A marble fireplace in Leicester’s Gatehouse, Kenilworth Castle, Warwickshire, with initials “RL” of Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester (1532-1588) and the Ragged Staff heraldic badge, used by the Earls of Warwick. Photo by James Fishwick on Flickr/

Different kinds of construction took place at Kenilworth over the years. Henry VII who reigned from 1485 to 1509, built a tennis court. A ‘banqueting house’ at the Pleasance was brought down by Henry VIII who reigned from 1509 to 1547 and rebuilt within the castle.

In 1553, John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland from 1551 to 1553, was granted, Kenilworth Castle. He was the de facto regent in the later period of Edward VI’s reign. Dudley built the stables at Kenilworth before he was executed.

9. Kenilworth Castle was seized from the Dudley Family

Kenilworth Castle gatehouse landscape. Photo by Jdforrester/

James I who reigned from 1603 to 1625, ordered Sir Robert Dudley to return from the Continent 20 years after Leicester’s death in 1588. Dudley refused to obey and the Crown seized Kenilworth Castle from him.  

Henry, Prince of Wales, bought the castle and its estates four years later. In 1612, Charles I inherited the castle after his brother died. He used it on a regular basis and then gave it away in 1626. Charles gave the castle to Robert Carey, the Earl of Monmouth.

10. Kenilworth Castle was made untenable in 1649

Kenilworth castle ,seen across the site of the mere,part of the once-massive water defences which surrounded it. The Castle held out for months against a siege by Henry III in 1266. Queen Elizabeth I made three visits during the Earl Of Leicester’s (Dudley) ownership. Photo by Dave/

In August 1642, at the beginning of the Civil War, the Parliamentarian army took over Kenilworth Castle. The castle did not see any action. The new regime did not want to incur the cost of maintaining the castle and opted to make Kenilworth ‘untenable’.

The north wall and the outer curtain wall were destroyed. Colonel Joseph Hawkesworth purchased the castle, the estate Carey’s interest in them after the war. Hawkesworth shared the estate amongst his comrades and kept the castle for himself.