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Deal Castle is one of the finest Tudor artillery castles in England. It is among the earliest and most elaborate of a chain of coastal forts,which also includes Calshot, Camber,Walmer and Pendennis Castles.Most were built 'with all speed, and...

Spectacularly situated above the white cliffs on the Kent coastline, Dover Castle boasts a fascinating history. Explore Henry II's medieval Great Tower and the labyrinth of Secret Wartime Tunnels.

Dramatic Dunstanburgh Castle was built at a time when relations between King Edward II and his most powerful baron, Earl Thomas of Lancaster, had become openly hostile. Lancaster began the fortress in 1313, and the latest archaeological research carried...

Etal was built in the mid-14th century by Robert Manners as a defence against Scots raiders, in a strategic position by a ford over the River Till. It fell to James IV's invading Scots army in 1513, immediately before their catastrophic defeat at...

In a picturesque valley of the river Frome, on the border between Wiltshire and Somerset and 9 miles from Bath stands the remains of Farleigh Hungerford Castle. Started in the 14th century it still has much for the visitor to enjoy and provides a great...

The impressive motte and shell keep of a castle founded in 1138 by Bishop Henry of Blois. Long a residence of the wealthy bishops of Winchester, the accommodation in the keep was updated in the 1520s. The keep was abandoned after Civil War service: but...

Framlingham is a magnificent example of a late 12th-century castle. Built by Roger Bigod, Earl of Norfolk, one of the most influential people at the court of the Plantagenet kings, the castle, together with Framlingham Mere, was designed both as a...

Goodrich stands majestically on a wooded hill commanding the passage of the River Wye into the picturesque valley of Symonds Yat. The castle was begun in the late 11th century, by the English thegn Godric who gave it his name. A generation later the...

Surrounded by spectacular banks and ditches, the great medieval castle's impressive ruins stand beside the attractive market town of Helmsley. The fortress was probably begun after 1120 by Walter Espec - 'Walter the Woodpecker'. Renowned for piety as...

One of the most advanced of the artillery fortresses built by Henry VIII: used as a prison for eminent 17th-century captives, and later strengthened during the 19th and 20th centuries. It commands the narrow entrance to the Solent.

A vast medieval fortress which became anElizabethan palace, Kenilworth Castle is one of Britain's largest and most impressive historic sites. Extensive recent developments highlight its famous associations with Queen Elizabeth I and her favourite,...

The riverside ruins of an Augustinian priory, picturesquely set in the beautiful Derwent valley near the Yorkshire Wolds. Features include a gatehouse bedecked with the heraldry of the De Roos family of Helmsley Castle, and a handsome set of...

Set on a large natural mound, Launceston Castle dominates the surrounding landscape. Begun soon after the Norman Conquest, its focus is an unusual keep consisting of a 13th-century round tower built by Richard, Earl of Cornwall, inside an earlier...

John Fortin, a merchant who traded with Bordeaux, started building this house c. 1290. A residence and place of business, it stood on one of the busiest streets in medieval Southampton. Now restored to its mid-14th-century appearance by the removal of...

The childhood and favourite home of Richard III, Middleham Castle was a fortress of the mighty Neville family, Earls of Westmoreland and of Warwick. Around the massive 12thcentury central keep, they progressively constructed three ranges of luxurious...

Commanding a vital ford over the River Tweed, Norham was one of the strongest of the border castles, and the most often attacked by the Scots. Besieged at least 13 times - once for nearly a year by Robert Bruce - it was called 'the most dangerous and...

The remains of the largest castle in Devon, in an outstandingly picturesque setting on a wooded spur above the rushing River Okement. Begun soon after the Norman Conquest as a motte and bailey castle with a stone keep, it was converted into a...

Discover the story of the orginal Salisbury and take the family for a day out to Old Sarum, 2 miles north of where the city stands now. The mighty Iron Age hill fort was where the first cathedral once stood and the Romans, Normans and Saxons have all...

Set in the peaceful Wiltshire countryside beside a lake, Old Wardour Castle, near Tisbury was once one of the most daring and innovative homes in Britain. It was built in the 14th century as a lightly fortified luxury residence for comfortable living and...

The unique polygonal towerkeep of Orford Castle stands beside the pretty town and former port which Henry II also developed here in the 1160s. His aim was to counterbalance the power of turbulent East Anglian barons like Hugh Bigod of Framlingham, and to...