Background Information

Among the largest and most impressive historic sites in England, Kenilworth Castle is a vast complex of ruined fortifications and palatial apartments spanning over five centuries. With English Heritage's re-opening of Leicester's Gatehouse and two new exhibitions charting the castle's history, along with work on the Elizabethan garden, there is now more than ever to see here.

Kenilworth's many and varied buildings and architectural styles reflect its long connection with successive English monarchs and their favourites. Its founder was Geoffrey de Clinton, Henry I's treasurer, who began the massive Norman keep at the core of the castle in the 1120s. Judged too strong for a subject, Kenilworth thereafter became a royal fortress. King John greatly strengthened it between 1210 and 1215, enlarging the surrounding watery 'mere' which effectively made it an island stronghold. Thus it could withstand an epic siege in 1266, when rebellious barons held out against Henry III's siege engines for six months, succumbing only to starvation.

During the 1390s, John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, rebuilt the splendid great hall and staterooms of Kenilworth's inner court. His grandson Henry V created in its grounds the moated summerhouse called the Pleasaunce: here too, according to tradition, he received the insulting French 'gift' of tennis-balls which sparked off the Agincourt campaign. Henry VIII added more grand apartments: but it was his daughter Queen Elizabeth's favourite, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, who left the greatest impression on Kenilworth, and gave it its greatest fame. Granted Kenilworth in 1563, Dudley lavished fortunes on converting it into a palace fit to receive Queen Elizabeth and her court. It was here that she was entertained for 19 days in 1575. Not content with adapting the existing buildings, he added the towering mansion-sized 'Leicester's Building' - complete with a purpose-built 'dancing chamber' - specifically for her use: as well as a noble new entrance to his quasi-royal palace,'Leicester's Gatehouse'.

Though largely unscathed during the Civil War, Kenilworth was afterwards rendered indefensible and gradually fell into dilapidation. Made famous by Walter Scott's romantic novel, Kenilworth (1821), it came into the care of the state in 1938.

2006 saw the part-completion of a multi-million pound investment project at Kenilworth Castle, including two major new exhibitions, excavations of the Elizabethan gardens and the restoration of Leicester's Gatehouse, which up until then had been closed to the public for decades. The gatehouse is now fully restored and open: chambers on the lower floors have been dressed and furnished as they might have appeared when the gatehouse was last inhabited in the 1930s, and the top floor houses the Queen and Castle: Robert Dudley's Kenilworth exhibition. Featuring items both from museums and private collections, the exhibition tells the story of Elizabeth I's relationship with Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester.

New for 2008:

For the visit of Queen Elizabeth I in 1575, Robert Dudley created a magnificent garden, complete with fountains, ornate borders and a twenty foot high bird aviary. Work will continue throughout 2008 to recreate this stunning Elizabethan garden. The completed garden will be opened in late Spring 2009.