English Heritage

Early 13th CenturyStrengthened Defences

King John adds an outer circuit of stone walls and a dam to hold back a great lake, during a campaign to strengthen England’s major royal castles

1253-65De Montfort's Renovations

Henry III gives Kenilworth to his sister Eleanor and her husband, Simon de Montfort, who probably create the outwork known as the Brays.

1266Great Siege

De Montfort's son holds the castle against the king through a six-month siege. Henry III then grants it to his second son, Prince Edmund.

1322Royal Rebellion

Edmund's son Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster, rebels against Edward II and is executed.

1326Royal Abdication

Thomas's brother Henry holds Edward II prisoner at Kenilworth, where he resigns his throne.

1359-80John of Gaunt

The Lancastrian heiress, Blanche, marries Edward III's third son, John of Gaunt. He rebuilds many of Kenilworth's buildings on a grand scale.

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15th CenturyRoyal Favour

The castle is the favoured residence of the Lancastrian kings, drawn by the excellent hunting. Henry V builds the 'Pleasance in the Marsh' at the far end of the lake.

1563-75Fit for a Queen

Elizabeth I grants the castle to her favourite, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. He converts it into a great house for her entertainment, embellishes the park and lays out a garden for her private use.

1650-51Parliamentary Estate

After the Civil War, the castle's fortifications are dismantled. Colonel Joseph Hawkesworth buys Kenilworth on behalf of a group of Parliamentarian soldiers.

1821Kenilworth in Fiction

The ivy-clad ruins become famous as the setting for Sir Walter Scott's novel Kenilworth, which romanticises the story of Robert Dudley, Elizabeth I and Dudley's wife, Amy Robsart.

1937Ministry of Works

Car manufacturer Sir John Siddeley buys Kenilworth and gives the Ministry of Works a large sum of money to fund repairs and open it to visitors.

1958Town Ownership

Siddeley's son Cyril, 2nd Baron Kenilworth, gives the castle to Kenilworth Town Council on the 400th anniversary of the accession of Elizabeth I.

1984-PresentRestoration and Management

English Heritage takes over management. The Elizabethan garden is recreated in 2009.

Learn more about Kenilworth Castle