Published on 12, July, 2020
Inspired by an off-the-cuff remark I made in another thread, I thought I would actually start this thread off.
Please share your favourite castle (or Mediaeval Abbey, Friary, or Priory), if possible with a picture and saying a little bit about it.
I will kick off with Corfe Castle. A picturesque ruin in Dorset (belonging to the National Trust), and as a bonus can be reached by steam train from Swanage with one of the finest 'railway views' in Britain! A good view from the castle as well
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I like the Tower of London too - it's just so expensive to go around it.
It's also wonky - it's not symmetrical left & right - and the right side is much more ornate than the 'sinister' left side.
I have visited most of the castles in the UK and i think that they each have their own charms. I live near Windsor and so I am rather partial to that one as it is still a lived in royal castle and the Tower of London is also a favourite as I love the ravens there.
Very impressive cathedral. Once the tallest building in the world before the central spire fell down in a storm. And apparently it once had three spires but somehow lost the others too.
You get a double-whammy in Lincoln - a castle and a cathedral on top of the tallst hill around. You can take a precarious walk in both - around the battlements of the castle and walk on the roof of the cathedral - impressive views all around!
Yes, the tower on the right of the picture was blasted by Oliver in the sleighting of the castle following the civil war and leans at a greater angle than that of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. You can just about see that it's leaning in the picture.
I’ve actually visited Caerphilly castle a few times in the noughties. I have to say it’s a pretty impressive monster of a castle, it has so many towers! And if I remember correctly one of the towers was leaning rather precariously!
Oh yay! I do love a good castle :-) or more I love reading the history of Tudor and medieval monarchs and their families, which is usually based in various castles which then makes me want to visit those castles so I can try to imagine what they might have been like back in the day. I have a pretty good collection of castle guidebooks. Kenilworth is actually the other side of the country to me but we have family in Worcestershire so when we visited in 2013 I made a point of detouring both on the way there and the way back so that I could visit Kenilworth. I do fear sadly that the ruined state of many of these buildings combined with the concrete jungle that we now live in stops us fully appreciating just how majestic and imposing and symbolic of wealth these great castles must have been when they were initially built. We’ve had English Heritage membership cards since 2012 so that affords me the luxury of being able to visit many wonderful and intriguing castles at minimal cost, though I’ll try to be (reasonably) restrained on here, I won’t post every castle that I’ve visited.
so I’ll start with the place where we initially signed up for the English Heritage membership cards which was Battle Abbey near Hastings. I’m pretty sure that most people know the basic history of the battle of Hastings, fought on the grounds of the Abbey so I won’t repeat it here. They do quite a substantial re-enactment there every October to mark the anniversary of the battle of Hastings, something which I would love to watch in person, apparently the re-enactors even camp on site in makeshift huts reminiscent of the time. Incidentally I’m planning on doing my archery instructor course this year (to help with my voluntary work in scouting) so I can live in hope that one day they might let me in as a re-enactor.
Yep, you had some weird property owners in the 19th century. More money than sense... or taste sometimes.
Unless you knew at the time, it looks very impressive and from the picture looks as if it would fool most people.
Caerphilly Castle in South Wales, about eight miles north of Cardiff is reputed to be the second largest Castle in Europe (after Windsor), although that includes its defences, moats and lakes.
Before 1950 it looked so much different, the lake had been drained and there were buildings standing nearly up to the castle (the castle is in the centre of town despite what it looks like on the picture). Lord Bute paid for the restoration work and reflooding of the lake and it is now one of the finest castles anywhere in Britain. And it is huge!
Arundel is lovely - it was completely remodelled just over a hundred years ago to look like a medieval castle - so it's all fake. All the floors, walls and ceilings are perfectly straight & flat and it's all in 'as new' condition.
Worth a trip out to see it.
Don't feel you have to choose just one, when I get back to my computer later on I will put another one on and probably more in the coming days.
I like Kenilwoth castle, one of the nearest to me and was the nearest to my birth town. Must have looked really splendid before the lake surrounding was drained.
This is a difficult one as I have visited many beautiful castles, each with a wealth of fascinating history. However, I’d have to choose Kenilworth Castle in Warwickshire. This castle first appealed to me while I was reading a book about the romance between Queen Elizabeth the 1st and Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester (the castle was granted to Dudley by Elizabeth in 1563 and he hosted her and her entourage there when they were on progress). Previous owners also include John of Gaunt and Henry V. Despite now being in a semi ruined state, there remains a wealth of both medieval and Tudor architecture at Kenilworth. It also evoked for me intrigue at its fascinating history and inspired me to read/research more books detailing said history.
Predictably, my favourite is Cinderella's Castle in The Magic Kingdom.
And a close second is Leeds Castle
In my more recent travels I visited several castles, some are complete ruins and unsafe. The best value for money is the castle of the counts in the Belgium city of Gent. It has a long history and has been renovated gently to make it safe for tourists.
From the complete castle walls there are nice views of the city.
And also there are medieval toilets in the walls, where the excrement goes down the outside wall. On my visit there was a strong smell of urine near these places,. Obviously someone had been using them as was intended.
As children we grew up in a deprived inner city area with no castles. However several Sundays a year, my father took the whole family to Roundhay park which was on a direct bus route and at the city edge. There I finally experienced some fresh air and my first castle. I must have visited this castle over 50 times in my childhood because we followed the same long routes through the park and woodlands.
Many years later I was reading a book about the park and discovered that this castle wasn't the medival relic that I had imagined. But in fact a 19th century folly. And the it had only existed as a partially built castle gate. And nothing else.
@trainspotter love the journey Swanage to Corfe . Have had some fantastic holidays in that part of the world.
My favourite Abbey is St Albans I’m not religious but beautiful building.
WoW, that sounds like and looks like a fairy tale. I love it. Thanks for sharing that. I’m obsessed about getting to where Byron once lived. In fact, you’ve inspired me, I’m going to make that a little reward, for achieving a mini goal related to one of my bigger goals. Thanks for that. I love Butley Priory as well now and I haven’t even been