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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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.
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.
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.