Nothing can bring back the majesty of this once opulent and formidable fortress made famous by Sir Walter Scott’s novel, ‘Kenilworth.' It was the only castle in England to have been surrounded by a vast man made lake. It is now a crumbling ruin surrounded by a dry grassy meadow for grazing sheep.

Under the reign of William the Conqueror it was first erected as a timbered motte and bailey fortress one of many that came into being across the width and breadth of the Britain. About 1120 this castle was granted by Henry I, to his chamberlain William de Clinton who probably had the great rectangular keep built in stone but sadly the identities of these early military engineers, stone masons and master craftsmen who carried out its construction have been lost to us.

Some stonework additions and improvements were put into effect enough to make it one of the most important castles in the Midlands. So important was Kenilworth that when Henry II came to power he took possession of it.

 Nothing further seems to have been done to the fabric of the castle until 1184 when repairs are recorded to the keep and other buildings.

In 1210 King John ordered major construction and repair work to be carried out with costs in excess of £1,000.  Although the craftsmen involved are again unknown, details of the work recorded include building the outer curtain wall with it's gatehouse and towers, alterations to the upper part of the keep by making arrow slits set in chamfered recesses and the construction of a chamber and wardrobe.  All this work was completed by 1215 but apparently was not up to standard as one of the towers fell down in 1218 and had to be rebuilt the following year at a cost of  £150.

Minor repairs were carried out in 1233, 1224 and 1238, details and costs of which are unrecorded.  By 1241, in preparation for the visit of Henry III, there was much activity, redecorating, enlarging of windows, building a porch for the queen's chamber, and rebuilding the porch to the keep.  Two castle gates and part of the southern wall which threatened to fall into the fish pond were repaired  and other works undertaken, all being promptly done at a cost of £113. 8s. 0 1/2d.

In 1279 Kenilworth became the possession of the Earl of Lancaster and a three day tournament took place organized by Roger de Mortimer and started “Round Table’ a new military game outside Mortimer’s Tower.

The first craftsman whose name we have in connection with Kenilworth is RICHARD de THWAITES a mason who in 1313 was in charge of building the new chapel in the lower ward, the recorded cost being £140.  RICHARD de FELSTEDE, a carpenter, was contracted for 250 marks in 1347 to make roofs for the hall, pantry, buttery and kitchen at the castle as soon as the masonry work was completed.  The agreement made between Richard and the chief officers of Henry, Earl of Lancaster is as follows:-

"Contract between the council of Henry, Earl of Lancaster (who was in France), and Mr Richard de Felstede, carpenter of London. He is to make a roof for the hall, 89ft. x 46ft. with the doors, shutters, and three screens; also roofs for pantry and buttery, and for the kitchen beyond them. The earl is to provide all timber and carriage, but Mr Richard shall find carpenters and sawyers and scaffolding etc. He shall start work as soon as the masonry is ready, and shall be paid 250 marks and shall also have clothing 'of the livery of a gentleman' so long as he is engaged on the work." Duchy of Lancaster, Misc Books. 11, fol.52v

 

In 1326 King Edward II was brought here as a prisoner by the Earl of Lancaster who forced the King to resign in favour of his son.

When John of Gaunt took possession of the castle circa 1370, he master minded the new large scale building programme which was to transform this feudal stronghold into a palace works included, the Lancaster Buildings, the Great Hall with its two enormous fireplaces.  The scale of this work must have cost a very great deal of money. Building work appears to have started in 1372 when HENRY SPENCER was appointed master mason and surveyor of the works, at a fee unknown. 400 marks were spent on just one new building alone.

In 1380 JOHN HERLEYE clerk, was appointed surveyor of the works and as administrative officer taking a fee of 10 marks.  Henry Spencer seems to have died in 1381 and as his successor, WILLIAM HALES mason, was appointed as a surveyor of the works taking the same fee. During this same period WILLIAM WINTRINGHAM, chief carpenter to John of Gaunt, was the probably designer of the timber work for the new building, including the roof of the new great hall which had a single span of 45ft, the widest to have been attempted up to this date by means of trussing.

Works were still in progress in 1391 when ROBERT SKILLYNGTON, mason, was granted a writ of aid on 8th July to impress masons, carpenters and labourers to the number of twenty for the new works at Kenilworth. For this he received £257 in part, with a final settlement of £43 in 1392.  A further payment of £202. 1s. 7 1/2d was made in 1393 for works consisting of a great hall 90ft by 45ft with towers at each end, a series of state apartments, the rebuilding of the kitchens and other unspecified work.  By 1399 the work seems to have come, finally, to a conclusion with the employment of JOHN CLEMENT carpenter, who is believed to have worked on the roof of the great hall and who also held a position of master carpenter to the Duchy of Lancaster.

With the accession of Henry IV in 1400, the castle once more became a crown possession and a favourite residence of the Lancastrian kings.  Little was spent on it beyond normal maintenance until the reign of Henry V, when a commission was granted, dated 1417, to take workmen for "the new work at Kenilworth".  This was the construction of the "praty banketynge house of tymbre" as Leyland called it, which was also known as "the Pleasance in the Marsh",  and which at the time of building contained a hall and various chambers situated on the other side of the Great Pool or moat about half a mile to the west of the castle.  Unfortunately information relating to its construction is lost.  "The Pleasance" was maintained by Henry VI but later demolished by Henry VIII who used the materials for new building within the castle.

Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester ordered a gatehouse to be erected and in 1575. Queen Elizabeth I visited Kenilworth and stayed for seventeen days. Every kind of festivity was arranged for her including fireworks on the lake. The cost to Robert Dudley was purported to have been £1,000 per day an enormous amount of money for those times.

At the end of the civil war in 1649 The Parliament commander, Colonel Hawksworth destroyed the keep and drained the lake. King Charles II granted Kenilworth to Laurence Hyde who’s son became the Earl of Clarendon and remained in their family until 1958 when it was presented to the people. It is now the property of ‘English Heritage.’

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