Kenilworth Castle

Kenilworth Castle
Warwickshire, England
Kenilworth Castle, viewed from the Tiltyard
Kenilworth Castle
Coordinates	52°20′48″N 1°35′29″W / 52.3468°N 1.5913°W / 52.3468; -1.5913Coordinates: 52°20′48″N 1°35′29″W / 52.3468°N 1.5913°W / 52.3468; -1.5913
Grid reference	grid reference SP2794172163
Type	Inner and outer bailey walls with great tower
Site information
Owner	Town of Kenilworth
Controlled by	English Heritage
Open to the public	Yes
Condition	Ruined
Site history
Materials	New red sandstone
Battles/wars	Siege of Kenilworth (Great Siege of 1266)

Kenilworth Castle is located in the town of the same name in Warwickshire, England. Constructed from Norman through to Tudor times, the castle has been described by architectural historian Anthony Emery as "the finest surviving example of a semi-royal palace of the later middle ages, significant for its scale, form and quality of workmanship". Kenilworth has also played an important historical role. The castle was the subject of the six-month-long Siege of Kenilworth in 1266, believed to be the longest siege in English history, and formed a base for Lancastrian operations in the Wars of the Roses. Kenilworth was also the scene of the removal of Edward II from the English throne, the French insult to Henry V in 1414 (said by John Strecche to have encouraged the Agincourt campaign), and the Earl of Leicester's lavish reception of Elizabeth I in 1575.

The castle was built over several centuries. Founded in the 1120s around a powerful Norman great tower, the castle was significantly enlarged by King John at the beginning of the 13th century. Huge water defences were created by damming the local streams, and the resulting fortifications proved able to withstand assaults by land and water in 1266. John of Gaunt spent lavishly in the late 14th century, turning the medieval castle into a palace fortress designed in the latest perpendicular style. The Earl of Leicester then expanded the castle once again, constructing new Tudor buildings and exploiting the medieval heritage of Kenilworth to produce a fashionable Renaissance palace.