Kimbolton Castle
| Kimbolton Castle | |
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| Kimbolton, Cambridgeshire | |
Kimbolton Castle
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 Kimbolton Castle
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| Coordinates | 52°17′47″N 0°23′18″W / 52.2964°N 0.3884°WCoordinates: 52°17′47″N 0°23′18″W / 52.2964°N 0.3884°W |
| Grid reference | grid reference TL100677 |
| Type | Motte-and-bailey converted into an 18th-century palace |
| Site information | |
| Condition | Used as a school |
Kimbolton Castle is a country house in Kimbolton, Huntingdonshire, Cambridgeshire. It was the final home of King Henry VIII's first wife, Catherine of Aragon. Originally a medieval castle but converted into a stately palace, it was the family seat of the Dukes of Manchester from 1615 until 1950. It now houses Kimbolton School.
A wooden motte and bailey castle was built in Kimbolton, on a different site, in Norman times. Later, King John granted Geoffrey Fitz Peter, Earl of Essex permission to hold a fair and market in Kimbolton, as a consequence of which a market place was created, with the existing church at one end and a new castle at the other. No remains of this castle (most likely a fortified manor house) remain, although it was built on the site of the present castle.
The castle went through various phases of ownership until, by the 1520s, it belonged to the Wingfield family. The medieval castle was rebuilt as a Tudor manor house, parts of which survive. Catherine of Aragon was sent here in April 1534 for refusing to give up her status or deny the validity of her marriage. The fenland climate damaged her health, and she died here in January 1536. Her body was carried in procession to the Peterborough Abbey (now Peterborough Cathedral). She is reputed to haunt the castle.
The castle was bought by Sir Henry Montagu, later 1st Earl of Manchester, in 1615. His descendants owned the castle for 335 years until it was sold in 1950.
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