LEEDS CASTLE

Kent

"The Most Beautiful Castle in the World" - the much used phrase coined by Lord Conway which the Leeds Castle Foundation have used to death does have some truth about it.  This is a most stunning building and a stunning setting.

And yet, despite it's prettiness, this is a real Castle with a long and complex history.

It began shortly after the Conquest when the land was granted to Bishop Odo, who built the first wooden Castle here.  The first stone Castle was built in 1119 by Robert de Crevecoeur.  His successor Hamo rebelled against King John and following a brief siege in 1215 the Castle was confiscated.  In 1272 the then owner Sir William de Leybourne gave the Castle to Edward I.

Edward was an inveterate Castle builder and he made many changes to Leeds, including the extension of the Gatehouse, curtain walls and possibly the Gloriette - the small part of the Castle built on the second of the two islands in the lake upon which Leeds Castle stands.  Edward gave the Castle to his Queen Eleanor, beginning the habit of giving Leeds to Queens - giving it it's earlier nickname of "ladies' castle".

In 1321 Queen Isabella, wife of Edward II, holed up in Leeds Castle whilst Edward raised an army of 30,000 men and laid siege.  The Castle eventually capitulated and the owners, the Badlesmere family, were all sent to the Tower.  Following Edward's "mystery" death in Berkeley Castle in 1327 Isabella claimed the Castle for her own and began to live there.  Once she had died and the Castle passed to Edward III he undertook another session of "beautifying" the Castle.  Richard II gave the Castle to his Queen, Anne of Bohemia and Henry IV followed suit with his Queen, Joan of Navarre.  Henry V's wife, Catherine, was the last to own the Castle outright.

Henry VIII took a liking to the Castle and added an extra storey to the Gloriette as well as making other changes to the structure of the Castle.  The Civil War passed Leeds by, and it slowly fell into disuse until - in 1822 - it was bought by Fiennes Wykeham-Martin who rennovated the Castle to what we see today.

The Leeds Castle Foundation was set up in 1974 and it still owns the Castle today.

Leeds Castle is open throughout the year and hosts a number of special festivals, perhaps the most spectacular of which is the Leeds Balloon Festival.

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© Text copyright - Raving Loony Productions, Andrew J. Müller and Roy Barton
© Photos and Artwork - Andrew J. Müller and Roy Barton
© Web Design and Layout - Andrew J. Müller
2010