Kenilworth

Question 1

Geoffery I

Answer 1

built Kenilworth in 1200’s

Question 2

Why did King Henry I grant Geoffrey de Clinton land?

Answer 2

To counter the influence of Roger, the Earl of Warwick, whose loyalty was in doubt.

Question 3

What other important role did Geoffrey hold by 1124?

Answer 3

He was sheriff and a major magnate in Warwickshire, and also founded Kenilworth Priory.

Question 4

What was the original structure of the castle likely to be?

Answer 4

An earth mound (motte) with timber buildings.

Question 5

What significant stone structure was built around 1124?

Answer 5

A stone tower at the heart of the castle’s defences and as a residence.

Question 6

What defensive and residential features did the tower have? 1100’s

Answer 6

4.3m thick walls, spiral stairs, a forebuilding for entry, latrines, and large arched windows in the hall.

Question 7

What was the purpose of the causeway and mere built by Geoffrey?

Answer 7

Military defence, water supply, powering mills, and supplying fish and ducks.

Question 8

What happened to Geoffrey de Clinton in 1130?

Answer 8

He fell out of favour with King Henry I and was accused of treason but avoided conviction through bribery.

Question 9

Who succeeded Geoffrey after his death in 1133?

Answer 9

Geoffrey II, died 1175

Question 10

Who owned Kenilworth Castle from 1174 to 1244, and what impact did this have?

Answer 10

It was owned by the Crown,
-1244 major improvement, on of strongest castle Henry III

Question 11

What royal features are recorded at Kenilworth Castle in the early 1200s?

Answer 11

Kings’s chamber

Question 12

When were most of Kenilworth’s major defences built, and under whose reign?

Answer 12

Between 1184 and 1189 under Henry II

Question 13

What event led Henry II to garrison Kenilworth in 1173–74

Answer 13

The ‘Great Rebellion’ led by his sons and estranged wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine.

Question 14

How did King John (r. 1199–1216) contribute to Kenilworth’s defences?

Answer 14

Spent £1,100 between 1210–1215 strengthening the castle during political and religious challenges

Question 15

What two events prompted King John’s castle reinforcements?

Answer 15

The Papal Interdict of 1208 and his excommunication.

Question 16

When was kenilworth under house of Lancaster

Answer 16

-1266-1361
-Henry III granted to Edmund

Question 17

Simon De Montefort and Kenilworth

Answer 17

-Granted by henry III, 1244-65
-strengthend, completing John’s outer dam
-Henry took castel from Simon young after Montfort died 1258

Question 18

Edward and Thomas

Answer 18

-granted to thomas 1298
-added 500 acres, water tower(ed)
-new hall (ed)
-new chapel, one of largest at time ( Thomas )

Question 19

Kenilworth under John of Gaunt

Answer 19

-1361-99
-Son of Edward III, Duke of lancaster
-made pleasure gardens and royal apartments
-wanted home fit for royals
-most succesors only worked on maintaining place after or expanding

Question 20

Henry Bollingbroke

Answer 20

-1399
-used it to overthrew Richard II
-became royal property after

Question 21

henry V

Answer 21

-made new kitchens (1424)
-Plasure gardens (1414)

Question 22

Henry VII

Answer 22

• 1492-93 built tennis courts
• improved gardens
• modernized apartments

Question 23

Henry VIII

Answer 23

made it one of 4 royal castle’s he wanted in good condition

Question 24

John Dudley 1553

Answer 24

-granted castle by Edward Vi
-executed shortly after

Question 25

Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester

Answer 25

-1563 and made it lavish palace -1570/72 undertook many changes to church -new gatehouse, Leicester building -Elizabeth visited 17 days, 1575 -Leicester died 1588 went back to crown

Question 26

Kenilworth during English civil war

Answer 26

-Royalist Grarrison withdrew after battle of Edgehill (1642 ) -parliamentarians occupied rest of war -1649, parliament destroyed

Question 27

Why did Parliament decide to slight Kenilworth Castle in 1649?

Answer 27

Due to uprisings following Charles I’s imprisonment, Parliament aimed to destroy former Royalist strongholds.

Question 28

What does “slighting” a castle mean?

Answer 28

Deliberately damaging or destroying a castle to make it unusable for military purposes.

Question 29

Who petitioned to preserve part of Kenilworth Castle during its slighting?

Answer 29

Henry Carey, 2nd Earl of Monmouth, requested minimal damage to the dwelling house.

Question 30

Who recorded Kenilworth Castle before its slighting, and how?

Answer 30

Antiquary Sir William Dugdale made sketches and wrote a detailed description, later published in Antiquities of Warwickshire (1656).

Question 31

What was the significance of William Dugdale’s work?

Answer 31

It provided the first known plan of the castle and shaped Kenilworth’s recorded history until the late 1800s.

Question 32

What parts of Kenilworth Castle were destroyed in 1649–50?

Answer 32

The north side of the great tower and parts of the outer curtain wall.

Question 33

Kenilworth 1650’s

Answer 33

-Parliament gave to officers in Lieu. -gatehouse became farm house -building used for material for other farms

Question 34

Kenilworth 1660 -1860

Answer 34

-Castle became farm -visiting castle became popular -after Sir Walter in 1821 published historical novel on it

Question 35

1860 +

Answer 35

Castle is tourist attraction