Kenilworth Castle I

First stop, Kenilworth Castle. Anna and Rob try to sneak in the back way. Kidding, kidding. [Shown is Lunn's Tower, part of the outer fortifications.] Kenilworth is one of the largest ruined castles in the UK, and was a royal castle for most of it's history. It's considered one of the great historical sites of the UK.



Another view of Lunn's Tower. Love the textures.



View of the ruins from the main entrance. The castle--actually composed of three buildings--sits atop a sandstone hill. This allowed King John in the 13th century to build a dam creating a great lake that became part of the castle's defenses [good enough to withstand a major seige in 1266]. The low lying area to the left was all once water. In the fore right is part of Mortimer's Tower, one of the gatehouses and part of the stone defenses of the castle. Orignally, it would have stood two stories tall.


A painting of the castle as it would have appeared in 1620 [from a copy of a 17th century painting.] Notice the large lake, which was called a mere.



The main approach to the castle across the dam. Which was widened in the 1500s some time to become a 'tiltyard' or where they would have held jousting tournaments.



Close up of Mortimer's Tower.


Anna and Rob ponder adding a new stone feature to their garden.



The main castle grounds. On the left is the first building--The Keep--built in the 1120s [although the hill had long been used as a fortified high ground] by Geoffrey de Clinton. In the center back is The Great Hall built around 1373 by John of Guant. On the right is the most recent structure Leicester's Building, biult in 1571 for Elizabeth I and her servants to use as accommodations on her visits.