Castles (25) : Leicester

Leicester castle was originally built just after the Norman Conquest in about 1070. The castle was a motte and bailey, the motte still survives. The castle was partially demolished in 1173 after a failed rebellion against King Henry II. However, it later became a royal residence for both Edward I and II.

By the 15th century the castle was used as a courthouse, and even hosted sessions of Parliament such as the Parliament of Bats in 1426 which was hosted in the castle's great hall. The castle continued to be used for hearings of the county court until 1981.

The surviving parts of the castle today include the motte, the great hall and the magazine gateway.

Castles (24) : Inverness

Inverness castle stands on a strategic hill overlooking the river Ness and the town of Inverness. The first castle was built on this site in 1057 by Malcolm III of Scotland. The castle was destroyed in 1307 by Robert the Bruce. A later castle was also the scene of conflict between James I and the Highland clans in 1428.

A new castle was built in 1548 and was involved in a number of sieges in the following centuries. The numerous battles left the castle in a poor state. The current castle dates from a rebuilding in 1836 in the style of earlier castles, it included a prison and later was used for meetings of the county council and sheriff court though these have both now moved out of the castle. The castle is currently undergoing a major renovation.

Castles (23) : Oxford

Construction of Oxford castle began just a couple of years after the Norman conquest, by the Norman baron Robert D'Oyly. The castle uses a stream of the Thames as part of it's defences. The stream was diverted to provide the castle's moat. The original castle was a motte and bailey type, originally made of wood but with stone replacing the original walls and buildings in the 12th and 13th centuries. The surviving St George's tower may pre-date the rest of the castle and be of Saxon origin.

The castle saw action in the 12 and 13th centuries including during the Baron's War. The castle lost it's military role in the late 14th century and began to decay. However, it was bought back into action during the Civil War. This was the last time the castle was used in war, though it did have a later role as Oxford prison! It continued in this role until 1996 though much of the castle structure was lost over the years including the keep in the 18th century.

Castles (22) : Caergwrle

Caergwrle castle in Flintshire, near the English border was built in the late 13th century by the Prince of Wales Dafydd ap Gruffydd for King Edward I. However, Dafydd rebelled against the king in 1282, the castle was attacked and sabotaged by a retreating Dafydd. Edward gave the castle to his wife Eleanor of Castile. Unfortunately a fire broke out at the castle the following year.

Plans to repair the castle and build a town around it were abandoned and the castle gradually fell into disrepair, the Black Prince noted it was in ruins when he inherited the castle in the late 14th century. A great deal of the castle no longer exists including the west curtain wall and most of the south tower. Much of this stone may have been looted to make millstones.

Castles (21) : Tonbridge

A castle was built in Tonbridge in Kent not long after the Norman Conquest, a motte and bailey castle was built by Richard Fitz Gilbert, the wooden keep later being replaced by a stone one. Fitz Gilbert's descendants rebelled against King William II who besiged the castle and eventually had both the castle and town burnt down!

The castle was rebuilt and expanded in the 13th century including a stone wall around the town. The castle has a large two towered gatehouse which took thirty years to construct and is one of the major remaining parts of the castle, which fell out of use in the 16th century. A mansion was built next to the gatehouse in 1793.

Castles (20) : Newark

On the banks of the river Trent in Newark, Nottinghamshire this castle dates from the mid-12th century when it was built by the Bishop of Lincoln after being granted permission by King Henry I. The castle was initially of wood construction, later rebuilt as stone. King John died of dysentery after a feast at the castle in 1216 which indicates the kitchens may have needed work. The Bishop established a mint at the castle.

The castle was extended and rebuilt in the 14th century. Though the castle was slighted during the Civil War. The castle ruins were partially restored in the mid-1850s.

Today the gatehouse, part of the curtain wall and a tower survive.

Castles (19) : Abergavenny

Another castle on the Welsh border, the castle was established by the Normans in 1087CE. The castle was built to overlook the river Usk. A stone keep replaced the original wooden building in around 1100. In 1175 the castle was the scene of a massacre when a group of Welsh nobles were killed there after being lured there under false pretences by William de Braose.

The castle was expanded in the 13th and 14th centuries. By the 15th century however, the castle was falling out of use. It was slighted by orders of the King in the Civil War to stop it being used by Parliamentary forces.

By the 18th century the castle ruins were beginning to attract visitors. A hunting lodge was built atop the motte in 1819. The building now houses the town's museum.

Castles (18) : Stokesay

Stokesay is a fortified manor house located on the Welsh marches in Shropshire. Stokesay was built on the site of an earlier castle in the 13th century by Lawrence de Ludlow. Despite being owned by a Charles I supporter in the Civil War (and was beseiged by Parliamentary forces) the castle survived largely intact and continued to be used as a residence and later for agriculture until the 18th century.

By the early 19th century the castle has fallen into disrepair and was restored in the mid century. The castle was first opened to visitors in 1908. 

The castle consists of a hall connected to North and South towers. A wall enclosing the courtyard was demolished in the 17th century but the castle has otherwise remained intact and is one of the best preserved fortified manor houses in the country.

Castles (17) : Chepstow

Chepstow, literally on the Welsh border, in Monmouthshire was a Norman castle, construction beginning in 1067CE as part of a chain of defences along the Marches. The castle was later used as a spring board for the Norman conquest of Gwent and remained a strategic point until the Reformation though was becoming used more for accommodation by the 16th century. By the 1700s it had fallen into decline and gradual decay.

The castle is located on the river Wye and is located on a limestone ridge. The castle has been expanded since it's beginnings, having four bailies at it's height. Strongpoint of the castle was the Great Tower which was completed in about 1090.

Castles (16) : Rochester

Situated at a strategic location on the river Medway in Kent, Rochester castle was an early Norman motte and bailey castle built not long after the Conquest. The stone castle was built between 1087 and 1089CE. The large keep, which dominates the castle ruins today, was built in the 12th century after King Henry had granted the castle to the Archbishop of Canterbury.

The castle saw action a number of times in the Medieval period, including the First Barons War, the castle being besieged by King John. The last time the castle saw action was in 1381 during the Peasants' Revolt when it was captured and ransacked.

The castle decayed over the following centuries, parts of it being taken for re-use in buildings elsewhere. The castle was opened to the public in 1870 and since then has seen some restoration.

Castles (15) : Shrewsbury

Shrewsbury castle is a well preserved castle which dates from fortifications in the town first built by Roger de Montgomery in 1070 which included extensive town walls as well as the castle. Being on the border area between England and Wales the castle saw it's share of conflict, being held for a time by Llywelyn the Great, Prince of Wales in 1215.

The castle was rebuilt during the English Civil War and also restored by Thomas Telford in 1780. Not much of the original castle now survives though the current castle is a fine building made from red sandstone which is the home of the Shropshire Regiment museum.

Castles (14) : York

York castle began as a motte and bailey castle built on the orders of William the Conqueror in 1068, one of many such castles built across the land to help William solidify his power. However the castle was destroyed the following year by the Vikings. The castle was rebuilt on a much greater scale and included a moat.

Henry III rebuilt the castle in stone in the mid thirteenth century. The current keep, also known as the Clifford Tower (shown below), dates from this construction. York castle became one of the most important centres of royal power in the North.

However by the time of Elizabeth I the castle has fallen into disrepair and was no longer considered an important military strongpoint. The castle was used as a prison and centre of administration. The prison continued to be used (though with some later rebuilding) until 1929. Part of the castle is still used as a crown court, it also includes a museum.

Castles (13) : Long Buckby

Compared to well preserved castles like Cardiff and Warwick, Long Buckby castle in Northamptonshire these days has little surviving features (on the surface anyway) apart from a mound. The castle was possibly built in the mid twelfth century during the reign of Henry II by the de Quincy family who held Long Buckby at the time.

The castle had a ring motte with a bailey to the West and a larger bailey to the East. Excavations were made in the eighteenth and twentieth centuries when the foundations of the former wall and a ditch around the edge of the baileys were discovered.

Castles (12) : Cardiff

Cardiff Castle is a well preserved castle. Located in the centre of the Welsh capital, the castle is a strong point which dates from a Norman motte and bailey castle in the eleventh century, which itself was built on the site of a Roman fort. Originally built from wood the castle was converted to stone in the twelfth century. With a shell keep and outer defensive walls erected.

The castle was at the forefront of conflict between the Anglo-Normans and the Welsh, the castle being stormed by Owain Glyndwr in 1404. The castle was heavily fortified and rebuilt in the fifteenth century but by the time of the English Civil War had lost much of it's military significance.

In the nineteenth century the castle was owned by the Marquesses of Bute who renovated the castle, replacing some of the medieval buildings to create a Georgian mansion. The mansion and it's ornate interior has been well preserved.

Castles (11) : Kenilworth

Kenilworth castle in Warwickshire dates from the reign of Henry I. The castle was built by Geoffrey de Clinton, the Lord Chamberlain of the King in the early 1120s. The original castle probably consisted of a standard Norman motte and bailey castle with a mount surrounded by a wall and a strongpoint on top of the mound. The castle was continually rebuilt and improved over the next five centuries.

Major work took place in the early thirteenth century when the wooden bailey wall was replaced by stone and two nearby brooks were dammed to create the castle's water defences. The following century saw the castle gain a great hall and other towers. The castle was owned by John of Gaunt in the later fourteenth century and was one of his most important castles. He made a number of major improvements to the castle.

Kenilworth castle was partially destroyed during the Civil War so it could not be used as a military stronghold. The castle remained a ruin in the following centuries though even by the eighteenth century it was already a tourist attraction. The castle is now owned by English Heritage.

Castles (10) : Bedford

Only part of the motte now remains of Bedford castle which was built by Henry I sometime after 1100. The castle was greatly expanded during the following decades and was besieged by Stephen in his war with Matilda. The castle withstood the siege though the defenders were eventually starved into surrender.

The castle was besieged again by Henry III in 1224 in an operation involving thousands of men. After the fall of the castle Henry ordered the castle's destruction. The castle was left a ruin, stone from the walls and defences used to build new houses, pave the streets and build a church in Bedford. The castle was partially restored during the Civil War though afterwards became derelict again. The motte was even used as a bowling green! The site of the castle's remains is now an archaeological park.