21 June 2026 Kenilworth Castle

 

I am going to do things a little bit differently with this blog post. Instead of outlining who is associated with this castle in my genealogy software, I am going to change the font color for these people to red, so that you can identify them. Some aren't listed in my software as being associated, but they had a connection to this castle, so if I make their names red, you can see how they were involved in this castle's history, and know that they are related to me.

Kenilworth Castle, nestled in the heart of Warwickshire, is a place of much mystery and intrigue. The castle construction was initiated by William I just after his arrival from Normandy in 1066, and given to the Geoffrey de Clinton Family to oversee it in 1120. De Clinton was the treasurer underneath King Henry I, and well trusted.  Even though Kenilworth Castle was built 5 miles away from the Earls of Warwick and Warwick Castle, it still became a substantial property. The primary reason it was so close to Warwick Castle was because Henry I could not trust the Beaumonts of Warwick, and he needed someone to keep an eye on them. 

Only a couple of my ancestors are listed as relative to this property, but there were really a lot more. Osbert de Clinton I and II are both listed as being born here. They were relatives of Geoffrey de Clinton, but not the primary holders of the Lands and Titles associated with Kenilworth. 

After Henry II came to power, the de Clinton line died out, and the castle reverted back into the hands of the crown. King John came into power, and started improving the castles owned by the crown, Kenilworth being one of them. 

In 1244, King John's son, Henry III, gave the castle to Simon de Montfort, who became the leader of the Second Baron's Revolt. Simon was killed at the Battle of Evesham in 1265, however his son Simon the Younger retreated to Kenilworth Castle, where he survived the longest siege of a castle in English history at the time in 1266. Henry III retook the castle, and gave it to his son, Edmund Crouchback Plantagenet. 

Crouchback eventually gave the castle to his son Thomas of Lancaster. Thomas, in opposition to Edward II and his policies, sided with a group of Rebel Barons, and fought Edward II at the Battle of Boroughbridge in 1322. Thomas was captured and executed, and Edward II took possession of the castle back. 

When Edward II started having problems with his wife, Queen Isabella of France, she took Roger Mortimer (1287-1330) as her lover, and the two of them brought Edward II down, and had him abdicate his throne in favor of his son, Edward III. Edward II was later killed at Berkeley Castle, and then buried in Gloucester Cathedral. Isabella continued to use Kenilworth Castle as her base of power until she was brought down in 1330.

Henry of Grosmont, the Duke of Lancaster,  became the next owner of the castle when he inherited it from Edmund Crouchback, through his executed older brother, Thomas of Lancaster. Henry made huge improvements to the castle's Great Hall and its roof, and eventually died in 1361. The castle then was inherited by Blanche of Lancaster, who married John of Gaunt, the 3rd son of Edward III. John was already wealthy, and as the Duke of Lancaster, he became more so. John made extensive repairs and enhancements to Kenilworth Castle, even though he owned more than 30 other castles. 

John's son, Henry IV, returned the castle to the royal coffers in 1399 when he became King, and so the castle passed from him to Edward V. Thus ends where my ancestors had much of anything to do with Kenilworth Castle. In the 1500's Queen Elizabeth I gifted the castle to one Robert Dudley, who tried to woo the Queen to marry him, but never really understood that while he was married, she would never do so. When his wife died unexpectedly, Queen Elizabeth, using her better judgement, decided that Robert Dudley would probably not make a very good husband, and remained the Virgin Queen until her death in 1603.

Kenilworth Castle would then be absorbed under the Stuart Dynasty, until Charles I gave the castle to his wife, Henrietta Marie. In 1649 during the English Civil War, the castle was slighted, and fell into ruin around 1660, becoming part of a farm. 

Kenilworth today is a beautiful ruin of Red Sandstone. In it's time, it was one of the largest non Royal Castles in England, and a lot of English History is centered around it. Today, it is run by the English Heritage Trust, and a great place to visit if you are ever in the area.