Caroline Smith (this castle’s in the Scottish Highlands)
England is home to many castles. Most tend to be in the landlocked counties, and others on the coast (like Bamburgh Castle on the Northumberland coast, above). The oldest inhabited castle in Europe is our very own Windsor Castle (a beautiful building, despite differences of opinion about monarchs). It’s 900 years old!
There are around 1500 more castles across England, which were nearly all built as signs of power and wealth, and to defend against attack. Some castles have dungeons (the French word for ‘fortified tower’ and were more like a ‘coal bunkers’ for people under attack, and only later were used as prisons.
Moats were often used too as defense, by filling the surrounding area with water, so attackers could not gain access.
A Few Well-known English Castles
Wray Castle (Cumbria)
This is a Gothic castle owned by the National Trust, sitting above Lake Windermere. Originally built for a retired surgeon from Liverpool, a descendent (who became the local vicar) decided to hand it over to the Trust, so it could be enjoyed by others, and preserved.
One local teenage visitor was the writer Beatrix Potter, who was so enamored by the place that she bought a local house (Hill Top) with royalties from her first book, The Tale of Peter Rabbit. Following suit, when she died, she left thousands of acres to the National Trust.
Dover Castle (Kent)
This beautiful castle sits looking out to sea, facing the French coast just 20 miles or so away. It has lots of secret tunnels.
Kenilworth Castle (Warwickshire)
This is known for its beautiful red stone, and was the home to Robert Dudley (the love of Queen Elizabeth I). Again it has many secret tunnels to explore.
Bodiam Castle (East Sussex)
This is a moated castle built in the 14th century, to defend against the French invasion, of the Hundred Years War.
Leeds Castle (Kent)
This is confusingly not in Yorkshire. This stunning castle is built on islands in a lake and is a historic Grade 1 listed estate, just south of Maidstone.
Lindisfarne Castle (Northumberland)
This is located on Holy Island, where hermit saints like St Cuthbert used to live. Today the many tourists with cars are reminded to look at tide times, so not to be cut off at high tide, due to the causeway.
Alnwick Castle (Northumberland)
This is one of the oldest inhabited castles (often called ‘the Windsor Castle of the North). If you like your period dramas, you’ll recognise the sumptuous Italianite rooms being used for filming episodes of Downton Abbey.
Bamburgh Castle (Northumberland)
One lived in by kings who ruled over this county, today it’s said to be the most haunted of castles! It has a stunning location overlooking the wide sandy beaches near the Farne Islands.
This castle is also home to large seabirds called Fulmars, who for hundreds of years have nested on the battlements. Now protected by law, staff often rescue chicks who land on the roofs, unable to take off again.
Hever Castle (Kent)
This is just 30 miles south of London. Originally a country house, this 13th century building was the seat of the Boleyn family. If you know your history, you’ll know that Anne Boleyn was one of Henry VIII’s sixth wives. She was the second wife, and unfortunately he had her beheaded (only in her late 20s or early 30s).
She was charged with high treason (more likely that she could not bear a son) and his divorce from his first wife to marry her, led to the break-up of the Catholic church and Reformation (which later created the Church of England). Anne’s daughter was to become Queen Elizabeth I.
The Castle You Know (but perhaps didn’t!)
It’s a little-known fact that the Tower of London is also a castle. Home to many beheadings (including poor Anne Boleyn), today it’s a massive tourist attraction.
The Tower of London is also home to the Crown Jewels, thought to be worth from 2 to 4 billion pounds. Along with robes that are used during Coronations, to crown a new King or Queen.
Many of us these days believe that it would be better to use that money for other causes, though there are still more monarchists than not in England – it’s okay to disagree!
Located in the London borough of Tower Hamlets, many spies were kept here, before being executed during World War I. The last person to be executed (by firing squad) was a Luxembourg-born German spy, who was captured after parachuting into the UK during World War II.
A History of England’s Stately Homes
England’s stately homes often are grand estates in sprawling gardens, a glimpe into a bygone era. Although we have issues the other way with homelessness, let’s visit England’s stately homes.
Most of England’s stately homes were built to protect residents, with thick stone walls and narrow windows. That’s why many look like castle,s and some had moats to secure land from invasion. The Tudor period was when people displayed their wealth, building grand halls, influenced by Renaissance-style architecture and art. The Georgian era saw estates in London and Bath add large windows and classical columns.
Famous Stately Homes in England
Chatsworth House (Derbyshire)
This has been the seat of the Cavendish family for over 500 years, with stunning Elizabethan and Baroque architecture, and extensive gardens. This family also own Bolton Abbey (above) which holds mass grouse shoots that contributes to peat bog erosion and flooding, despite claiming environmental policies.
There was controversy recently when the estate admitted to ‘legally controlling stray cats’, rather than handing them in to feral cat charities. This came to light after dead cats and foxes were found close to snares.
Waddesdon Manor (Buckinghamshire)
This is a house in the style of a French chateau, with stunning gardens that reflect the wealth of the Rothschild family. Now owned by the National Trust, Churchill would visit to smoke a cigar on the roof.
Blenheim Palace (Oxfordshire)
This is where former Prime Minister Winston Churchill was born, a stunning example of English baroque architecture in extensive grounds. Designed by Capability Brown, do this virtual walking tour with Lucy Wyndham-Read around the gardens.
It’s still owned by the Churchill family, by the Duke of Marlborough. If you’re old enough, you’ll remember this party boy was all over the papers a few years back, for his wild ways. Leading the Happy Mondays singer to say ‘If I was born into dough, I’d have done nothing forever too’.
After coming out of jail, the Duke took part in a BBC documentary alongside other rich people, to spend three nights homeless. On the second night, he demanded to be put up in a hotel! He now campaigns for the Reform party and is apparently friends with Donald Trump.
How do Stately Homes Fund Themselves?
Despite the ‘them and us’ culture, stately homes are historic, and some families charge for peole to visit, to keep up with all the huge bills.
They would do well to contact Mitchell & Dickinson, a company that specialises in massively reducing bills and energy for historic homes, using expert eco methods (the co-founder once built his own solar boat and sailed it round the British Isles and has also created England’s best free carbon calculator – he’s the son of ecological writer Satish Kumar).
Some stately homes even hire out their homes for TV. Highclere Castle is an obvious example, the setting for the TV series Downton Abbey. But again it also offers the land for shooting innocent creatures, in return for money from local agencies.
Longleat Estate again has attracted controversy, when it was found to be killing healthy lion cubs , after over-breeding them for ‘tourists’ at the safari park. The Elizabeth manor house’s owner Lord Bath was also controversial, known for his many ‘wifelets’.
Althorp House (Northamptonshire) is also well-known, mainly due to being the birthplace and resting place of Princess Diana.
Issues with England’s Stately Homes?
It’s not jealousy, nobody ‘blames’ or envies anyone being brought up in huge houses and gardens, which no doubt are hugely expensive to upkeep.
The problems remain however that by most of these estates burning heather and taking money for grouse shoots, it’s people on the bottom rung that suffer. If royal members visit people who have had their homes sank in floods – often it’s partly caused by the people doing the grouse shoots, for money and so-called ‘fun’.
Environmental writer Guy Shrubsole (who specialises in knowing how a tiny percentage of people in England own nearly all our land), says this is part of the issue. As it ends up affecting policy like hunting rules, rights-of-way and not coming down hard on those who illegally kill endangered species like hen harriers, on private land, so nobody will ever see.
Britiain’s largest landowner owns 288,000 acres in Northamptonshire and Scotland, and remains stupendously powerful. When John Major sought to appoint the chiefs of his police authority, the Duke was one of the men he chose.
Landowners also chair some of Britain’s most powerful quangos, including the Countryside Commission, charged with defending us from their excesses. George Monbiot
