In Warwickshire, the mighty red-sandstone ruins of Kenilworth still dominate the countryside. A medieval fortress turned into a pleasure palace by Elizabeth I's favourite, Robert Dudley, the castle was, in 1575, the theatre of the most sumptuous festivities of the reign — one man's last attempt to marry his queen.
From fortress to pleasure palace
Kenilworth had been since the Middle Ages a stronghold of the first order, with a great Norman keep and a vast artificial lake (the 'Mere') that made it all but impregnable. In 1563 Elizabeth I gave it to her favourite, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. Dudley transformed the fortress into a pleasure house worthy of receiving the sovereign: he raised a new building with immense windows ('Leicester's Building'), fitted out luxurious apartments and, above all, laid out a dream garden. The warlike castle became a setting for love and power.
1575: nineteen days of enchantment
In July 1575 Dudley received Elizabeth I at Kenilworth for a stay of nineteen days that passed into legend: fireworks over the lake, water pageants, a 'Lady of the Lake' rising from the waters, hunts, banquets, music and poetry. It was, it is said, Dudley's last great attempt to win the queen's hand. She left charmed — but still resolved not to marry. The Elizabethan garden, reconstructed today from the descriptions of the time, with its marble fountain, its parterres and its obelisk, gives an idea of that fleeting paradise. Legend has it that a local child, William Shakespeare, then eleven, may have watched these wonders from afar.
What to see
- The red-sandstone ruins: Norman keep and 'Leicester's Building' with its great windows.
- The reconstructed Elizabethan garden (marble fountain, parterres, obelisk).
- Leicester's gatehouse, still standing.
- The site of the old lake (the 'Mere') and the views over the countryside.
Did you know?
The festivities of 1575 were so famous that a witness, Robert Langham, left a long, enthusiastic description of them. It has long been loved to imagine that the young Shakespeare, born at nearby Stratford, attended — and that the memory of the 'Lady of the Lake' rising from the waters later inspired some of his enchantments, as in A Midsummer Night's Dream. Nothing proves it, but the legend prettily links the greatest English poet to the most sumptuous festival of his childhood.
Practical information
Kenilworth Castle lies at Kenilworth, in Warwickshire, in the centre of England. It is today a site in the care of English Heritage, with its reconstructed Elizabethan garden. Opening hours and days are liable to change with the seasons; it is best to check them against the official sources before visiting.
Quiz
- Which favourite of Elizabeth I turned Kenilworth into a pleasure palace?
- Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester
- William Cecil
- Francis Drake
- How many days did the 1575 festivities for the queen last?
- Nineteen days
- Three days
- A year
- What can be seen today, reconstructed, at Kenilworth?
- An Elizabethan garden
- A Roman theatre
- A Gothic cathedral