| Print | More

KENILWORTH CASTLE GARDENS

ABOUT THIS MONUMENT

+ / -

EH Visitor Information
Related Monuments
Related Text
Investigation History

More Pictures
Modern Map
Old Map
Aerial Photograph

Monument Types
Sources
Thesaurus
Description

DESCRIPTION

+ / -

Kenilworth Castle gardens. The earliest documented garden at the castle was during the ownership of John of Gaunt in 1374, and in 1463 Edward IV ordered a 'jousting place' to be made in the middle of the garden. These may have been situated on the site of the present garden, reconstructed to reflect Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester's lay out at the time of Elizabeth I's visit. The remodelling of the garden for this royal visit was no doubt linked to the remodelling of the adjacent forebuilding of the great tower with its classical loggia in circa 1569. Some of the basic layout is known from contemporary descriptions and paintings, and it was inspired from French and Italian Renaissance models with a marble fountain, classical aviary and obelisks. The designer of the 1575 garden is unknown, but may well have been Dudley's gardener Adrian, thought to have been French. The Italian marble fountain may have been sculpted by the royal craftsman Cornelius Cure. During the Stuart period some changes may have been made to the garden, although little survived the Civil War except the fountain which disappeared shortly afterwards. The privy garden became a kitchen garden and orchard up until the early 20th century. The gardens within the curtain wall dates to the 19th and early 20th century.

In 1975 a Tudor garden was planted on the site, based on Sir William Dugdale's plan of 1656; subsequent excavations by English Heritage in 2005-6 revealed details of the garden, and this combined with a description of the garden in a letter from Robert Langham (an official in Leicester's household), led to a new reconstruction of an Elizabethan garden in 2009. This features a renaissance aviary, carved arbours and an imposing marble fountain.

DETAIL

+ / -

MORE INFORMATION & SOURCES

+ / -

Garden laid out at Kenilworth Castle by Robert Dudley prior to Elizabeth I's visit in 1575. It was a formal, ornamental garden which occupied an area of almost 1 hectare and was divided into quarters with the walks meeting at a fountain. A levelled terrace is visible parallel to the northern wall of the keep and this is believed to be the remains of a terraced walkway from which the gardens could be viewed. This garden had disappeared by the mid 17th century, the site under cultivation until the 1930s. It was partly excavated in 1970 and reconstructed in 1973 using a 17th century plan and description. Further garden remains are visible within the outer court, situated immediately to the west of the Great Hall. Here the ground surface has been considerably raised and levelled and the area is thought to be the remains of a second ornamental garden which was added by either John of Gaunt or Robert Dudley and provided fine views over the mere. Scheduled. (1)

Gardens to Kenilworth Castle covering an area of 10 hectares. One of the earliest documented gardens was laid out by Robert Dudley prior to Queen Elizabeth I's visit in 1575. The layout is known from contemporary descriptions and paintings. Its broad outline plan was replanted in 1970. The gardens within the curtain wall dates to the 19th and early 20th century. (2)

An earthwork survey was carried out of the Elizabethan gardens at Kenilworth in October 2004. The work was undertaken at a scale of 1:500 and was part of a larger project that intends to re-interpret the gardens based on further excavation, geophysical survey and documentary research.
The earthworks lie in two areas along the northern side of the curtain wall. The largest area is immediately in front of the Norman keep and consists of a long terrace spanning the full length of the keep. To the north of the terrace, in an area of parterres, there were no earthworks visible.
The second area of earthworks lies to the west of the keep. Here a low, spread platform against the curtain wall is probably the remains of a building. Against the keep is a large mound wich may have contained further buildings.
A full description of the survey can be seen in the archive report. (3-4)

Report on the excavation of the gardens carried out in the 1970s and first half of the 1980s. (5)

A new reconstruction of an Elizabethan garden, commissioned by English Heritage and benefiting from recent advances in garden history was opened in 2009. This features a rennaisance aviary, carved arbours and an imposing marble fountain. The gardens within the curtain wall dates to the 19th and early 20th century. (6)

New revised guidebook. (7)

Geophysical surveys were undertaken in 2004 by English Heritage to investigate with the possibility of then reconstructing, the Elizabethan garden at Kenilworth Castle. The area was surveyed to the north of the keep. Anomalies were identified that were then investigated by trial excavation trenches. (8)

SOURCE TEXT

(1) Scheduled Monument Notification

04-JAN-1996

(2) English Heritage Register of parks and gardens of special historic interest in England

Warwickshire Part 42

(3) Field Investigators Comments

English Heritage: Earthwork Survey of Elizabethan Gardens, Kenilworth

(4) Graham Brown 2005 The Elizabethan garden at Kenilworth Castle: Archaeological Investigation reports series

03/2005

(5) by Peter Ellis 1995 The Elizabethan gardens and Leicester's stables at Kenilworth Castle [excavations between 1970 and 1984 by Beric Morley, Peter Brown, and Tim Crump]

Birmingham and Warwickshire Archaeological Society transactionsVol 84 (1967-70) -

(6) Garden History Society newsletter

"The New Elizabethan garden at Kenilworth Castle", article by Jennifer Meir 83 SPRING 2009 Page(s)19-20

(7) Richrd K Morris 2010 Kenilworth Castle (English Heritage Guidebooks)

Page(s)30-5

(8) Centre for Archaeology Report series

'Kenilworth Castle, Warwickshire. Report on geophysical surveys, June and July 2004' by N Linford, P Linford, and L Martin

RELATED MONUMENTS

+ / -

Monument Name/No

Resources

Description

KENILWORTH CASTLE
KENILWORTH

Monument Pictures
Monument Maps
Monument Investigation
Monument Sources
EH Visitor Information

A Medieval and Tudor castle. The original castle at Kenilworth is thought to have been a motte and bailey with wooden buildings, established in the 11...

THE PLEASANCE
KENILWORTH

Monument Pictures
Monument Maps
Monument Investigation
Monument Sources
EH Visitor Information

'The Pleasance in the Marsh', the moated manor house built for Henry V in circa 1414, is situated approximately 800 metres north-west of Kenilworth Ca...

GREAT MERE
KENILWORTH

Monument Pictures
Monument Maps
Monument Investigation
Monument Sources
EH Visitor Information

The Great Mere, an artificial lake in the grounds of Kenilworth Castle. The mere protected the castle to the south and west, and was one of the larges...

KENILWORTH PARK
KENILWORTH

Monument Pictures
Monument Maps
Monument Investigation
Monument Sources
EH Visitor Information

The location of parks and gardens associated with Kenilworth Castle. The site of the two parks associated with the castle are today in agricultural us...

LEICESTERS BUILDING
KENILWORTH

Monument Pictures
Monument Maps
Monument Investigation
Monument Sources
EH Visitor Information

Leicesters Building, a tower block erected at Kenilworth Castle in 1571-2 by Robert Dudley (Earl of Leicester), a favourite of Elizabeth I. Robert Du...

MONUMENT TYPES

+ / -

COMMENTS

+ / -

Please help us keep our information accurate let us know if you see any errors on this page.

Further information about monuments may be obtained by contacting NMR Enquiry and Research Services , through the English Heritage website.

EH Archives
EH Prints
English Heritage
Heritage Explorer
Heritage Gateway
Images of England
National Heritage List for England
English Heritage Archive
ViewFinder