Talk:Kenilworth Castle

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Article text said

The castle was inherited by Edward II and the Henry, Earl of Lancaster, received the castle, which then passed through his son to John of Gaunt.

This can't be completely correct: John of Gaunt was the son-in-law of Henry, 4th Earl of Lancaster. Also, Henry was the grandson of Edmund Crouchback, so it's likely he inherited Kenilworth directly. It's possible it reverted to the crown on Henry's death and then Edward II gave it to John of Gaunt, but I'm correcting the text on the assumption John inherited it (in right of his wife). Loren Rosen 18:47 3 Jul 2003 (UTC)

There's a collection of my pictures of the castle here, on FotoPic; all of them are of course available as GFDL (actually, they're dual-licensed as PD/GFDL, if you want to use the for something else) - anyone think we can use more of them?
James F. (talk) 21:38, 1 Mar 2004 (UTC)

[edit] Several factual errors or debatable statements

1. The article says "The siege of Kenilworth Castle in 1266 is the longest in English history at almost a year."

However according to the distinguished historian Sir Maurice Powicke (Oxford History of England, The Thirteenth Century pages 208-213) the siege lasted just over 6 months. This statement is supported by Kenilworth History and Archaeology Society’s publication on the “Great Siege”.

Wikipedia’s entry on Donnington Castle contradicts the claim that the siege of Kenilworth Castle was the longest in English history. The following sentence is taken from the section on Donnington Castle in the Civil War "Finally, after an eighteen month siege, the garrison surrendered".

For claims of an even longer siege during the English civil wars of the 1640s see The History of the Siege of Basing House, Old Basing, Hampshire by David Nash Ford "BASING BESIEGED Civil War Stronghold holds out for Three Years" http://www.britannia.com/history/hants/siegebsg.html

2. Wikipedia article says “The siege was ended on easy terms for the defenders with the Dictum of Kenilworth” The Dictum of Kenilworth was proclaimed on 31st October 1266. The rebels at Kenilworth Castle were not satisfied and held out for another 40 days, hoping for help from Simon de Montfort the younger. When this help failed to arrive, they surrendered on 14th December 1266 and accepted the terms of the Dictum. See Powicke “The Thirteenth Century” page 213.

3. The article states "The castle returned to the Crown on Dudley's death." This is incorrect. Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, left Kenilworth Castle to his brother Ambrose Dudley, Earl of Warwick, for the latter's lifetime. On Ambrose's death in 1690 it passed to Sir Robert Dudley, the illegitimate son of Lord Leicester. In 1607 Sir Robert deserted his wife and fled to Italy with his cousin Elizabeth Southwell. When he disobeyed an order to return under the Statute of Fugitives, the Crown seized his estates, including Kenilworth Castle. In 1611 Sir Robert agreed to sell the Castle to Prince Henry, elder son of James I. Henry died in 1612 and the property passed to his younger brother, Charles. In 1626 King Charles I granted the Castle to his bride Henrietta Maria as part of her marriage settlement. From 1625 until 1649 the Carey family (Earls of Monmouth) were the stewards of Kenilworth Castle, i.e. leased it from the Crown. (See “A Kenilworth Chronology” by Harry Sunley)

4. With regard to the Restoration the article says “In 1660 Charles II gave the castle to Sir Edward Hyde, whom he created Baron Hyde of Hindon and Earl of Clarendon.”

The first part of this sentence is incorrect. In 1660 Charles II’s mother (Queen Henrietta Maria) successfully claimed back Kenilworth Castle and Lord Monmouth resumed his stewardship. When Lord Monmouth died in 1661 the lease passed to his daughters. In 1665 the Castle was granted to Lawrence Hyde (later made Earl of Rochester), the second son of Edward Hyde, Lord Clarendon. (See “A Kenilworth Chronology” by Harry Sunley). Lawrence’s son Henry inherited the Clarendon earldom in 1724 when the elder branch of the Hyde family died out. Jillingworth (talk) 12:22, 31 December 2007 (UTC)