Leeds Castle; "On an autumnal evening, when the bracken is golden and a faint blue mist among the trees, the loveliest castle in the whole world!". Lord Conway.
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These are the words of Lord Conway in the popular magazine, “Country Life”. A visit to this beautiful but much altered castle is a great day out. This castle has links and associated features to many amazing stories from English history and is set in the exquisite Kent countryside, often called, “the Garden of England”. It is an experience not to be missed. Even the ramble from the car park to the castle is an attractive walk . Leeds is a unique castle in that it is associated six royal queens; people often overlooked in a male dominated world and should be high on every History lover’s lists of places to visit. It has links to the medieval world of the Plantagenets and that of Henry VIII. When he took possession of it, he transformed the castle from a fortified stronghold to a magnificent royal palace, fit for a mighty Tudor king and his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. You can have fun looking for Henry’s and Catherine’s symbols which have been left behind for posterity. From Henry’s time until the 1930s, the castle changed hands many times and became run down. Fortunately, a rich American, Lady Olive Baillie brought it back to life in the 1930s and Leeds entered a new phase of gothic fantasy with famous parties attracting celebrities from all over the world. The actors, James Stewart and Charlie Chaplin were amongst her guest as well as politicians such as Winston Churchill.
When does the story of Leeds Castle begin?
The manor of Leeds was noted in the Domesday book of 1086 and was owned then by William the Conqueror’s notorious brother, a much disliked man by the English for ignoring laws and illegal landgrabing. He fell out with William the Conqueror’s son , William Rufus (William II) when the conqueror died and rebelled. He failed and was banished and so William Rufus granted it to the loyal, Norman knight, Hamo de Crevecoeur and it was held by the family for the next 175 years. It was Hamo’s grandson, Robert who erected the first stone castle on two rocky island in the River Len. The Keep being the main fortification was on the farthest island now called the “Gloriette’ and domestic buildings were on the other, larger island, later called the bailey. A drawbridge linked the two buildings and could be raised in times of trouble. It was defended by water on all sides.
King Stephen besieges Leeds Castle 1139 in the Great Anarchy”
In 1135 Henry I died and his only surviving heir was his daughter Matilda. Despite swearing allegiance to his heir as soon as Henry died, Henry’s nephew, Stephen of Blois, seized the throne of England and his claim was supported by many of the English barons. The de Crevecoeur family remained loyal to Matilda and so in 1139, Leeds castle was successfully besieged by King Stephen. Fortunately for the Crevecoeurs, Stephen forgave them and they held on to Leeds.
The remains of the original barbican and portcullis
The story of Leeds Castle’s was mostly shaped by powerful women
Eleanor of Castile
In the mid 13th century Leeds was owned by William de Leyburn fell into debt and so had to sell the castle. The purchaser was Queen Eleanor of Castille, the wife of Edward I. She developed and extended the castle as well as building the revetment wall shown in the photo below.
The revetment wall built by Queen Eleanor of Castille.
Eleanor loved medieval style luxury and consequently built a bathhouse at a time when they were virtually unheard-of in castles. She even had glazed windows at a time when windows were open or shuttered and were very draughty as well as carpets on the floor! To cap it all, she ate with a knife and fork at a time when huge banquets were usually only accompanied by knives and spoons where necessary, as well as people’s fingers! She is also remarkable by having sixteen children in her 36 year marriage to Edward I. She had married him aged fourteen in November 1254 and had given birth to her first child the following May! She even gave birth to two daughters whilst to the Holy Land. Edward was said to be devastated at her death in 1290 but took the castle into his possession.
2. Leeds Castle and Queen Margaret, Edward I’s second wife.
Edward was now 60 but took a second wife, the 17 year old Princess Margaret, half sister of King Philip of France. They spent their honeymoon at Leeds and soon afterwards Edward gave her the castle. This is often called a “Dower” or personal property of a queen that she could keep if she outlived her husband.
3. Margaret de Clare (Lady Badlesmere)
When Edward II came to the throne, he soon proved to be very unpopular with his barons. He showed great favouritism to certain individuals such as Hugh Despenser and Piers Gaveston. By 1321, Edward II’s policies had led to another baronial revolt which included the new tenant of Leeds Castle, Bartholomew Badlesmere. The rebels were based at Oxford and so Badlesmere left his castle in the charge of his wife, Margaret whilst he joined them. Edward II now hatched a plan to get the castle back and so sent Queen Isabella there with the message thatch had been on a pilgrimage to Canterbury and needed shelter for the night. Margaret refused her request and her men opened fire on the Queen’s entourage. This was exactly what Edward wanted because he had an excuse to avenge this insult to the queen. Edward led his army to besiege the castle and after one week, Margret surrendered. She ended up in the Tower of London with her children whilst her husband, Bartholomew has hanged drawn and quartered in Canterbury with his decapitated head being displayed at the city gate!
The castle now came into the possession of Queen Isabella who held onto it until she died in 1358. At this point, it reverted back to her son, King, Edward III who added two portcullises, a drawbridge and machicolations.
4. Queen Anne of Bohemia
Following tradition, in 1382, King Richard II gave Leeds castle to his queen, Anne of Bohemia. Having spent the Christmas before her wedding at the castle, she and Richard became regular visitors until her death in 1394 from the plague! Richard continued to use it for business and leisure and in 1395 the famous French chronicler referred to the castle as “a beautiful palace in Kent”.
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5. Queen Joan of Navarre
Again, keeping with tradition, King Henry IV, gave Leeds Castle in 1403, to his second wife, Joan of Navarre. She became one of the wealthiest women in England and as a consequence, was a target for her stepson Henry V’s plans to get money to refinance his wars in France. His plan involved accusing her of witchcraft, imprisoning her and confiscating all of her lands and possessions. For a time she was imprisoned in Leeds Castle and accused of “sorcery” and “necromancy” which involved using magic to communicate with the dead. She was also accused of plotting the king’s death “by the most high and horrible means”. However she was never brought to trial because if found innocent she would get back all of her property but if found guilty it would be a huge royal scandal! She was imprisoned from 1419-22 which even included a period of solitary confinement at Pevensey Castle.
6. Catherine de Valois and the birth of the Tudor dynasty.
When Henry V died she was bequeathed Leeds Castle and she held onto it along with other properties until she died. She then began a secret affair with a Welsh squire, Owen Tudor. To keep their affair discreet, they kept their distance from the royal court in London and probably stayed for long periods in Leeds Castle, conceiving three children including, Edmund Tudor, the father of the future Henry VII, the first Tudor King and therefore founder of the Tudor dynasty.
7. Eleanor Cobham
In September 1422 Henry V died, leaving his throne to nine month old son, Henry VI. His Lord Protector during his early years was his uncle, Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester. Humphrey was the “power behind the throne” and as long as Henry VI remained childless, Humphrey was his heir and Humphrey’s wife, Eleanor Cobham was, potentially, the next queen. In the summer of 1440, Eleanor had her fortune told by two eminent scholars and she was informed that Henry VI would die the following year. This meant that Humphrey would be the next king and she would be his queen. News of such prophecies got to Henry and he immediately imprisoned Eleanor and her two astrologers in Leeds Castle. More charges against Eleanor were brought including consulting a witch called Margery Jourdemayne to get a love potion to help her conceive! In all, Eleanor was charged with 18 counts of necromancy and kept at Leeds. Eleanor’s first astrologer , Roger Bolingbroke was hanged drawn and quartered whilst the second one, Thomas Southwell, a physician, died in the Tower of London awaiting the same punishment. The witch, Margery Jourdemaine was burnt at the stake.
Poor Eleanor’s life was spared but she was humiliated, being divorced from Humphrey and then made to walk barefoot through the streets of London carrying a candle, the usual sentence for a prostitute. However, this was not the end, she was sentenced to life imprisonment in Beaumaris Castle on the Isle of Anglesey.
8. Catherine of Aragon
Henry VIII inherited a lot of money from his miserly father and liked spending it. Between 1517 and 1523, Henry transformed Leeds Castle into a magnificent royal palace. He added an upper floor to the “Gloriette” for the exclusive use of Catherine of Aragon together with fireplaces decorated with the royal arms and Spanish motifs.
Catherine of Aragon’s coat of arms with the three lions of England and the fleurs de lys of France (Henry always claimed France)
The fireplace in the Queen’s Gallery with Henry’s and Catherine of Aragon’s symbols.
Apparently, when in residence, Catherine had 1200 staff and as a consequence, as part of the redevelopment work, Henry reconstructed the “Maiden’s Tower” to accommodate them!
On the right is the “Maiden’s Tower” which was redeveloped in Henry VIII’s time to accommodate over one thousand of Catherine of Aragon’s staff!
In 1520, long before Henry started to have issues with his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, they both stopped off for the night before travelling from Dover to the famous “Field Of Cloth of Gold “ meeting with King Francis I of France. Apparently, Henry had an entourage of 3997 people and Catherine had her personal staff (retinue) of 1175!.
Here you can see a painting of the Henry’s fleet made up of 27 ships, departing Dover to go across the channel to the “Field of Cloth of Gold” near Calais,
The aim of the meeting was to demonstrate to each other Anglo-French friendship but also to show off who was the “top King”. The event involved golden tents, amazing costumes, huge feasts, jousting and even a wrestling match between Henry and Francis. Henry even had a temporary palace erected that covered an area of about 10 000 square metres! Red wine flowed from two fountains outside and inside two royal monkeys covered in gold leaf entertained visitors.
9. Lady Olive Baillie (ne Paget)
In 1925, Leeds Castle was acquired by Mrs Wilson-Filmer, who on her third marriage became Lady Olive Baillie. Initially she wanted to renovate the castles medieval features but her tastes changed over time and glamorous features were added throughout her life. She even installed a swimming pool with a wave machine and had zebras and llamas roaming the grounds. Leeds Castle now took on the role of a 1920s and 1930s party residence with famous people such as film stars, Charlie Chaplin and James Stewart attending as well as Winston Churchill.
Leeds Castle and World War Two
During the war, Lady Baillie stayed in the Gloriette whilst the front of the castle, “The New Castle” was converted into a hospital. Many of the wounded soldiers rescued from Dunkirk in 1940 were patients and pioneering plastic surgery performed by Sir Archibald McIndoe on severely burnt Battle of Britain pilots were sent here to recuperate. In the grounds, the testing of various secret weapons such as flame throwers were carried out and modified for the possible defence of the UK should the Germans successfully invade.
The “New Castle” used as a hospital in World War Two.
Essential information;
Getting there;
By car
Leeds Castle is 7 miles east of Maidstone, Junction 8 of the M20 motorway just 1 hour from London, 30 minutes from the Channel Tunnel and Channel Ports. Clearly sign posted from all routes - following the brown and white tourist signs.
Dartford River Crossing is 30 minutes. If you are using a satellite navigation system, then please follow the brown and white tourist signs once you reach the A20 as your navigation system may incorrectly direct you to a private entrance where you will be redirected. Alternatively please use the following post code: ME17 1RG.
Travelling by Train
We recommend travelling to Bearsted Station.Southeastern runs frequent services to and from Bearsted and a coach shuttle service run by Spot Travel is available from the station from April to September. A private service is also available from October to March. Please check the Spot Travel website or call 01622 738932 before you travel.
Coach Tours from London
Sightseeing tours from London and all areas of the South East are operated on a year round basis by the following companies:
Evan Evans (020 7950 1777)
Golden Tours (020 7233 7030)
Premium Tours (020 7404 5100)
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