Kimbolton Castle
Encyclopedia
Kimbolton Castle in Kimbolton
, Cambridgeshire
, is best known as the final home of King Henry VIII
's first queen, Catherine of Aragon
. Originally a medieval castle but converted into a stately palace, it was the family seat of the Dukes of Manchester
from 1615 until 1950. It now houses Kimbolton School
.
times. Later, King John
granted Geoffrey Fitz Peter
, Earl of Essex
permission to hold a fair and market in Kimbolton, as a consequence of which a market place was created, with the existing church at one end and a new castle at the other. No remains of this castle (most likely a fortified manor house) remain, although it was built on the site of the present castle.
family. The medieval castle was rebuilt as a Tudor manor house, parts of which survive. Catherine of Aragon
was sent here in April 1534 for refusing to give up her status or deny the validity of her marriage. The fen
land climate damaged her health, and she died here in January 1536. Her body was carried in procession to the Peterborough Abbey (now Peterborough Cathedral
). She is reputed to haunt the castle.
The castle was bought by Sir Henry Montagu
, later 1st Earl of Manchester, in 1615. His descendants owned the castle for 335 years until it was sold in 1951.
Charles Edward Montagu
, the 4th Earl who was created 1st Duke of Manchester
in 1719, had many works of reconstruction carried out between 1690 and 1720. Sir John Vanbrugh
and his assistant Nicholas Hawksmoor
redesigned the facades of the castle in a classical style, but with battlements to evoke its history as a castle, the portico was later added by Alessandro Galilei. The Venetian
painter Giovanni Antonio Pellegrini
redecorated some of the reconstructed rooms in 1708, including the main staircase and the chapel. Rich, gilded furnishings in a Louis XIV-inspired style were commissioned from French upholsterers working in London.
For a later duke, Robert Adam
produced plans for the castle gatehouse and other garden buildings, including an orangery
. Only one of these buildings, the gatehouse, was constructed in around 1764. Mews
buildings were added to provide stables, and an avenue of Giant Sequoias was planted in the 19th century.
The castle was used by the Royal Army Medical Corps
during World War II
, and the 10th Duke of Manchester
sold the castle to Kimbolton School
in 1950. The furnishings were scattered in sales and some have come to national collections. There is limited public opening during the school holidays and at weekends.
on command of one of the castle's inhabitants to add interest to his horizon, complete with a single decorative facade facing the castle; it is grade II* listed and owned by the Landmark Trust
but currently dilapidated. In 2011, the Trust started renovating the house, under a design from architect Oliver Caroe.
who died there in 1536 after several years of imprisonment. Some say that this ghost walks upon the original floor levels which have been altered since her day, such that her ghost appears as legs and lower body projecting from the ceiling on one floor with head and upper body gliding along the floor above. Another former inhabitant of the Castle, Sir John Popham, reputedly threw his baby child out of a castle window into the courtyard. It is said that the stone upon which the baby landed glows red annually on the anniversary of this event, whilst others says that this story is the invention of one of the Kimbolton School history staff. A third ghostly legend of similarly dubious provenance describes a female spectre periodically walking in a field north-east of the castle, on the gentle slope below Warren House.
Kimbolton, Cambridgeshire
Kimbolton is a large village in Cambridgeshire, England. It is approximately east of Higham Ferrers, west of St Neots and west of Cambridge, north of Bedford and south of Peterborough.-Castle:...
, Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...
, is best known as the final home of King Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
's first queen, Catherine of Aragon
Catherine of Aragon
Catherine of Aragon , also known as Katherine or Katharine, was Queen consort of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII of England and Princess of Wales as the wife to Arthur, Prince of Wales...
. Originally a medieval castle but converted into a stately palace, it was the family seat of the Dukes of Manchester
Duke of Manchester
Duke of Manchester is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1719 for the politician Charles Montagu, 4th Earl of Manchester, who notably served as Secretary of State for the Southern Department. The Duke of Manchester is styled His Grace.-Origin and descent:The Montagu family...
from 1615 until 1950. It now houses Kimbolton School
Kimbolton School
Kimbolton School is a British HMC co-educational Public day and boarding school located in the village of Kimbolton, in rural Cambridgeshire but close to the borders of Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire, educating approximately 950 boys and girls between the ages of 4 and 18, with an almost even...
.
Norman castles
A wooden motte and bailey castle was built in Kimbolton, on a different site, in NormanNorman dynasty
Norman dynasty is the usual designation for the family that were the Dukes of Normandy and the English monarchs which immediately followed the Norman conquest and lasted until the Plantagenet dynasty came to power in 1154. It included Rollo and his descendants, and from William the Conqueror and...
times. Later, King John
John of England
John , also known as John Lackland , was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death...
granted Geoffrey Fitz Peter
Geoffrey Fitz Peter, 1st Earl of Essex
Geoffrey Fitz Peter, Earl of Essex was a prominent member of the government of England during the reigns of Richard I and John. The patronymic is sometimes rendered Fitz Piers, for he was the son of Piers de Lutegareshale, forester of Ludgershall.-Life:He was from a modest landowning family that...
, Earl of Essex
Earl of Essex
Earl of Essex is a title that has been held by several families and individuals. The earldom was first created in the 12th century for Geoffrey II de Mandeville . Upon the death of the third earl in 1189, the title became dormant or extinct...
permission to hold a fair and market in Kimbolton, as a consequence of which a market place was created, with the existing church at one end and a new castle at the other. No remains of this castle (most likely a fortified manor house) remain, although it was built on the site of the present castle.
Tudor castle
The castle went through various phases of ownership until, by the 1520s, it belonged to the WingfieldRichard Wingfield
Sir Richard Wingfield, of Kimbolton Castle was an influential courtier and diplomat in the early years of the Tudor dynasty of England.-Life:...
family. The medieval castle was rebuilt as a Tudor manor house, parts of which survive. Catherine of Aragon
Catherine of Aragon
Catherine of Aragon , also known as Katherine or Katharine, was Queen consort of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII of England and Princess of Wales as the wife to Arthur, Prince of Wales...
was sent here in April 1534 for refusing to give up her status or deny the validity of her marriage. The fen
Fen
A fen is a type of wetland fed by mineral-rich surface water or groundwater. Fens are characterised by their water chemistry, which is neutral or alkaline, with relatively high dissolved mineral levels but few other plant nutrients...
land climate damaged her health, and she died here in January 1536. Her body was carried in procession to the Peterborough Abbey (now Peterborough Cathedral
Peterborough Cathedral
Peterborough Cathedral, properly the Cathedral Church of St Peter, St Paul and St Andrew – also known as Saint Peter's Cathedral in the United Kingdom – is the seat of the Bishop of Peterborough, dedicated to Saint Peter, Saint Paul and Saint Andrew, whose statues look down from the...
). She is reputed to haunt the castle.
Earls and Dukes of Manchester
Henry Montagu, 1st Earl of Manchester
Sir Henry Montagu, 1st Earl of Manchester was an English judge, politician and peer.-Life:He was the grandson of Sir Edward Montagu, Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench from 1539 to 1545, who was named by King Henry VIII one of the executors of his will, and governor to his son, Edward VI.Born...
, later 1st Earl of Manchester, in 1615. His descendants owned the castle for 335 years until it was sold in 1951.
Charles Edward Montagu
Charles Montagu, 1st Duke of Manchester
Charles Edward Montagu, 1st Duke of Manchester, 4th Earl of Manchester , son of Robert Montagu, 3rd Earl of Manchester, was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, and succeeded to his father's earldom in 1683...
, the 4th Earl who was created 1st Duke of Manchester
Duke of Manchester
Duke of Manchester is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1719 for the politician Charles Montagu, 4th Earl of Manchester, who notably served as Secretary of State for the Southern Department. The Duke of Manchester is styled His Grace.-Origin and descent:The Montagu family...
in 1719, had many works of reconstruction carried out between 1690 and 1720. Sir John Vanbrugh
John Vanbrugh
Sir John Vanbrugh – 26 March 1726) was an English architect and dramatist, perhaps best known as the designer of Blenheim Palace and Castle Howard. He wrote two argumentative and outspoken Restoration comedies, The Relapse and The Provoked Wife , which have become enduring stage favourites...
and his assistant Nicholas Hawksmoor
Nicholas Hawksmoor
Nicholas Hawksmoor was a British architect born in Nottinghamshire, probably in East Drayton.-Life:Hawksmoor was born in Nottinghamshire in 1661, into a yeoman farming family, almost certainly in East Drayton, Nottinghamshire. On his death he was to leave property at nearby Ragnall, Dunham and a...
redesigned the facades of the castle in a classical style, but with battlements to evoke its history as a castle, the portico was later added by Alessandro Galilei. The Venetian
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
painter Giovanni Antonio Pellegrini
Giovanni Antonio Pellegrini
Giovanni Antonio Pellegrini was a widely-travelled Rococo decorative painter from Venice, where he was born and died...
redecorated some of the reconstructed rooms in 1708, including the main staircase and the chapel. Rich, gilded furnishings in a Louis XIV-inspired style were commissioned from French upholsterers working in London.
For a later duke, Robert Adam
Robert Adam
Robert Adam was a Scottish neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam , Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and trained under him...
produced plans for the castle gatehouse and other garden buildings, including an orangery
Orangery
An orangery was a building in the grounds of fashionable residences from the 17th to the 19th centuries and given a classicising architectural form. The orangery was similar to a greenhouse or conservatory...
. Only one of these buildings, the gatehouse, was constructed in around 1764. Mews
Mews
Mews is a primarily British term formerly describing a row of stables, usually with carriage houses below and living quarters above, built around a paved yard or court, or along a street, behind large city houses, such as those of London, during the 17th and 18th centuries. The word may also...
buildings were added to provide stables, and an avenue of Giant Sequoias was planted in the 19th century.
The castle was used by the Royal Army Medical Corps
Royal Army Medical Corps
The Royal Army Medical Corps is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all British Army personnel and their families in war and in peace...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, and the 10th Duke of Manchester
Alexander Montagu, 10th Duke of Manchester
Alexander George Francis Drogo Montagu, 10th Duke of Manchester OBE was a Royal Navy officer and British hereditary peer...
sold the castle to Kimbolton School
Kimbolton School
Kimbolton School is a British HMC co-educational Public day and boarding school located in the village of Kimbolton, in rural Cambridgeshire but close to the borders of Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire, educating approximately 950 boys and girls between the ages of 4 and 18, with an almost even...
in 1950. The furnishings were scattered in sales and some have come to national collections. There is limited public opening during the school holidays and at weekends.
Warren House
On the grounds of the castle is Warren House, a former warrener's lodge converted into a late 18th-century follyFolly
In architecture, a folly is a building constructed primarily for decoration, but either suggesting by its appearance some other purpose, or merely so extravagant that it transcends the normal range of garden ornaments or other class of building to which it belongs...
on command of one of the castle's inhabitants to add interest to his horizon, complete with a single decorative facade facing the castle; it is grade II* listed and owned by the Landmark Trust
Landmark Trust
The Landmark Trust is a British building conservation charity, founded in 1965 by Sir John and Lady Smith, that rescues buildings of historic interest or architectural merit and then gives them a new life by making them available for holiday rental...
but currently dilapidated. In 2011, the Trust started renovating the house, under a design from architect Oliver Caroe.
Haunting
Kimbolton Castle is reported to be haunted by Catherine of AragonCatherine of Aragon
Catherine of Aragon , also known as Katherine or Katharine, was Queen consort of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII of England and Princess of Wales as the wife to Arthur, Prince of Wales...
who died there in 1536 after several years of imprisonment. Some say that this ghost walks upon the original floor levels which have been altered since her day, such that her ghost appears as legs and lower body projecting from the ceiling on one floor with head and upper body gliding along the floor above. Another former inhabitant of the Castle, Sir John Popham, reputedly threw his baby child out of a castle window into the courtyard. It is said that the stone upon which the baby landed glows red annually on the anniversary of this event, whilst others says that this story is the invention of one of the Kimbolton School history staff. A third ghostly legend of similarly dubious provenance describes a female spectre periodically walking in a field north-east of the castle, on the gentle slope below Warren House.