Leeds Castle is located 7 miles southeast of Maidstone in Kent, England. It is constructed on islands in a lake made by the River Len to the east of Leeds. The castle has stood on the site since 857 A.D. It passed into the hands of King Edward I in the 13th century, and it became a favorite house for him; in the 16th century, Henry VIII used it as a palace for his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. The current castle was built largely in the nineteenth century. Since 1976, it has been open to the public. The location was possessed by a Saxon chief named Led or Leed, who built a wooden structure on two islands in the middle of the River Len beginning in 857. Leeds Castle was rebuilt in stone as a Norman stronghold by Robert de Crevecoeur in 1119, and it passed down through the de Crevecoeur family until the 1260s. It is unclear what shape this Norman stronghold took because it was rebuilt and modified over the years. Adrian Pettifer hypothesizes that it was a motte and bailey. Eleanor of Castile, Queen of King Edward I, purchased the castle in 1278. It experienced significant investment as preferred abode of Edward. The monarch strengthened its defenses, and it was most likely Edward who built the lake that surrounds the castle. The increase of the royal household in the late Middle Ages meant that fewer residences could host the kings when they visited. As a result, with the exception of the Tower of London and Windsor Castle, spending on royal homes in south east England has largely fallen. Leeds Castle in its action during the reign of Edward I was a significant exception to this tendency. On 31 October 1321, the army of Edward II conquered the castle from Margaret de Clare, Baroness Badlesmere, wife of the castle-constable, Bartholomew de Badlesmere, 1st Baron Badlesmere, who had left her in charge during his absence. Anne of Bohemia, first wife of Richard II, spent the winter of 1381 in the castle on her journey to marry the king. In 1519, Henry VIII transformed the castle for his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. There is still an artwork depicting his visit with Francis I of France hanging there. The castle was still owned by the St Lever family until Sir Warham St Lever sold it to Sir Richard Smythe in 1618. Because its owner, Sir Cheney Culpeper, supported the Parliamentarians during the English Civil War, the castle was spared destruction. The castle was owned by Robert Fairfax for 46 years until 1793, when it went to the Wykeham Martins. The sale of the family holdings in Virginia generated a substantial quantity of money, allowing extensive restoration and remodelling of the castle in Tudor style, which was completed in 1823 and resulted in the current structure
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Monuments and Architecture
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