Set on two islands in the middle of a lake, in the Kent countryside, Leeds Castle is reckoned one of the most beautiful castles in England. A residence of medieval queens, it was transformed by Henry VIII into a pleasure house for his first wife, Catherine of Aragon.
The castle of queens
The first stone fortress was raised about 1119 by the Norman baron Robert de Crèvecœur; in 1278 the castle entered the Crown's domain under Edward I, who made it a fortified palace for his queen Eleanor of Castile. From then on, and for nearly three centuries, Leeds belonged to the dower of the queens of England: several sovereigns lived here — Margaret of France, Isabella of France, Joan of Navarre, Anne of Bohemia, Catherine de Valois — which earned it the nickname of 'the ladies' castle'. Its situation, on islands linked by bridges in the middle of a lake fed by the river Len, made it at once a fortress easy to defend and a place of rare beauty, seeming to float on the water. The small islet bears the Gloriette, the oldest core, while the Maiden's Tower is among the Tudor works ascribed to the oversight of Sir Henry Guildford, master of the revels to the young Henry VIII, until his death in 1532. The two islands, ringed by the waters of the Len and linked by bridges, make an ensemble in which defence and delight merge: behind the ramparts, bright apartments, a chapel, courtyards sheltered from the wind. At the dawn of the Renaissance it kept all the charm of the fortified medieval castle.
The home of Catherine of Aragon
Henry VIII, in the early years of his reign, loved Leeds and transformed it for Catherine of Aragon, his first wife. Between 1517 and 1523 he had major works carried out so that the royal couple could stay there in comfort: adorned apartments, fireplaces, enlarged windows. In 1520 the king and his queen broke their journey here on the road to Dover, on their way to France for the sumptuous meeting of the Field of the Cloth of Gold, and the castle had just been refurbished for the occasion. The king stayed here, hunted and received here. It was, before the 'great matter' of the divorce, one of the places of royal happiness. Later the castle left the Crown's domain and knew many owners, but it kept the mark of the time when Henry VIII, young and in love, embellished his castle for his Spanish queen.
What to see
- The castle on the water, on its two islands linked by bridges.
- The Gloriette, the medieval core on the small islet, and the Tudor Maiden's Tower.
- The gardens and the vast park around the lake.
- The exceptional setting of the lake, which makes the place's fame.
Did you know?
Leeds Castle was for so long the dower of the queens of England that it was nicknamed 'the ladies' castle': from Queen Eleanor of Castile to Catherine of Aragon, generations of sovereigns lived here or owned it. A rare feminine privilege in a world of masculine fortresses, this castle on the water was, for centuries, a domain of queens.
Markers
Leeds Castle lies near Maidstone, in Kent, south-east of London (not to be confused with the city of Leeds, in the north), amid its lake and park.
Quiz
- What geographical feature characterises Leeds Castle?
- It is built on islands in the middle of a lake
- It is perched on a cliff
- It is carved into the rock
- For which wife did Henry VIII transform the castle?
- Catherine of Aragon
- Anne Boleyn
- Jane Seymour
- What nickname did Leeds Castle earn over the centuries?
- The 'ladies' castle'
- The 'black castle'
- The 'king's castle'