Ahead of the second series of Secrets of Great British Castles (Channel 5; October 28, 8pm), and with half term around the corner, presenter and historian Dan Jones nominates his 12 favourites.
What you didn't know about Britain's 12 best castles
The Telegraph
Dan Jones
20 October 2016
Ahead of the second series of Secrets of Great British Castles (Channel 5; October 28, 8pm), and with half term around the corner, presenter and historian Dan Jones nominates his 12 favourites.
What you didn't know about Britain's 12 best castles
The Telegraph
20 October 2016
Dan Jones
Ahead of the second series of Secrets of Great British Castles (Channel 5; October 28, 8pm), and with half term around the corner, presenter and historian Dan Jones nominates his 12 favourites.
1. Edinburgh Castle
When I was a child we lived in Edinburgh - and I can still remember trips on the bus along Princes Street with my mother, peering up at the incredible castle perched high on its volcanic crag above the city, at the top of the Royal Mile. It is one of the UK’s most popular tourist sites, and with good reason. It’s vast, it’s extremely well preserved and it puts on a pretty good show at the end of every summer when it hosts the Military Tattoo. It’s known as 'the most besieged castle in Britain’, having been assaulted more than twenty times during its long history. And it’s home to the gigantic cannon called Mons Meg - so vast it could fire a cannonball with a similar diameter to a Tomahawk missile a couple of miles. Visitors can also see the Scottish crown jewels and look around royal apartments decorated with roses and thistles: a reminder of the tangled history of the Tudor and Stuart royal houses. James IV of Scotland and Mary Queen of Scots were two casualties of that family drama, and both have a personal history tied to Edinburgh Castle. With the possible exception of Windsor, this is the grandest and most storied royal castle in the British Isles (edinburghcastle.gov.uk).
Did you know? The 'Black Dinner’ took place at Edinburgh Castle in 1440. The teenage earl of Douglas and his younger brother were dragged from a banquet and murdered. It directly inspired the infamous 'Red Wedding’ in Game of Thrones.
2. Dover Castle
When you arrived in England from the continent in Plantagenet times, the menacing square keep of Dover Castle, regal above the White Cliffs, was the first sign of civilisation you saw. That's exactly what Henry II intended when he built it. The castle became the first stopping point for foreign dignitaries coming to visit the Canterbury shrine to the martyred Archbishop Thomas Becket. It was also the military key to England - which is why it was defended so fiercely during the civil war that followed the failure of Magna Carta in 1215. But there's more than just medieval history at Dover. Defensive tunnels under the castle take you into the paranoid hysteria of the Napoleonic wars, when this would have been the first place to suffer if the French invaded. In the Second Word War this was the base from which the small ships left to evacuate Dunkirk. And Dover also has a massive, chilling Cold War bunker - built to house a regional government in the event of the Third World War (01304 211067; english-heritage.org.uk).
Did you know? The Cold War tunnels under Dover Castle were equipped with everything a government would need to hold out during nuclear holocaust. But since they were cut into chalk, which is permeable, they would eventually have let in the radioactive rain.
The world's most gruesome history quiz
3. The Tower of London
Is there a more famous castle in the world? The Tower was recently the venue for the Game of Thrones series 5 premiere, which was apt, because over the last nine centuries it has seen plenty of action worthy of Westeros. This was where the Princes in the Tower disappeared during the reign of Richard III. It was the stage for the final, fatal drama of Anne Boleyn's life. Earlier, in 1381 it was ransacked by a rebellious mob during the Peasants' Revolt. Colonel Blood stole the Crown jewels here in the 17th century and the Duke of Wellington marched fairly grumpily around its courtyards when he was constable of the Tower a decade after Waterloo. The Tower has been a zoo, a palace, a prison, a garrison, a royal mint and a home - which is why it's inundated with tourists throughout the year. We filmed here when it was surrounded by the sea of ceramic poppies marking the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War. It looked quite incredible (0844 482 7777; hrp.org.uk).
Did you know? From 1210 until 1832 the Tower of London had a zoo, which included polar bears, elephants and grizzly bears. At one stage, the price of admittance was a cat or dog to throw to the lions.
4. Warwick Castle
The first thing I was told on arrival at Warwick castle was not to crawl into the medieval dungeon known as the oubliette, because it was damp, cold and possibly dangerous. Obviously I went straight to the oubliette and crawled in. They were right - it was rank. The rest of the castle, however, is stunning, and throws you successively into the days of William the Conqueror, the Wars of the Roses and the Civil War. In some rooms you can still see graffiti made by 17th-century prisoners carving their names and family crests into the stone walls. The battlements are in as splendid shape as the gardens; so too are the apartments that were occupied by the Greville family until they sold it in mid-20th century. Now the place is bouncing with Horrible History stalls, archery and hawking demonstrations, a giant catapult that shoots fireballs and a new hi-tech attraction called the Time Tower. As well as being historically fascinating, it's one of the best family days out in England (0871 265 2000; warwick-castle.com).
Did you know? Charles Greville, the last Earl of Warwick to own Warwick castle, was more interested in acting than being lord of the castle. He had a short-lived career in the movies, and was known in Los Angeles as The Duke of Hollywood.
5. Caernarvon Castle
Like his Norman ancestors, who were insatiable castle-builders, Edward I knew that if you wanted to subjugate a people then you had to stamp a sign of your rule directly onto their landscape. That's the thought behind the extraordinary ring of stone castles that were built around Snowdonia in the late 13th century. Caernarvon is my favourite of the lot: virtually the same size as the town that surrounds it, with massive, polygonal towers and a huge curtain wall, half of it facing the land and half overlooking a quiet little fishing harbour. Today the combined effect is stunning, although it must have been pretty loathsome to the Welsh in the middle ages. Visiting Caernarvon is a brilliant way to get your head around that strange relationship between the kings of England and Princes of Wales. It's connected to the rebellions of Owain Glyndwr, and it's a short hop from Anglesey, where a certain Tudor family originally lived. One day we may see William, Duke of Cambridge invested as Prince of Wales in Caernarvon, just as his father Prince Charles was in 1969 (01286 677617; caernarfon-castle.co.uk).
Did you know? The castle cost £22,000 to build - a staggering sum at the time and more than the Treasury's annual income from tax. Fascinating facts about Britain's churches and cathedrals
6. Stirling Castle
It's perched high on a volcanic crag above an ancient crossing of the river Forth and, for my money, Stirling Castle is one of the most impressive man-made sights in the whole of Scotland. It's a steep climb up the streets of the town below, but worth the puff. This is where an infant Mary Queen of Scots was protected from Henry VIII, where James IV allowed his alchemist to attempt to fly from the castle walls (he landed in a rubbish dump) and where Edward I tested out War Wolf, probably the biggest trebuchet ever conceived, during a siege in 1304. As you approach the main gate, you pass a statue of Robert the Bruce, the hero of the battle of Bannockburn. Lean out from the parapets and you can see Stirling Bridge: the site of another great Scottish victory in battle against the English, under the leadership of William Wallace, now better known as Braveheart. But for all that Anglo-Scottish hostility, Stirling is also the place where James VI grew up - the first king to rule both Scotland and England (01786 450000; stirlingcastle.gov.uk).
Did you know? John Damian was the resident alchemist at Stirling Castle in the early 16th century. He spent a vast amount of the king's money trying to turn metal into gold. He failed, perhaps because one of his favourite scientific substances was whisky.
7. Carrickfergus Castle
In the 13th century it was a stronghold of King John, who was responsible for building the defensive walls that jut out into the Belfast Lough. Carrickfergus is a great kicking-off point from which to explore the whole coast of Antrim - one of the most beautiful stretches of coastline in the whole of our islands. However, the beauty masks a beastly history of religious, national and political conflict between Irish and British, Catholic and Protestant. Much of the fear and loathing originated in this little castle. The Rathlin Island massacre, the Plantation of Ulster, Cromwell's war of starvation: all of these can be traced back in part to the castle. And as a blue plaque on the nearby pier tells you, this is where William III - King Billy, to use the local lingo - landed in 1690 ahead of the battle of the Boyne, which is still commemorated every year by the Orange Order's July 12 marches. For me, this was the most eye-opening of the castles we visited (028 9335 1273; carrickfergus.org/tourism/attractions).
Did you know? Escaping from a castle wasn't easy - but it could be done. Con O'Neill, a prisoner in Carrickfergus Castle, escaped when a friend smuggled him a rope hidden inside a wheel of cheese. He lowered himself out of his cell window, down the battlements and fled.
8. Cardiff Castle
One of the most intriguing castles in Wales sits at the end of Cardiff’s St Mary’s Street, a few minutes’ walk from the famous Principality (formerly Millennium) Stadium, the home of Welsh rugby. Most of Wales’ really famous castles are around Snowdonia in the north, having been erected by Edward I during the English invasions of the late 13th century. But Cardiff castle’s history goes back much further, to Roman times. (You can still see a section of Roman fortification built into the outer wall of the castle.) Its golden age is much more recent, though. During the nineteenth century the castle was owned by the Marquesses of Bute – Scottish aristocrats who became vastly rich industrialists, exploiting the mineral wealth of south Wales and redeveloping Cardiff city and its docks. The castle’s glittering interiors are the work of the architect William Burges, who worked for the 3rd Marquess of Bute to create a glittering neo-gothic fantasy and truly lavish family home. In 1947 the castle was given to the people of Cardiff and it is now preserved for visitors to enjoy (cardiffcastle.com).
Did you know? During the Second World War Nazi bombing raids targeted Cardiff docks. The castle’s walls were used as air-raid shelters, which could accommodate two thousand citizens. You can still explore the tunnels today.
9. York Castle
Known by locals as Clifford’s Tower, after the noble family that served as castellans from the sixteenth century, York Castle’s history is as rich as that of the ancient city around it. It was one of two fortresses built during William the Conqueror’s vicious attempts to control the Viking-influenced parts of England, known as the Harrying of the North. During the middle ages the castle expanded beyond the central tower that still stands, but it has a dark history. In 1190 York’s entire Jewish population was massacred after they took refuge in the castle to escape anti-Semitic rioting. Later in the middle ages Templar knights were locked up there after their order was dissolved. During Henry VIII’s reign a lawyer called Robert Aske - one of the leaders of the religious uprising called the Pilgrimage of Grace - was hanged in chains from the castle walls. And the castle’s prison once held the notorious Essex highwayman Dick Turpin – you can sit in the cell that he may once have occupied (english-heritage.org.uk).
Did you know? During Roman times almost the whole of York was fortified. As well as visiting the castle you can walk several miles around the city walls – a great way to see the old city and the stunning edifice of York Minster.
10. Leeds Castle
Despite the name, Leeds Castle is not in Yorkshire. It’s one of the most stunning buildings in Kent, a few miles away from Maidstone. It has been called 'the loveliest castle in the world’, thanks to its setting on two islands within a large moat stocked with black swans and other water-fowl, around which you can take trips on a punt. Leeds’ long history has largely been made by powerful women, beginning with the medieval queen Eleanor of Castile, the wife of Edward I, who turned the castle into a luxurious (but still well guarded and fortified) royal holiday home. Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon stayed at Leeds in 1520 on their way to the French peace pageant called Field of the Cloth of Gold - the castle’s rooms (some of which are available to book for the night) still feel appropriately regal. During the twentieth century Leeds Castle was elegantly restored as a stately home by Olive, Lady Baillie, who threw parties there for politicians, writers, Hollywood stars and foreign royalty. Her vision of the castle is still preserved for visitors, along with new additions such as a glamping site, a maze and medieval entertainment (leeds-castle.com).
Did you know? During the Second World War Lady Baillie allowed the government to use Leeds castle for military experiments, and as a hospital for wounded airmen, including those from the 'Guinea Pig Club’ who had undergone pioneering plastic surgery to treat burns.
11. Lancaster Castle
Over the gatehouse leading into Lancaster Castle is a statue of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster and the father of Henry IV. Today the castle remains property of the Queen in her role as Duke (sic) of Lancaster – but its main function is as a working Crown Court. Indeed, the castle’s history is deeply connected with crime, punishment and the law - and in Hadrian’s Tower you can see a grim display of the instruments of shackling and torture that were used on prisoners in times gone by. The Pendle Witch trials took place at the castle in 1612: relying on evidence from a disturbed nine-year old girl, nine women were hanged and one died in prison. Two centuries later the court at the castle sent thousands of men and women from the dock to be transported on prison hulks to Australia. In our episode about the castle we meet the descendent of a sheep-rustler who was sent as a convict servant to New South Wales – she has a truly hair-raising story to tell (www.lancastercastle.com).
Did you know? The most notorious recent case to be heard at Lancaster Castle was the trial of the Birmingham Six in 1975, at which the defendents were found guilty of a pub-bombing that killed 21 people, and were sentenced to life imprisonment. Their convictions were overturned on appeal in 1991.
12. Arundel Castle
As country houses go, not too many are grander than Arundel Castle, still the home to the Fitzalan-Howard family, who are Dukes of Norfolk and Earls of Arundel. Their castle was originally built by one of William the Conqueror’s right-hand men, but it has been redeveloped in ever-more splendid fashion over the centuries and is now packed with incredible artefacts, joining its medieval history with its more recent heritage as a stately home. The oldest parts of the castle tell stories of medieval siegecraft, while the later buildings are lined with works of art by Gainsborough, Mytens and Van Dyck. The grounds and gardens are beautifully landscaped, and the Fitzalan chapel contains the tombs of many of the family’s most distinguished men and women. My favourite spot, though, is the castle’s cricket ground, a short walk through the picturesque little town, which is still used for invitational games and occasional matches involving the Sussex county side (www.arundelcastle.org).
Did you know? In 1846 Queen Victoria and Prince Albert came to stay at Arundel castle for three days – special furniture was commissioned for their visit and you can see it on display in the castle’s bedrooms.
Castle12 | Britain's 12 best castles - Travel
Ahead of the second series of Secrets of Great British Castles (Channel 5; October 28, 8pm), and with half term around the corner, presenter and historian Dan Jones nominates his 12 favourites.
1. Edinburgh Castle
When I was a child we lived in Edinburgh - and I can still remember trips on the bus along Princes Street with my mother, peering up at the incredible castle perched high on its volcanic crag above the city, at the top of the Royal Mile. It is one of the UK’s most popular tourist sites, and with good reason. It’s vast, it’s extremely well preserved and it puts on a pretty good show at the end of every summer when it hosts the Military Tattoo. It’s known as 'the most besieged castle in Britain’, having been assaulted more than twenty times during its long history. And it’s home to the gigantic cannon called Mons Meg - so vast it could fire a cannonball with a similar diameter to a Tomahawk missile a couple of miles. Visitors can also see the Scottish crown jewels and look around royal apartments decorated with roses and thistles: a reminder of the tangled history of the Tudor and Stuart royal houses. James IV of Scotland and Mary Queen of Scots were two casualties of that family drama, and both have a personal history tied to Edinburgh Castle. With the possible exception of Windsor, this is the grandest and most storied royal castle in the British Isles (edinburghcastle.gov.uk).
Did you know? The 'Black Dinner’ took place at Edinburgh Castle in 1440. The teenage earl of Douglas and his younger brother were dragged from a banquet and murdered. It directly inspired the infamous 'Red Wedding’ in Game of Thrones.
2. Dover Castle
When you arrived in England from the continent in Plantagenet times, the menacing square keep of Dover Castle, regal above the White Cliffs, was the first sign of civilisation you saw. That's exactly what Henry II intended when he built it. The castle became the first stopping point for foreign dignitaries coming to visit the Canterbury shrine to the martyred Archbishop Thomas Becket. It was also the military key to England - which is why it was defended so fiercely during the civil war that followed the failure of Magna Carta in 1215. But there's more than just medieval history at Dover. Defensive tunnels under the castle take you into the paranoid hysteria of the Napoleonic wars, when this would have been the first place to suffer if the French invaded. In the Second Word War this was the base from which the small ships left to evacuate Dunkirk. And Dover also has a massive, chilling Cold War bunker - built to house a regional government in the event of the Third World War (01304 211067; english-heritage.org.uk).
Did you know? The Cold War tunnels under Dover Castle were equipped with everything a government would need to hold out during nuclear holocaust. But since they were cut into chalk, which is permeable, they would eventually have let in the radioactive rain.
The world's most gruesome history quiz
3. The Tower of London
Is there a more famous castle in the world? The Tower was recently the venue for the Game of Thrones series 5 premiere, which was apt, because over the last nine centuries it has seen plenty of action worthy of Westeros. This was where the Princes in the Tower disappeared during the reign of Richard III. It was the stage for the final, fatal drama of Anne Boleyn's life. Earlier, in 1381 it was ransacked by a rebellious mob during the Peasants' Revolt. Colonel Blood stole the Crown jewels here in the 17th century and the Duke of Wellington marched fairly grumpily around its courtyards when he was constable of the Tower a decade after Waterloo. The Tower has been a zoo, a palace, a prison, a garrison, a royal mint and a home - which is why it's inundated with tourists throughout the year. We filmed here when it was surrounded by the sea of ceramic poppies marking the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War. It looked quite incredible (0844 482 7777; hrp.org.uk).
Did you know? From 1210 until 1832 the Tower of London had a zoo, which included polar bears, elephants and grizzly bears. At one stage, the price of admittance was a cat or dog to throw to the lions.
4. Warwick Castle
The first thing I was told on arrival at Warwick castle was not to crawl into the medieval dungeon known as the oubliette, because it was damp, cold and possibly dangerous. Obviously I went straight to the oubliette and crawled in. They were right - it was rank. The rest of the castle, however, is stunning, and throws you successively into the days of William the Conqueror, the Wars of the Roses and the Civil War. In some rooms you can still see graffiti made by 17th-century prisoners carving their names and family crests into the stone walls. The battlements are in as splendid shape as the gardens; so too are the apartments that were occupied by the Greville family until they sold it in mid-20th century. Now the place is bouncing with Horrible History stalls, archery and hawking demonstrations, a giant catapult that shoots fireballs and a new hi-tech attraction called the Time Tower. As well as being historically fascinating, it's one of the best family days out in England (0871 265 2000; warwick-castle.com).
Did you know? Charles Greville, the last Earl of Warwick to own Warwick castle, was more interested in acting than being lord of the castle. He had a short-lived career in the movies, and was known in Los Angeles as The Duke of Hollywood.
5. Caernarvon Castle
Like his Norman ancestors, who were insatiable castle-builders, Edward I knew that if you wanted to subjugate a people then you had to stamp a sign of your rule directly onto their landscape. That's the thought behind the extraordinary ring of stone castles that were built around Snowdonia in the late 13th century. Caernarvon is my favourite of the lot: virtually the same size as the town that surrounds it, with massive, polygonal towers and a huge curtain wall, half of it facing the land and half overlooking a quiet little fishing harbour. Today the combined effect is stunning, although it must have been pretty loathsome to the Welsh in the middle ages. Visiting Caernarvon is a brilliant way to get your head around that strange relationship between the kings of England and Princes of Wales. It's connected to the rebellions of Owain Glyndwr, and it's a short hop from Anglesey, where a certain Tudor family originally lived. One day we may see William, Duke of Cambridge invested as Prince of Wales in Caernarvon, just as his father Prince Charles was in 1969 (01286 677617; caernarfon-castle.co.uk).
Did you know? The castle cost £22,000 to build - a staggering sum at the time and more than the Treasury's annual income from tax. Fascinating facts about Britain's churches and cathedrals
6. Stirling Castle
It's perched high on a volcanic crag above an ancient crossing of the river Forth and, for my money, Stirling Castle is one of the most impressive man-made sights in the whole of Scotland. It's a steep climb up the streets of the town below, but worth the puff. This is where an infant Mary Queen of Scots was protected from Henry VIII, where James IV allowed his alchemist to attempt to fly from the castle walls (he landed in a rubbish dump) and where Edward I tested out War Wolf, probably the biggest trebuchet ever conceived, during a siege in 1304. As you approach the main gate, you pass a statue of Robert the Bruce, the hero of the battle of Bannockburn. Lean out from the parapets and you can see Stirling Bridge: the site of another great Scottish victory in battle against the English, under the leadership of William Wallace, now better known as Braveheart. But for all that Anglo-Scottish hostility, Stirling is also the place where James VI grew up - the first king to rule both Scotland and England (01786 450000; stirlingcastle.gov.uk).
Did you know? John Damian was the resident alchemist at Stirling Castle in the early 16th century. He spent a vast amount of the king's money trying to turn metal into gold. He failed, perhaps because one of his favourite scientific substances was whisky.
7. Carrickfergus Castle
In the 13th century it was a stronghold of King John, who was responsible for building the defensive walls that jut out into the Belfast Lough. Carrickfergus is a great kicking-off point from which to explore the whole coast of Antrim - one of the most beautiful stretches of coastline in the whole of our islands. However, the beauty masks a beastly history of religious, national and political conflict between Irish and British, Catholic and Protestant. Much of the fear and loathing originated in this little castle. The Rathlin Island massacre, the Plantation of Ulster, Cromwell's war of starvation: all of these can be traced back in part to the castle. And as a blue plaque on the nearby pier tells you, this is where William III - King Billy, to use the local lingo - landed in 1690 ahead of the battle of the Boyne, which is still commemorated every year by the Orange Order's July 12 marches. For me, this was the most eye-opening of the castles we visited (028 9335 1273; carrickfergus.org/tourism/attractions).
Did you know? Escaping from a castle wasn't easy - but it could be done. Con O'Neill, a prisoner in Carrickfergus Castle, escaped when a friend smuggled him a rope hidden inside a wheel of cheese. He lowered himself out of his cell window, down the battlements and fled.
8. Cardiff Castle
One of the most intriguing castles in Wales sits at the end of Cardiff’s St Mary’s Street, a few minutes’ walk from the famous Principality (formerly Millennium) Stadium, the home of Welsh rugby. Most of Wales’ really famous castles are around Snowdonia in the north, having been erected by Edward I during the English invasions of the late 13th century. But Cardiff castle’s history goes back much further, to Roman times. (You can still see a section of Roman fortification built into the outer wall of the castle.) Its golden age is much more recent, though. During the nineteenth century the castle was owned by the Marquesses of Bute – Scottish aristocrats who became vastly rich industrialists, exploiting the mineral wealth of south Wales and redeveloping Cardiff city and its docks. The castle’s glittering interiors are the work of the architect William Burges, who worked for the 3rd Marquess of Bute to create a glittering neo-gothic fantasy and truly lavish family home. In 1947 the castle was given to the people of Cardiff and it is now preserved for visitors to enjoy (cardiffcastle.com).
Did you know? During the Second World War Nazi bombing raids targeted Cardiff docks. The castle’s walls were used as air-raid shelters, which could accommodate two thousand citizens. You can still explore the tunnels today.
9. York Castle
Known by locals as Clifford’s Tower, after the noble family that served as castellans from the sixteenth century, York Castle’s history is as rich as that of the ancient city around it. It was one of two fortresses built during William the Conqueror’s vicious attempts to control the Viking-influenced parts of England, known as the Harrying of the North. During the middle ages the castle expanded beyond the central tower that still stands, but it has a dark history. In 1190 York’s entire Jewish population was massacred after they took refuge in the castle to escape anti-Semitic rioting. Later in the middle ages Templar knights were locked up there after their order was dissolved. During Henry VIII’s reign a lawyer called Robert Aske - one of the leaders of the religious uprising called the Pilgrimage of Grace - was hanged in chains from the castle walls. And the castle’s prison once held the notorious Essex highwayman Dick Turpin – you can sit in the cell that he may once have occupied (english-heritage.org.uk).
Did you know? During Roman times almost the whole of York was fortified. As well as visiting the castle you can walk several miles around the city walls – a great way to see the old city and the stunning edifice of York Minster.
10. Leeds Castle
Despite the name, Leeds Castle is not in Yorkshire. It’s one of the most stunning buildings in Kent, a few miles away from Maidstone. It has been called 'the loveliest castle in the world’, thanks to its setting on two islands within a large moat stocked with black swans and other water-fowl, around which you can take trips on a punt. Leeds’ long history has largely been made by powerful women, beginning with the medieval queen Eleanor of Castile, the wife of Edward I, who turned the castle into a luxurious (but still well guarded and fortified) royal holiday home. Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon stayed at Leeds in 1520 on their way to the French peace pageant called Field of the Cloth of Gold - the castle’s rooms (some of which are available to book for the night) still feel appropriately regal. During the twentieth century Leeds Castle was elegantly restored as a stately home by Olive, Lady Baillie, who threw parties there for politicians, writers, Hollywood stars and foreign royalty. Her vision of the castle is still preserved for visitors, along with new additions such as a glamping site, a maze and medieval entertainment (leeds-castle.com).
Did you know? During the Second World War Lady Baillie allowed the government to use Leeds castle for military experiments, and as a hospital for wounded airmen, including those from the 'Guinea Pig Club’ who had undergone pioneering plastic surgery to treat burns.
11. Lancaster Castle
Over the gatehouse leading into Lancaster Castle is a statue of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster and the father of Henry IV. Today the castle remains property of the Queen in her role as Duke (sic) of Lancaster – but its main function is as a working Crown Court. Indeed, the castle’s history is deeply connected with crime, punishment and the law - and in Hadrian’s Tower you can see a grim display of the instruments of shackling and torture that were used on prisoners in times gone by. The Pendle Witch trials took place at the castle in 1612: relying on evidence from a disturbed nine-year old girl, nine women were hanged and one died in prison. Two centuries later the court at the castle sent thousands of men and women from the dock to be transported on prison hulks to Australia. In our episode about the castle we meet the descendent of a sheep-rustler who was sent as a convict servant to New South Wales – she has a truly hair-raising story to tell (www.lancastercastle.com).
Did you know? The most notorious recent case to be heard at Lancaster Castle was the trial of the Birmingham Six in 1975, at which the defendents were found guilty of a pub-bombing that killed 21 people, and were sentenced to life imprisonment. Their convictions were overturned on appeal in 1991.
12. Arundel Castle
As country houses go, not too many are grander than Arundel Castle, still the home to the Fitzalan-Howard family, who are Dukes of Norfolk and Earls of Arundel. Their castle was originally built by one of William the Conqueror’s right-hand men, but it has been redeveloped in ever-more splendid fashion over the centuries and is now packed with incredible artefacts, joining its medieval history with its more recent heritage as a stately home. The oldest parts of the castle tell stories of medieval siegecraft, while the later buildings are lined with works of art by Gainsborough, Mytens and Van Dyck. The grounds and gardens are beautifully landscaped, and the Fitzalan chapel contains the tombs of many of the family’s most distinguished men and women. My favourite spot, though, is the castle’s cricket ground, a short walk through the picturesque little town, which is still used for invitational games and occasional matches involving the Sussex county side (www.arundelcastle.org).
Did you know? In 1846 Queen Victoria and Prince Albert came to stay at Arundel Castle for three days – special furniture was commissioned for their visit and you can see it on display in the castle’s bedrooms.
Castle12 | Britain's 12 best castles - Travel
What you didn't know about Britain's 12 best castles
The Telegraph
Dan Jones
20 October 2016
Ahead of the second series of Secrets of Great British Castles (Channel 5; October 28, 8pm), and with half term around the corner, presenter and historian Dan Jones nominates his 12 favourites.
What you didn't know about Britain's 12 best castles
The Telegraph
20 October 2016
Dan Jones
Ahead of the second series of Secrets of Great British Castles (Channel 5; October 28, 8pm), and with half term around the corner, presenter and historian Dan Jones nominates his 12 favourites.
1. Edinburgh Castle
When I was a child we lived in Edinburgh - and I can still remember trips on the bus along Princes Street with my mother, peering up at the incredible castle perched high on its volcanic crag above the city, at the top of the Royal Mile. It is one of the UK’s most popular tourist sites, and with good reason. It’s vast, it’s extremely well preserved and it puts on a pretty good show at the end of every summer when it hosts the Military Tattoo. It’s known as 'the most besieged castle in Britain’, having been assaulted more than twenty times during its long history. And it’s home to the gigantic cannon called Mons Meg - so vast it could fire a cannonball with a similar diameter to a Tomahawk missile a couple of miles. Visitors can also see the Scottish crown jewels and look around royal apartments decorated with roses and thistles: a reminder of the tangled history of the Tudor and Stuart royal houses. James IV of Scotland and Mary Queen of Scots were two casualties of that family drama, and both have a personal history tied to Edinburgh Castle. With the possible exception of Windsor, this is the grandest and most storied royal castle in the British Isles (edinburghcastle.gov.uk).
Did you know? The 'Black Dinner’ took place at Edinburgh Castle in 1440. The teenage earl of Douglas and his younger brother were dragged from a banquet and murdered. It directly inspired the infamous 'Red Wedding’ in Game of Thrones.
2. Dover Castle
When you arrived in England from the continent in Plantagenet times, the menacing square keep of Dover Castle, regal above the White Cliffs, was the first sign of civilisation you saw. That's exactly what Henry II intended when he built it. The castle became the first stopping point for foreign dignitaries coming to visit the Canterbury shrine to the martyred Archbishop Thomas Becket. It was also the military key to England - which is why it was defended so fiercely during the civil war that followed the failure of Magna Carta in 1215. But there's more than just medieval history at Dover. Defensive tunnels under the castle take you into the paranoid hysteria of the Napoleonic wars, when this would have been the first place to suffer if the French invaded. In the Second Word War this was the base from which the small ships left to evacuate Dunkirk. And Dover also has a massive, chilling Cold War bunker - built to house a regional government in the event of the Third World War (01304 211067; english-heritage.org.uk).
Did you know? The Cold War tunnels under Dover Castle were equipped with everything a government would need to hold out during nuclear holocaust. But since they were cut into chalk, which is permeable, they would eventually have let in the radioactive rain.
The world's most gruesome history quiz
3. The Tower of London
Is there a more famous castle in the world? The Tower was recently the venue for the Game of Thrones series 5 premiere, which was apt, because over the last nine centuries it has seen plenty of action worthy of Westeros. This was where the Princes in the Tower disappeared during the reign of Richard III. It was the stage for the final, fatal drama of Anne Boleyn's life. Earlier, in 1381 it was ransacked by a rebellious mob during the Peasants' Revolt. Colonel Blood stole the Crown jewels here in the 17th century and the Duke of Wellington marched fairly grumpily around its courtyards when he was constable of the Tower a decade after Waterloo. The Tower has been a zoo, a palace, a prison, a garrison, a royal mint and a home - which is why it's inundated with tourists throughout the year. We filmed here when it was surrounded by the sea of ceramic poppies marking the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War. It looked quite incredible (0844 482 7777; hrp.org.uk).
Did you know? From 1210 until 1832 the Tower of London had a zoo, which included polar bears, elephants and grizzly bears. At one stage, the price of admittance was a cat or dog to throw to the lions.
4. Warwick Castle
The first thing I was told on arrival at Warwick castle was not to crawl into the medieval dungeon known as the oubliette, because it was damp, cold and possibly dangerous. Obviously I went straight to the oubliette and crawled in. They were right - it was rank. The rest of the castle, however, is stunning, and throws you successively into the days of William the Conqueror, the Wars of the Roses and the Civil War. In some rooms you can still see graffiti made by 17th-century prisoners carving their names and family crests into the stone walls. The battlements are in as splendid shape as the gardens; so too are the apartments that were occupied by the Greville family until they sold it in mid-20th century. Now the place is bouncing with Horrible History stalls, archery and hawking demonstrations, a giant catapult that shoots fireballs and a new hi-tech attraction called the Time Tower. As well as being historically fascinating, it's one of the best family days out in England (0871 265 2000; warwick-castle.com).
Did you know? Charles Greville, the last Earl of Warwick to own Warwick castle, was more interested in acting than being lord of the castle. He had a short-lived career in the movies, and was known in Los Angeles as The Duke of Hollywood.
5. Caernarvon Castle
Like his Norman ancestors, who were insatiable castle-builders, Edward I knew that if you wanted to subjugate a people then you had to stamp a sign of your rule directly onto their landscape. That's the thought behind the extraordinary ring of stone castles that were built around Snowdonia in the late 13th century. Caernarvon is my favourite of the lot: virtually the same size as the town that surrounds it, with massive, polygonal towers and a huge curtain wall, half of it facing the land and half overlooking a quiet little fishing harbour. Today the combined effect is stunning, although it must have been pretty loathsome to the Welsh in the middle ages. Visiting Caernarvon is a brilliant way to get your head around that strange relationship between the kings of England and Princes of Wales. It's connected to the rebellions of Owain Glyndwr, and it's a short hop from Anglesey, where a certain Tudor family originally lived. One day we may see William, Duke of Cambridge invested as Prince of Wales in Caernarvon, just as his father Prince Charles was in 1969 (01286 677617; caernarfon-castle.co.uk).
Did you know? The castle cost £22,000 to build - a staggering sum at the time and more than the Treasury's annual income from tax. Fascinating facts about Britain's churches and cathedrals
6. Stirling Castle
It's perched high on a volcanic crag above an ancient crossing of the river Forth and, for my money, Stirling Castle is one of the most impressive man-made sights in the whole of Scotland. It's a steep climb up the streets of the town below, but worth the puff. This is where an infant Mary Queen of Scots was protected from Henry VIII, where James IV allowed his alchemist to attempt to fly from the castle walls (he landed in a rubbish dump) and where Edward I tested out War Wolf, probably the biggest trebuchet ever conceived, during a siege in 1304. As you approach the main gate, you pass a statue of Robert the Bruce, the hero of the battle of Bannockburn. Lean out from the parapets and you can see Stirling Bridge: the site of another great Scottish victory in battle against the English, under the leadership of William Wallace, now better known as Braveheart. But for all that Anglo-Scottish hostility, Stirling is also the place where James VI grew up - the first king to rule both Scotland and England (01786 450000; stirlingcastle.gov.uk).
Did you know? John Damian was the resident alchemist at Stirling Castle in the early 16th century. He spent a vast amount of the king's money trying to turn metal into gold. He failed, perhaps because one of his favourite scientific substances was whisky.
7. Carrickfergus Castle
In the 13th century it was a stronghold of King John, who was responsible for building the defensive walls that jut out into the Belfast Lough. Carrickfergus is a great kicking-off point from which to explore the whole coast of Antrim - one of the most beautiful stretches of coastline in the whole of our islands. However, the beauty masks a beastly history of religious, national and political conflict between Irish and British, Catholic and Protestant. Much of the fear and loathing originated in this little castle. The Rathlin Island massacre, the Plantation of Ulster, Cromwell's war of starvation: all of these can be traced back in part to the castle. And as a blue plaque on the nearby pier tells you, this is where William III - King Billy, to use the local lingo - landed in 1690 ahead of the battle of the Boyne, which is still commemorated every year by the Orange Order's July 12 marches. For me, this was the most eye-opening of the castles we visited (028 9335 1273; carrickfergus.org/tourism/attractions).
Did you know? Escaping from a castle wasn't easy - but it could be done. Con O'Neill, a prisoner in Carrickfergus Castle, escaped when a friend smuggled him a rope hidden inside a wheel of cheese. He lowered himself out of his cell window, down the battlements and fled.
8. Cardiff Castle
One of the most intriguing castles in Wales sits at the end of Cardiff’s St Mary’s Street, a few minutes’ walk from the famous Principality (formerly Millennium) Stadium, the home of Welsh rugby. Most of Wales’ really famous castles are around Snowdonia in the north, having been erected by Edward I during the English invasions of the late 13th century. But Cardiff castle’s history goes back much further, to Roman times. (You can still see a section of Roman fortification built into the outer wall of the castle.) Its golden age is much more recent, though. During the nineteenth century the castle was owned by the Marquesses of Bute – Scottish aristocrats who became vastly rich industrialists, exploiting the mineral wealth of south Wales and redeveloping Cardiff city and its docks. The castle’s glittering interiors are the work of the architect William Burges, who worked for the 3rd Marquess of Bute to create a glittering neo-gothic fantasy and truly lavish family home. In 1947 the castle was given to the people of Cardiff and it is now preserved for visitors to enjoy (cardiffcastle.com).
Did you know? During the Second World War Nazi bombing raids targeted Cardiff docks. The castle’s walls were used as air-raid shelters, which could accommodate two thousand citizens. You can still explore the tunnels today.
9. York Castle
Known by locals as Clifford’s Tower, after the noble family that served as castellans from the sixteenth century, York Castle’s history is as rich as that of the ancient city around it. It was one of two fortresses built during William the Conqueror’s vicious attempts to control the Viking-influenced parts of England, known as the Harrying of the North. During the middle ages the castle expanded beyond the central tower that still stands, but it has a dark history. In 1190 York’s entire Jewish population was massacred after they took refuge in the castle to escape anti-Semitic rioting. Later in the middle ages Templar knights were locked up there after their order was dissolved. During Henry VIII’s reign a lawyer called Robert Aske - one of the leaders of the religious uprising called the Pilgrimage of Grace - was hanged in chains from the castle walls. And the castle’s prison once held the notorious Essex highwayman Dick Turpin – you can sit in the cell that he may once have occupied (english-heritage.org.uk).
Did you know? During Roman times almost the whole of York was fortified. As well as visiting the castle you can walk several miles around the city walls – a great way to see the old city and the stunning edifice of York Minster.
10. Leeds Castle
Despite the name, Leeds Castle is not in Yorkshire. It’s one of the most stunning buildings in Kent, a few miles away from Maidstone. It has been called 'the loveliest castle in the world’, thanks to its setting on two islands within a large moat stocked with black swans and other water-fowl, around which you can take trips on a punt. Leeds’ long history has largely been made by powerful women, beginning with the medieval queen Eleanor of Castile, the wife of Edward I, who turned the castle into a luxurious (but still well guarded and fortified) royal holiday home. Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon stayed at Leeds in 1520 on their way to the French peace pageant called Field of the Cloth of Gold - the castle’s rooms (some of which are available to book for the night) still feel appropriately regal. During the twentieth century Leeds Castle was elegantly restored as a stately home by Olive, Lady Baillie, who threw parties there for politicians, writers, Hollywood stars and foreign royalty. Her vision of the castle is still preserved for visitors, along with new additions such as a glamping site, a maze and medieval entertainment (leeds-castle.com).
Did you know? During the Second World War Lady Baillie allowed the government to use Leeds castle for military experiments, and as a hospital for wounded airmen, including those from the 'Guinea Pig Club’ who had undergone pioneering plastic surgery to treat burns.
11. Lancaster Castle
Over the gatehouse leading into Lancaster Castle is a statue of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster and the father of Henry IV. Today the castle remains property of the Queen in her role as Duke (sic) of Lancaster – but its main function is as a working Crown Court. Indeed, the castle’s history is deeply connected with crime, punishment and the law - and in Hadrian’s Tower you can see a grim display of the instruments of shackling and torture that were used on prisoners in times gone by. The Pendle Witch trials took place at the castle in 1612: relying on evidence from a disturbed nine-year old girl, nine women were hanged and one died in prison. Two centuries later the court at the castle sent thousands of men and women from the dock to be transported on prison hulks to Australia. In our episode about the castle we meet the descendent of a sheep-rustler who was sent as a convict servant to New South Wales – she has a truly hair-raising story to tell (www.lancastercastle.com).
Did you know? The most notorious recent case to be heard at Lancaster Castle was the trial of the Birmingham Six in 1975, at which the defendents were found guilty of a pub-bombing that killed 21 people, and were sentenced to life imprisonment. Their convictions were overturned on appeal in 1991.
12. Arundel Castle
As country houses go, not too many are grander than Arundel Castle, still the home to the Fitzalan-Howard family, who are Dukes of Norfolk and Earls of Arundel. Their castle was originally built by one of William the Conqueror’s right-hand men, but it has been redeveloped in ever-more splendid fashion over the centuries and is now packed with incredible artefacts, joining its medieval history with its more recent heritage as a stately home. The oldest parts of the castle tell stories of medieval siegecraft, while the later buildings are lined with works of art by Gainsborough, Mytens and Van Dyck. The grounds and gardens are beautifully landscaped, and the Fitzalan chapel contains the tombs of many of the family’s most distinguished men and women. My favourite spot, though, is the castle’s cricket ground, a short walk through the picturesque little town, which is still used for invitational games and occasional matches involving the Sussex county side (www.arundelcastle.org).
Did you know? In 1846 Queen Victoria and Prince Albert came to stay at Arundel castle for three days – special furniture was commissioned for their visit and you can see it on display in the castle’s bedrooms.
Castle12 | Britain's 12 best castles - Travel
Ahead of the second series of Secrets of Great British Castles (Channel 5; October 28, 8pm), and with half term around the corner, presenter and historian Dan Jones nominates his 12 favourites.
1. Edinburgh Castle
When I was a child we lived in Edinburgh - and I can still remember trips on the bus along Princes Street with my mother, peering up at the incredible castle perched high on its volcanic crag above the city, at the top of the Royal Mile. It is one of the UK’s most popular tourist sites, and with good reason. It’s vast, it’s extremely well preserved and it puts on a pretty good show at the end of every summer when it hosts the Military Tattoo. It’s known as 'the most besieged castle in Britain’, having been assaulted more than twenty times during its long history. And it’s home to the gigantic cannon called Mons Meg - so vast it could fire a cannonball with a similar diameter to a Tomahawk missile a couple of miles. Visitors can also see the Scottish crown jewels and look around royal apartments decorated with roses and thistles: a reminder of the tangled history of the Tudor and Stuart royal houses. James IV of Scotland and Mary Queen of Scots were two casualties of that family drama, and both have a personal history tied to Edinburgh Castle. With the possible exception of Windsor, this is the grandest and most storied royal castle in the British Isles (edinburghcastle.gov.uk).
Did you know? The 'Black Dinner’ took place at Edinburgh Castle in 1440. The teenage earl of Douglas and his younger brother were dragged from a banquet and murdered. It directly inspired the infamous 'Red Wedding’ in Game of Thrones.
2. Dover Castle
When you arrived in England from the continent in Plantagenet times, the menacing square keep of Dover Castle, regal above the White Cliffs, was the first sign of civilisation you saw. That's exactly what Henry II intended when he built it. The castle became the first stopping point for foreign dignitaries coming to visit the Canterbury shrine to the martyred Archbishop Thomas Becket. It was also the military key to England - which is why it was defended so fiercely during the civil war that followed the failure of Magna Carta in 1215. But there's more than just medieval history at Dover. Defensive tunnels under the castle take you into the paranoid hysteria of the Napoleonic wars, when this would have been the first place to suffer if the French invaded. In the Second Word War this was the base from which the small ships left to evacuate Dunkirk. And Dover also has a massive, chilling Cold War bunker - built to house a regional government in the event of the Third World War (01304 211067; english-heritage.org.uk).
Did you know? The Cold War tunnels under Dover Castle were equipped with everything a government would need to hold out during nuclear holocaust. But since they were cut into chalk, which is permeable, they would eventually have let in the radioactive rain.
The world's most gruesome history quiz
3. The Tower of London
Is there a more famous castle in the world? The Tower was recently the venue for the Game of Thrones series 5 premiere, which was apt, because over the last nine centuries it has seen plenty of action worthy of Westeros. This was where the Princes in the Tower disappeared during the reign of Richard III. It was the stage for the final, fatal drama of Anne Boleyn's life. Earlier, in 1381 it was ransacked by a rebellious mob during the Peasants' Revolt. Colonel Blood stole the Crown jewels here in the 17th century and the Duke of Wellington marched fairly grumpily around its courtyards when he was constable of the Tower a decade after Waterloo. The Tower has been a zoo, a palace, a prison, a garrison, a royal mint and a home - which is why it's inundated with tourists throughout the year. We filmed here when it was surrounded by the sea of ceramic poppies marking the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War. It looked quite incredible (0844 482 7777; hrp.org.uk).
Did you know? From 1210 until 1832 the Tower of London had a zoo, which included polar bears, elephants and grizzly bears. At one stage, the price of admittance was a cat or dog to throw to the lions.
4. Warwick Castle
The first thing I was told on arrival at Warwick castle was not to crawl into the medieval dungeon known as the oubliette, because it was damp, cold and possibly dangerous. Obviously I went straight to the oubliette and crawled in. They were right - it was rank. The rest of the castle, however, is stunning, and throws you successively into the days of William the Conqueror, the Wars of the Roses and the Civil War. In some rooms you can still see graffiti made by 17th-century prisoners carving their names and family crests into the stone walls. The battlements are in as splendid shape as the gardens; so too are the apartments that were occupied by the Greville family until they sold it in mid-20th century. Now the place is bouncing with Horrible History stalls, archery and hawking demonstrations, a giant catapult that shoots fireballs and a new hi-tech attraction called the Time Tower. As well as being historically fascinating, it's one of the best family days out in England (0871 265 2000; warwick-castle.com).
Did you know? Charles Greville, the last Earl of Warwick to own Warwick castle, was more interested in acting than being lord of the castle. He had a short-lived career in the movies, and was known in Los Angeles as The Duke of Hollywood.
5. Caernarvon Castle
Like his Norman ancestors, who were insatiable castle-builders, Edward I knew that if you wanted to subjugate a people then you had to stamp a sign of your rule directly onto their landscape. That's the thought behind the extraordinary ring of stone castles that were built around Snowdonia in the late 13th century. Caernarvon is my favourite of the lot: virtually the same size as the town that surrounds it, with massive, polygonal towers and a huge curtain wall, half of it facing the land and half overlooking a quiet little fishing harbour. Today the combined effect is stunning, although it must have been pretty loathsome to the Welsh in the middle ages. Visiting Caernarvon is a brilliant way to get your head around that strange relationship between the kings of England and Princes of Wales. It's connected to the rebellions of Owain Glyndwr, and it's a short hop from Anglesey, where a certain Tudor family originally lived. One day we may see William, Duke of Cambridge invested as Prince of Wales in Caernarvon, just as his father Prince Charles was in 1969 (01286 677617; caernarfon-castle.co.uk).
Did you know? The castle cost £22,000 to build - a staggering sum at the time and more than the Treasury's annual income from tax. Fascinating facts about Britain's churches and cathedrals
6. Stirling Castle
It's perched high on a volcanic crag above an ancient crossing of the river Forth and, for my money, Stirling Castle is one of the most impressive man-made sights in the whole of Scotland. It's a steep climb up the streets of the town below, but worth the puff. This is where an infant Mary Queen of Scots was protected from Henry VIII, where James IV allowed his alchemist to attempt to fly from the castle walls (he landed in a rubbish dump) and where Edward I tested out War Wolf, probably the biggest trebuchet ever conceived, during a siege in 1304. As you approach the main gate, you pass a statue of Robert the Bruce, the hero of the battle of Bannockburn. Lean out from the parapets and you can see Stirling Bridge: the site of another great Scottish victory in battle against the English, under the leadership of William Wallace, now better known as Braveheart. But for all that Anglo-Scottish hostility, Stirling is also the place where James VI grew up - the first king to rule both Scotland and England (01786 450000; stirlingcastle.gov.uk).
Did you know? John Damian was the resident alchemist at Stirling Castle in the early 16th century. He spent a vast amount of the king's money trying to turn metal into gold. He failed, perhaps because one of his favourite scientific substances was whisky.
7. Carrickfergus Castle
In the 13th century it was a stronghold of King John, who was responsible for building the defensive walls that jut out into the Belfast Lough. Carrickfergus is a great kicking-off point from which to explore the whole coast of Antrim - one of the most beautiful stretches of coastline in the whole of our islands. However, the beauty masks a beastly history of religious, national and political conflict between Irish and British, Catholic and Protestant. Much of the fear and loathing originated in this little castle. The Rathlin Island massacre, the Plantation of Ulster, Cromwell's war of starvation: all of these can be traced back in part to the castle. And as a blue plaque on the nearby pier tells you, this is where William III - King Billy, to use the local lingo - landed in 1690 ahead of the battle of the Boyne, which is still commemorated every year by the Orange Order's July 12 marches. For me, this was the most eye-opening of the castles we visited (028 9335 1273; carrickfergus.org/tourism/attractions).
Did you know? Escaping from a castle wasn't easy - but it could be done. Con O'Neill, a prisoner in Carrickfergus Castle, escaped when a friend smuggled him a rope hidden inside a wheel of cheese. He lowered himself out of his cell window, down the battlements and fled.
8. Cardiff Castle
One of the most intriguing castles in Wales sits at the end of Cardiff’s St Mary’s Street, a few minutes’ walk from the famous Principality (formerly Millennium) Stadium, the home of Welsh rugby. Most of Wales’ really famous castles are around Snowdonia in the north, having been erected by Edward I during the English invasions of the late 13th century. But Cardiff castle’s history goes back much further, to Roman times. (You can still see a section of Roman fortification built into the outer wall of the castle.) Its golden age is much more recent, though. During the nineteenth century the castle was owned by the Marquesses of Bute – Scottish aristocrats who became vastly rich industrialists, exploiting the mineral wealth of south Wales and redeveloping Cardiff city and its docks. The castle’s glittering interiors are the work of the architect William Burges, who worked for the 3rd Marquess of Bute to create a glittering neo-gothic fantasy and truly lavish family home. In 1947 the castle was given to the people of Cardiff and it is now preserved for visitors to enjoy (cardiffcastle.com).
Did you know? During the Second World War Nazi bombing raids targeted Cardiff docks. The castle’s walls were used as air-raid shelters, which could accommodate two thousand citizens. You can still explore the tunnels today.
9. York Castle
Known by locals as Clifford’s Tower, after the noble family that served as castellans from the sixteenth century, York Castle’s history is as rich as that of the ancient city around it. It was one of two fortresses built during William the Conqueror’s vicious attempts to control the Viking-influenced parts of England, known as the Harrying of the North. During the middle ages the castle expanded beyond the central tower that still stands, but it has a dark history. In 1190 York’s entire Jewish population was massacred after they took refuge in the castle to escape anti-Semitic rioting. Later in the middle ages Templar knights were locked up there after their order was dissolved. During Henry VIII’s reign a lawyer called Robert Aske - one of the leaders of the religious uprising called the Pilgrimage of Grace - was hanged in chains from the castle walls. And the castle’s prison once held the notorious Essex highwayman Dick Turpin – you can sit in the cell that he may once have occupied (english-heritage.org.uk).
Did you know? During Roman times almost the whole of York was fortified. As well as visiting the castle you can walk several miles around the city walls – a great way to see the old city and the stunning edifice of York Minster.
10. Leeds Castle
Despite the name, Leeds Castle is not in Yorkshire. It’s one of the most stunning buildings in Kent, a few miles away from Maidstone. It has been called 'the loveliest castle in the world’, thanks to its setting on two islands within a large moat stocked with black swans and other water-fowl, around which you can take trips on a punt. Leeds’ long history has largely been made by powerful women, beginning with the medieval queen Eleanor of Castile, the wife of Edward I, who turned the castle into a luxurious (but still well guarded and fortified) royal holiday home. Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon stayed at Leeds in 1520 on their way to the French peace pageant called Field of the Cloth of Gold - the castle’s rooms (some of which are available to book for the night) still feel appropriately regal. During the twentieth century Leeds Castle was elegantly restored as a stately home by Olive, Lady Baillie, who threw parties there for politicians, writers, Hollywood stars and foreign royalty. Her vision of the castle is still preserved for visitors, along with new additions such as a glamping site, a maze and medieval entertainment (leeds-castle.com).
Did you know? During the Second World War Lady Baillie allowed the government to use Leeds castle for military experiments, and as a hospital for wounded airmen, including those from the 'Guinea Pig Club’ who had undergone pioneering plastic surgery to treat burns.
11. Lancaster Castle
Over the gatehouse leading into Lancaster Castle is a statue of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster and the father of Henry IV. Today the castle remains property of the Queen in her role as Duke (sic) of Lancaster – but its main function is as a working Crown Court. Indeed, the castle’s history is deeply connected with crime, punishment and the law - and in Hadrian’s Tower you can see a grim display of the instruments of shackling and torture that were used on prisoners in times gone by. The Pendle Witch trials took place at the castle in 1612: relying on evidence from a disturbed nine-year old girl, nine women were hanged and one died in prison. Two centuries later the court at the castle sent thousands of men and women from the dock to be transported on prison hulks to Australia. In our episode about the castle we meet the descendent of a sheep-rustler who was sent as a convict servant to New South Wales – she has a truly hair-raising story to tell (www.lancastercastle.com).
Did you know? The most notorious recent case to be heard at Lancaster Castle was the trial of the Birmingham Six in 1975, at which the defendents were found guilty of a pub-bombing that killed 21 people, and were sentenced to life imprisonment. Their convictions were overturned on appeal in 1991.
12. Arundel Castle
As country houses go, not too many are grander than Arundel Castle, still the home to the Fitzalan-Howard family, who are Dukes of Norfolk and Earls of Arundel. Their castle was originally built by one of William the Conqueror’s right-hand men, but it has been redeveloped in ever-more splendid fashion over the centuries and is now packed with incredible artefacts, joining its medieval history with its more recent heritage as a stately home. The oldest parts of the castle tell stories of medieval siegecraft, while the later buildings are lined with works of art by Gainsborough, Mytens and Van Dyck. The grounds and gardens are beautifully landscaped, and the Fitzalan chapel contains the tombs of many of the family’s most distinguished men and women. My favourite spot, though, is the castle’s cricket ground, a short walk through the picturesque little town, which is still used for invitational games and occasional matches involving the Sussex county side (www.arundelcastle.org).
Did you know? In 1846 Queen Victoria and Prince Albert came to stay at Arundel Castle for three days – special furniture was commissioned for their visit and you can see it on display in the castle’s bedrooms.
Castle12 | Britain's 12 best castles - Travel
