.......was a medieval fortress which later became an Elizabethan palace..png)
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Built in 1120 the building seen on the right is the mighty Norman keep, a defensive powerhouse, three stories high, with walls 14ft wide. It was strengthened by King John a century later, and modified by Robert Dudley for entertaining in 1570.
The central building is what remains of John of Gaunt's Great Hall. He used some of the masons and surveyors that had worked on the rebuilding of Windsor Castle instigated by Edward 111. The hall was one of the finest of its kind, and at the cutting edge of 14th C architectural design. It played host to medieval monarchs and Tudor kings.
The final four-storey tower block building seen on the left was commissioned by Robert Dudley - 1st Earl of Leicester. He had it designed especially for Queen Elizabeth 1's use when she visited Kenilworth during one of her royal progresses through her realm in 1572. He then had it improved for her next visit in 1575. The building is now known as Leicester's Tower.
Robert Dudley - 1st Earl of Leicester
His careful staging of the queen's visit in 1575 was clearly intended to impress his importance on the queen, and it is thought that it was his last attempt to win her hand in marriage.
On entering the 900 year old Keep it is the many splendid Norman arches that immediately catch the eye. We are taking the same route that Queen Elizabeth l would have taken to visit her new garden. 
The Queens arrival at Kenilworth Castle in 1575.
Along with improvements to the Queen's building, Leicester also had a fine Elizabethan garden laid out for her visit, a garden designed to seduce and beguile her. The garden although lost for 400 years has recently been recreated using advances in garden archaeology along with an extraordinary eye-witness description from 1575.
Join me next time in Elizabeth's garden.png)
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