Historic Royal Palaces and Stately Homes with Royal Connections


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RoyalDaisy, Thank you for the fantastic photographs!!

:flowers::flowers::flowers:
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Stirling Castle is situated on top of Castle Hill in Stirling in the country of Scotland.

King Edward II of England led his large army to relieve the English garrison in Stirling Castle, which was besieged by King Robert I.
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Robert, the Duke of Albany, the uncle of King James I, died on September 3rd, 1420 in Stirling Castle.

King James II in 1452 murdered William, the eighth Earl of Douglas at Stirling Castle by stabbing him in the neck.

King James IV had a royal chapel built at Stirling Castle.
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Between 1538 to 1542, King James V had a palace built within Stirling Castle.
The palace was a lavish three-storey palace within the castle complex.
The palace contained apartments for King James V and Queen Mary (of Guise).
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The Royal Presence Chamber had a ceiling that had one hundred carved oak heads.
The palace building's principal façade contains tall, elegant windows and niches. The niches hold sculptured figures.
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At Stirling Castle in 1566 an elaborate baptism was celebrated for the infant Prince James, the son of Mary, Queen of Scots.
Expensive gifts were lavished on the Prince. One such gift was a gold font from Elizabeth I, Prince James's godmother.
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Love this castle, visited it on a vacation from Edinburgh and really enjoyed the "real castle" feel of it (if you know what I mean ;) )
 
King William I of England founded Nottingham Castle in 1068.

King Richard I the Lionheart used siege machinery to take Nottingham Castle from his brother, Prince John, who had seized power while Richard was on Crusade.
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In 1170 King Henry III had a stone castle built on the same elevated site.
Nottingham Castle was established as the most important and formidable royal castle in the Midlands.

In 1330 King Edward III broke into the castle through a 300ft long subterranean passageway.
Edward surprised his mother, Queen Isabella, and Roger Mortimer, Earl of March. :king::ohmy::ohmy::queen:
The passageway is known as Mortimer's Hole.
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William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle, and his son Henry, 2nd Duke of Newcastle, had a ducal mansion erected on the site in 1674-1679.
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In 1623 King James I of England granted Nottingham Castle and its adjacent parkland to Francis Manners, 6th Earl of Rutland.
King Charles I raised the royal standard in Nottingham Castle in 1642.
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In 1485 King Richard III rode out from Nottingham Castle to Bosworth Field.

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I love it too. I went for a day trip from Edinburgh and walked uphill to the Castle. On our way, very near to the Castle, we visted Argyll townhouse, which we also liked.
Mary Stuart was crowned Queen in the castle's chapel.
 
I visited this castle a few years ago when my brother was at Stirling university. It's a beautiful castle, though it rained and rained the day we went.
 
Falkland Palace is in Falkland, Fife, Scotland.

Falkland Palace began as a castle built by the Macduffs, earls of Fife.

King James II of Scotland extended the castle. He frequently visited it to hunt deer and wild boar.
After 1458, when James II granted a charter, the castle was known as Falkland Palace.
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The Falkland Palace of King James IV of Scotland was laid out around a courtyard,
There was a Great Hall on the north side.
On the east side were the royal apartments.
A chapel and vestry were on the south side.
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King James V of Scotland, in 1537 to 1541, remodeled Falkland Palace to create Scotland's first palace in the continental Renaissance style.
James V had a gatehouse added at the west end of the palace.
This was designed to function as a new entrance.

Queen Mary of Scotland, the daughter of King James V, frequently visited Falkland Palace after her return to Scotland from France in 1561.
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The grounds of Falkland Palace include gardens designed by Percy Cane. :thistle::thistle::thistle:
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In 1283 King Edward I of England began building Caernarvon Castle.

As he prepared to establish English government in Wales, Edward wanted to make a triumphalist expression of his imperial ambitions at Caernarvon.
He chose Caernarvon because the town was an ancient stronghold for the princes of Gwynedd.
King Edward also chose Caernarvon because of the town's strategic position overlooking the Menai Straits.
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Caernarvon Castle has polygonal rather than circular drum towers.
The castle has cross-banded masonry (alternate strips of light and dark stone) in the defensive walls.
The polygonal towers and cross-banded walls were a homage to the Theodosian Wall at Constantinople.
King Edward I and his chief architect, Master James of St. Georges, had seen the Theodosian Wall while on Crusade.
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At the western end of Caernarvon Castle stands the Eagle Tower.
At 124 feet The Eagle Tower was one of the tallest single towers erected in the Middle Ages.
When first built, the Eagle Tower had a stone eagel on each of its three turrets.

:castle2::castle2::castle2::castle2:
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Between 1401 to 1403, Owen Glendower tried unsuccessfully three times to take Caernarvon Castle.
The third time he used heavy siege machinery.
However he was repulsed by a garrison of 28 men.
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In 1911 Prince Edward, the eldest son of King George V, was invested as Prince of Wales in Caernarvon Castle.
David Lloyd George devised the ceremony.
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Couldn't all of these copied and pasted bits of trivia been combined into just one post? Just sayin' ..:twocents:
 
RoyalDaisy said:
Pictures of Caernarfon Castle (Welsh spelling)

http://www.caernarfon.com/visitwales/caernarfon.jpg

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images...1335969573610/Caernarfon-Castle-Wales-008.jpg

This is also the castle where Prince Charles was invested as Prince of Wales

http://s0.geograph.org.uk/geophotos/01/60/69/1606940_93db47fd.jpg

http://theroyalcorrespondent.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/investiturepa_468x591.jpg
Click to expand...

RoyalDaisy, Thank you for all the excellent pictures.
The aerial view of the castle is fabulous.
Also, thank you for providing the Welsh spelling of Caernarvon.
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Bolsover Castle is located near Chesterfield in Derbyshire.
It was the last major house designed by Robert Smythson.
He began work at Bolsover for Sir Charles Cavendish in 1612.

The first Bolsover Castle was a stone keep with a curtain wall.
In the 1100s it had been built by William Peverel.
William was an illegitimate son of King William I of England.
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In the 1500s George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury, purchased Bolsover Castle.
George leased the castle in 1608 to his stepson, Sir Charles Cavendish.

Sir Charles Cavendish bought the edifice in 1613.
The staterooms were designed by Robert Smythson and his son John.
The staterooms included a Great Hall and a Long Gallery.
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Bodiam Castle is located in the village of Bodiam in East Sussex.

By 1378, Edward Dalyngrigge owned the manor of Bodiam by marrying into a land-owning family.
He applied to the King for a license to crenellate (build a castle).
Edward received a license from King Richard II that permitted him to refortify his manor house.
Bodiam Castle was built on a new site.
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The area surrounding Bodiam Castle was landscaped when the edifice was constructed.
This was done to increase its aesthetic appeal.
The moat of Bodiam Castle had the effect of making the castle appear larger and more impressive by isolating it in its landscape.
:castle:
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The first drawings of Bodiam Castle date from the mid 1700s when it was depicted as a ruin overgrown with ivy.
Ruins and medieval buildings such as Bodiam Castle served as an inspiration for the revival in Gothic architecture and the renovation of old structures.
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Norwich Castle is located in Norfolk, England.
The castle's founder was King Henry I.

The first castle on the site, documented in 1075, was a timber motte and barley castle.
In about 1130, it was rebuilt in stone to make it into a royal palace.
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King Henry I spent Christmas at Norwich in 1121.
He held the symbolic crown-wearing ceremony in Norwich Castle.
The visit marked Norwich and its castle as the most important royal stronghold in East Anglia.

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King Edward I gave Leeds Castle to his wife, Queen Eleanor as a present.
Eleanor died in 1290.
When the King remarried, he gave Leeds Castle to his second wife Margaret.
This association led to Leeds Castle being nicknamed as the Ladies' Castle.
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Leeds Castle was first a wooden fort built in 857 by Ledian. Ledian was the chief minister of Ethelbert IV. Ethelbert IV was King of Kent.

King William I of England gave Leeds Castle to Bishop Odo of Bayeux.
The Bishop was the King's half brother. When Odo rebelled, William took the castle back.
Then King William granted Leeds Castle to Hamon de Crevecour.
De Crevecour had fought with William at Hastings.
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:queen3::queen3::queen3: Leeds Castle flies the flags of two ladies alternatively.
The first flag is of Eleanor of Castile, the first owner.
The second flag is of Lady Olive Baillie, the last lady owner of Leeds Castle.
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The sixth queen to receive Leeds Castle as a dower from her husband was Catherine de Valois, Henry V's queen.
She acquired Leeds Castle in 1423, installing a clock and bell in 1435.
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CyrilVladisla said:
The Grand Staircase of Hatfield House was fitted with dog gates to prevent animals going up.
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Click to expand...

I would never get away with that here. Our Dawg is King and tells us what's up around here. :lol::lol:

It really is an amazing place and I'd love to be able to tour it.
 
Conwy Castle is located in Conwy, Wales.
Work began on the construction of Conwy Castle in 1283.
Master James of St. George, the builder, was Master of King Edward I's Works in Wales.
Conwy Castle and the town wall were built in just four years between 1283 and 1287, involving 1,500 craftsmen and labourers.


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The towers of Conwy Castle are almost identical.
Four towers are on the north and four are on the south.
The inner ward contains the suite Master James built for King Edward and Queen Eleanor in 1283.

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The Great Hall was approximately 125 feet long.
A beautiful little chapel gives one of the towers its name.
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Conwy was part of the ring of Welsh castles planned by King Edward I to impose English rule, enforced by English-garrisoned strongholds.
The smaller inner ward was the heart of the castle, containing the royal quarters: the King's Hall, Privy Chamber, and Presence Chamber.
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Earlier today I visited Knole House in Sevenoaks, which I guess is a stately home with royal connections. It is now owned by the Sackville-West family (at present I do believe the 7th Baron Sackville and his family are residing there), although in Tudor Times Cardinal Wolsey 'gave' Knole to Henry VIII (apparently after much persuasion), where he spent a lot of time deer hunting, as did Elizabeth I. Most of the furniture which was unwanted by the RF in Stuart Times also ended up at Knole, there is a bedroom with a lot of Stuart furniture there.

Here are some photos of Knole:

Front view of the house ~ State bedroom ~ Another room ~ Prince Charles visiting Knole

And some more information from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knole_House
 
Nonsuch was erected on the site of the church and village of Cuddington near Epsom in Surrey. Henry VIII had the village demolished. It was built at a cost of at least £24,000 in order to compete with Chambord in France, the palace of Henry's great rival, Francois i.
 
I've been there. I remember being absolutely amazed that so much of it still stands and that it was that old. Very interesting and with a wonderful history. I'd love to visit again.
 
Yes. Same here. It is still a rugged place and must have been awe-inspiring to the local peoples at its prime. Stone was used from the nearby dismantled Cistercian Abbey for the castle walls.
 
Skaill House is on one of the Orkney Islands, and allowed photography inside.

The guest book is open to Her Majesty's signature - I think she stayed overnight - and as you can see there are many Royal photos on the table.

Nearby is the famous Skara Brae archaeological dig, and it is very interesting to go from Neolithic homes in the ground to this house - still decorated as it was in the 1950s.

Here are a some of the photos I took.
 

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