How and why Robert Dudley added to Kenilworth castle?
The general castle:
Robert Dudley was very very keen for the Queen’s hand in marriage. He sought
after it valiantly through impressing her with plays and his own words to the vast
extensions and additions he made to Kenilworth castle: the castle she gave to him.
Over two years Dudley spent over £40,000 pounds on addition to his castle that
also included the entertainment that he provided for the Queen and her court when
they came to visit 4 different times, the last being in 1575. The building of his
castle began in 1570 and finished in 1572. From the outside, its architectural
design was incredibly simplistic, this showed perhaps his need to prevent cost
increasing and that the time frame he had was short. His design of the castle
included turrets and battlemented buildings rising from behind the the walls. It had
a very medieval design and it became a model and style icon for many other large
houses and castles built after the 1500s. Another very prominent feature of the
design was its huge and dramatic glass windows with its panes delicately held up
in what seemed to be paper thin walls. The whole design was based to show the
chivalric values and the symbols that Dudley held within his family line. He was
very proud of his ancestry and was not afraid to show it predominately throughout
the house and gardens. His own family emblem consisted of a bear and ragged
staff. This emblem was placed all around the house as well as on the armour that
Dudley himself wore.
The gardens: with the whole ground of the castle being over 1700 acres of land,
the gardens were obviously a huge part of the sight of the whole estate. Not only
this but the gardens were designed to have many mythological symbols that many
at the time would have recognised. Elizabeth was thought to have embodies the
spirit of the God: Diana, who was thought to be the God of hunting, nature and the
moon, also associated with wild animals and woodlands. By including symbols
within his garden design that rightly linked to Elizabeth’s “godly” other image, he
thought this would aid him for her hand in marriage. Not only this, but Elizabeth
loved hunting, riding and being outdoors, another reason for Dudley to pay special
attention to the gardens. The gardens themselves, were copied or inspired by
Italian renaissance designs with plenty of trees, fruits, shady places, terraces and
hydraulic fountains that contained a variety of fish.
The relationship between Elizabeth and Dudley?
The relationship between Elizabeth and Dudley was one of very confused feelings
and one chasing after another. They had met as children in the court of Elizabeth’s
father when both were around 7 years old. Years later, Dudley had married his first
wife (Amy Robsart) in 1550 and eight years later Elizabeth became Queen.
Between those two dates their friendship had probably turned into a sort of
romance. Later Elizabeth appointed Dudley the role of her horse master - this
surprised many of the public as it meant regular physical touch when Dudley
would lift her off the horse. In 1559, Elizabeth was accused of sneaking into
Dudley’s chamber and spending time with him “waiting for his wife to die”. Soon
after, Dudley’s wife (Amy) was found dead with broken neck at the bottom of a
staircase in their own home. Dudley was then accused of murder however the
court ruled it as an accident or suicide - no one ever knew for sure which one it
The general castle:
Robert Dudley was very very keen for the Queen’s hand in marriage. He sought
after it valiantly through impressing her with plays and his own words to the vast
extensions and additions he made to Kenilworth castle: the castle she gave to him.
Over two years Dudley spent over £40,000 pounds on addition to his castle that
also included the entertainment that he provided for the Queen and her court when
they came to visit 4 different times, the last being in 1575. The building of his
castle began in 1570 and finished in 1572. From the outside, its architectural
design was incredibly simplistic, this showed perhaps his need to prevent cost
increasing and that the time frame he had was short. His design of the castle
included turrets and battlemented buildings rising from behind the the walls. It had
a very medieval design and it became a model and style icon for many other large
houses and castles built after the 1500s. Another very prominent feature of the
design was its huge and dramatic glass windows with its panes delicately held up
in what seemed to be paper thin walls. The whole design was based to show the
chivalric values and the symbols that Dudley held within his family line. He was
very proud of his ancestry and was not afraid to show it predominately throughout
the house and gardens. His own family emblem consisted of a bear and ragged
staff. This emblem was placed all around the house as well as on the armour that
Dudley himself wore.
The gardens: with the whole ground of the castle being over 1700 acres of land,
the gardens were obviously a huge part of the sight of the whole estate. Not only
this but the gardens were designed to have many mythological symbols that many
at the time would have recognised. Elizabeth was thought to have embodies the
spirit of the God: Diana, who was thought to be the God of hunting, nature and the
moon, also associated with wild animals and woodlands. By including symbols
within his garden design that rightly linked to Elizabeth’s “godly” other image, he
thought this would aid him for her hand in marriage. Not only this, but Elizabeth
loved hunting, riding and being outdoors, another reason for Dudley to pay special
attention to the gardens. The gardens themselves, were copied or inspired by
Italian renaissance designs with plenty of trees, fruits, shady places, terraces and
hydraulic fountains that contained a variety of fish.
The relationship between Elizabeth and Dudley?
The relationship between Elizabeth and Dudley was one of very confused feelings
and one chasing after another. They had met as children in the court of Elizabeth’s
father when both were around 7 years old. Years later, Dudley had married his first
wife (Amy Robsart) in 1550 and eight years later Elizabeth became Queen.
Between those two dates their friendship had probably turned into a sort of
romance. Later Elizabeth appointed Dudley the role of her horse master - this
surprised many of the public as it meant regular physical touch when Dudley
would lift her off the horse. In 1559, Elizabeth was accused of sneaking into
Dudley’s chamber and spending time with him “waiting for his wife to die”. Soon
after, Dudley’s wife (Amy) was found dead with broken neck at the bottom of a
staircase in their own home. Dudley was then accused of murder however the
court ruled it as an accident or suicide - no one ever knew for sure which one it
