Leeds Castle in England: history, photo, how to get there?

In small England, there are surprisingly many castles. Many of them are poorly preserved, and some are completely destroyed. One of the well-preserved medieval buildings is Leeds Castle. About its history and how to get to it, read in the article.

Early history of Leeds Castle

Its location is lake islands near the river Len. It's just four miles from Maidstone, Kent. Today it is perhaps the most beautiful medieval castle in the world, rich in its history and the events taking place around it.

The castle is named after its first master, who was Seyror Lyd. First (857) was built a small wooden fortress. In its place much later (1119) is built a castle made of stone. Since 1278, the castle is in the possession of Eduard the First, who remodels it and gives it to his wife, Eleanor of Castile. Up to the beginning of the fourteenth century (1318), the castle was owned by widowed queens of England. It was the residence of Margarita of France, the stepmother of Edward the second.

Residence queens

The owner of the castle in 1321 was Lord Badmersmer. When he was not at home, Queen Isabella came to stay, which was denied hospitality. Her guards were killed, and she returned home. King Edward the second, the spouse of Isabella, responded to the insult. He arrested the relatives of Badmersmer and sent them to the fortress, and Leeds captured.

Queen Isabella was granted a castle as a gift from her husband. Since then, no one has captured him. For many centuries the castle was the residence of the English queens. Leeds belonged to the Crown for a long time, from 1278 to 1552. In the Middle Ages, he was a favorite vacation spot for English kings and queens, who often visited him.

The history of the castle in our time

Lady Bailey Castle Leeds, whose photo is for viewing, inherited from the rich uncle in 1926. For her reconstruction and interior decoration, the lady spent almost all her condition. She hired the best masters for work. With their help, the inner appearance of the castle has changed.

A great contribution to its restoration was made by the architect from France Armand Rato, and later - by Stefan Budin. Thanks to the heiress, paintings, tapestries, furniture, Chinese porcelain, ceramics were collected. Many rooms for various purposes have been reconstructed.

Seminar room

The castle of Leeds has many rooms. One of them is the former room of Lady Bailey. She used it as a boudoir. In 1960, the room was transferred to her own son to equip her bedroom. When the lady died (it was 1974), the room was converted into a hall where seminars were held.

The first meetings in this room were held in 1978, where the foreign ministers of countries such as the United States of America, Egypt and Israel, concluded a number of agreements that were called the Camp David. The seminar hall was in demand by Shinn Fein, when in the fourth year of the third millennium, peace negotiations were held there, on which issues relating to Northern Ireland were decided.

Library

Its design is the creation of the hands of the great master Buden. The sample for interior decoration is the library of the house of Boton, which was restored in the 17th century. The main decoration is a portrait depicting a lady and her daughters.

At that time, Bailey was forty-seven years old, Pauline twenty-seven, and Susan twenty-four. The eldest daughter died in 1984, the youngest - in 2001. The library has about three thousand volumes of books.

Lady Bailey's Bedroom

To design the room was invited decorator from France. It was in 1936. The famous master Stefan Budin in the future carried out orders for the White House, in particular for the wife of President Kennedy.

The bedroom of Aragonese Catherine

In the castle of Leeds, the interior of this room was also decorated by Stefan Budin in 1960. In it, the first wife of King Henry the Eight stayed in 1520, in honor of her and called the bedroom. Above the bed hangs a portrait depicting Lady Bailey's mother, and above the fireplace is Lola Montes, who was known as the main adventurer of the 19th century.

Home in the castle stairs

It is so called because behind the doors (there are four) are almost all the bedrooms, which are in the castle twenty-three. At the top under the stairs are portraits, which depict mother and father Bailey. His father's name was Almerik Paget, he was the titled lord of Quinborough. And his grandfather is the marquis of Anglesey.

Mother - Pauline Winty - was originally from New York. Her uncle was a very wealthy man and left everything to the niece of Lady Bailey. When she entered into the right to inherit property, the castle was in terrible condition.

As is known, she spent almost all the money left by her uncle on the restoration of the castle, which she used as a country residence, until 1974, in which she died. Before her death, she managed to create a charitable foundation, named after the castle of Leeds. After her death, the fund inherited ownership of it.

Banquet Hall of King Henry the Eighth

The Castle of Leeds in England has a room named after the famous king. Henry was the owner of the castle. It was during this period that a window window was installed, distinguished by its luxury and beauty. Beams in the room - a real work of art carving wood. Especially noteworthy is the floor, the material for which is ebony. To decorate the hall in the 16th century, a tapestry was brought from Flamandia, and from France - a facing material for the fireplace.

Royal Chambers

In this room, restorers tried to keep the interior the way it was when the castle was owned by the widow of King Henry the fifth Catherine Valois (1420). The Queen's Lodge was majestic and was rarely used for its intended purpose.

His impressive size and delicate silk drapery impressed the guests, whom the Queen accepted. Coverlets and portieres were marked with the initials "H" and "C", denoting the names of the king and queen. Above the fireplace hung a diamond-shaped emblem, meaning that the queen was a widow.

Gallery

This room was restored in 1927 by an architect from France Arman Rato. The castle of Leeds is proud of its gallery. Impress the carved beams of oak wood by the remarkable work of the Parisian masters. Busts of King Henry the Eighth and his children are made of marble. Facing the fireplace and carved emblems of the king and queen delight visitors. A table, and that has its own legend. First it belonged to the Italian monastery, later, in the 17th century, took a worthy place in the gallery.

Chapel

In this case, this is the room where daily service was held for the peace of the soul of the first wife of Edward. Her name was Eleanor of Castile. The chapel, in which the funeral service was sent, was called the "church chapel". During the reign of Henry the Eighth, it was closed. This time is in 1544 year. Its restoration and re-illumination took place already in the twentieth century, in the seventies.

Panels, which depict the Nativity of Christ, are made of lime wood. They date back to 1500. The furniture is covered with Flemish tapestries in 1495. Organic music was reproduced on the corresponding instrument of the year 1795.

Road to the castle

How to get from London to Leeds Castle by car? A remarkable medieval structure is located from London in the southeast direction only 64 kilometers. This is the neighborhood of Maidstone. You need to go on the routes B2163, M20.

How to get to the castle of Leeds by train? Special routes have been developed for the direct communication of trains between Victoria Station in London and the nearest station on the Birsted railway, from which regular bus routes run to the castle itself. The journey takes one hour. You can go on a trip from another station - Waterloo. Trains stop very close to the castle, only twenty minutes away.