Maxstoke Castle

History

Sir William de Clinton died in 1354, and his widow Juliana Leybourne continued to spend time at the castle even after remarrying. Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham, acquired Maxstoke in 1437 by exchanging manors in Northamptonshire. Elizabethan additions were made to the medieval fabric. The Dilke family acquired the castle and their descendants have maintained ownership for several centuries.

Architecture

The castle follows a rectangular plan with octagonal towers at each corner, an east gatehouse and a west residential range, all enclosed by a broad moat, with later Elizabethan additions to the medieval fabric.

Worth knowing

A 15th-century chair at the castle is said to be the one on which Henry VII was crowned after the Battle of Bosworth in 1485. A table once owned by Sir Everard Digby is traditionally linked to the planning of the Gunpowder Plot in 1605. During the Second World War the Great Banqueting Hall stored aircraft engines for the nearby Spitfire works at Castle Bromwich, and grooves left by the heavy machinery are still visible in the floor.

Gardens & grounds

The castle is surrounded by gardens, which visitors can walk through after guided tours.