The Stables, Kenilworth Castle, Kenilworth, Warwickshire
Reconstruction drawing showing activity around the stables. The stable block at Kenilworth Castle was built by Robert Dudley's father, John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, in 1553. Both men were Masters of the Horse, John to Edward VI, and Robert to Elizabeth I. In 1553 the castle had been granted to John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland. Following his execution, it returned to the Crown. The grant was renewed to his son, Robert Dudley, the Earl of Leicester and favourite of Elizabeth I. He made extensive changes to the castle until his death in 1588. During the Civil War, the Royalists initially occupied the castle but it was later held by the Parliamentarians, who demolished the north wall of the keep and the north curtain wall to make the castle indefensible in 1650. This sie is now in the care of English Heritage (2011).
