Belvoir Castle is a stately manor home in Leicestershire and is owned privately by the Manners family, and is the seat of the Dukes of Rutland.
Today, this remarkable structure, which overlooks the Vale of Belvoir, is open to the public, and it is a Grade I listed building. Originally, a Norman castle stood on the site where the current castle stands. At that time, the land where it was built belonged to Robert de Todeni, as recorded in the Doomsday Book, and later it was inherited by William d’Aubigny.
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In 1234, the home was granted to Robert de Ros, who married d’Aubigny’s granddaughter, Isabel. After the family had died out, the castle was given to George Manners in 1508. Since 1464, the Norman castle had been in ruins and in 1528, the 9th Earl of Rutland, John Manners, started the construction of the new castle.
This castle was one of the most notable strongholds of King Charles’s supporters during the English Civil War, who spent one night here when he was traveling to Lincolnshire. A third castle was started in 1654 after the previous one was destroyed by Parliamentarians in 1649.
England is full of amazing manors and castles – below is drone footage of the Odiham castle – it’s beautiful!
The new castle was designed by John Webb as a large family home, and the construction was finished in 1668. For five hundred years, the castle has been the home of the Manners family and over three centuries it has been the seat of the Dukes of Rutland.
In 1799, the castle was rebuilt again, and this time in the Gothic Revival style and designed by James Wyatt but, unfortunately, in 1816, it was almost completely destroyed by a fire. After this event, it was rebuilt again in 1832, and the architect this time was Sir James Thornton. Belvoir Castle is best-known for its many works of art, held principally in the Elizabeth Saloon, the Roman-inspired State Dining Room, and the Regents Gallery.
It has been involved in several films and television programs including The Da Vinci Code where it was used as the Pope’s summer residence. Close to the main house of the Castle lie Rose and Statue gardens, and a little further are the Duchess’s Spring gardens which were first planted in 1800.
The castle sits on an estate of 15,000 acres and its name means beautiful view. Belvoir Castle is the host of the Belvoir Fireworks and also hosts the Belvoir Cricket Club in the village of Knipton.