Thornbury Castle is a Tudor castle in the town of Thornbury, in Gloucestershire, England, erected next to the parish church of St Mary. Construction was begun in 1511 as a further residence for

Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham (3 February 1478 – 17 May 1521) was an English nobleman. He was the son of Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham and Katherine Woodville, Duchess of Buckingham, Katherine Woodville and nephew of E ...

(1478–1521), of Stafford Castle in Staffordshire. It is not a true military fortress but rather an early example of a Tudor

country house image:Blenheim - Blenheim Palace - 20210417125239.jpg, 300px, Blenheim Palace - Oxfordshire An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a Townhou ...

, with minimal defensive attributes. As at

Richmond Palace Richmond Palace was a Tudor royal residence on the River Thames in England which stood in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Situated in what was then rural Surrey, it lay upstream and on the opposite bank from the Palace of Westminste ...

in Surrey, the main ranges of Thornbury framed courts, of which the symmetrical entrance range, with central

gatehouse A gatehouse is a type of fortified gateway, an entry control point building, enclosing or accompanying a gateway for a town, religious house, castle, manor house, or other fortification building of importance. Gatehouses are typically the most ...

and octagonal corner towers, survives, together with two less regular side ranges with many irregular projecting features and towers. It is now a

Grade I listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

building that is operated as a hotel.

History

The site was occupied by a manor house in 930; Jasper Tudor, Duke of Bedford & Earl of Pembroke, died there in 1495. Part of the original plans for a very grand residence were "well advanced", with a licence to crenellate being granted in 1508, before the 3rd Duke of Buckingham was beheaded for

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state (polity), state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to Coup d'état, overthrow its government, spy ...

in 1521, by order of King

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

. Following the 3rd Duke's death, Thornbury was confiscated by Henry, who stayed there for ten days in August 1535 with Queen

Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the Wives of Henry VIII, second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and execution, by beheading ...

. In 1554 Queen Mary, who had visited Thornbury in 1525, granted the castle and manor to

Henry Stafford, 1st Baron Stafford Henry Stafford, 1st Baron Stafford (18 September 1501 – 30 April 1563) was an English nobleman. After the execution for treason in 1521 and posthumous attainder of his father Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, with the forfeiture of al ...

. Following the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, the castle fell into disrepair, but was renovated in 1824 by the

Howard family The Howard family is an English noble family Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy (class), aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has of ...

Today

The castle is now a 26-room luxury hotel and restaurant, and a venue for weddings. Between 1966 and 1986 the castle was operated as one of the UK's top restaurants by Kenneth Bell with staff including food writer Nigel Slater and MasterChef New Zealand judge Simon Gault early in their culinary careers. A report in March 2022 indicated that all of the bedrooms and suites of the hotel had been refurbished. Since November 2021, the property had been a member of Relais & Châteaux.

Locomotive

There was a GWR Castle class 4-6-0 locomotive in preservation named 7027 ''Thornbury Castle''. In August 2022 the future of ''Thornbury Castle'' was called into question when the Great Western Society's ''4709 Group'' bought the locomotive with the intention of donating the boiler to its project to re-create a GWR 4700 Class. Thornbury Castle's chassis and other components were to be used to recreate a GWR Star class locomotive.

Images

References

External links