Belvoir Castle

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Belver

In the civil parish of Belvoir.
In the historic county of Leicestershire (Modern Authority of Leicestershire, 1974 county of Leicestershire).

Late C11 castle built by Robert de Todeni. The fortifications were strengthened in C13 but eventually the castle fell into disrepair. Rebuilding began in C16 but it was demolished in 1649. The eighth Earl of Manners of Rutland built a new mansion in 1655-68 on a courtyard plan and this was remodelled by James Wyatt and Sir John Thoroton between 1801-30 in the style of a Medieval castle. The present building is built on a irregular plan with asymmetrical facades in Romantic Mixed Gothic style. The four corner towers mark the extent of the medieval and Tudor building and contain surviving masonry. Elaborate interior. Licence to crenellate issued 1267 to Robert de Ros.

This site has been described as a;
Timber Castle
Masonry Castle.
The confidence that this site is a medieval fortification or palace is Certain.
Masonry footings remains.

A Royal licence to crenellate was granted in 1203.

A Royal licence to crenellate was granted in 1267 Feb 7.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SK820337

Modern Map from Good for landscape form and features	Modern Map from Good for general location
Air Photo from	1st edition OS Map from

Sources of information, references and further reading

PastScape number; 323873

• Web site links
  • http://www.belvoircastle.com/
    http://www.castlegate.net/castles/BELVOIR/index.htm
    http://www.touruk.co.uk/houses/houseleics_belvoir.htm
    http://www.castleuk.net/castle_lists_midlands/130/belvoircastle.htm
• Books
  • Salter, Mike, 2002, The Castles of the East Midlands (Malvern) p34
    Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p138
    Furtado, Peter et al (eds), 1988, Ordnance Survey guide to castles in Britain (London) p134
    Pevsner, Nikolaus; revised by Elizabeth Williamson with Geoffrey K Brandwood, 1984, Buildings of England: Leicestershire and Rutland (Harmondsworth) p62-65
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol1
    Fry, P.S., 1980, Castles of the British Isles (David and Charles) p186
    Renn, D.F., 1973 (2edn), Norman Castles of Britain (John Baker)
    Hoskins, W.G. (ed), 1954, VCH Leicestershire Vol2 p184
    Armitage, Ella, 1912, The Early Norman Castles of the British Isles (London: John Murray) p102-3
    Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
    Wall, 1907, in Page, Wm, (ed), VCH Leicestershire Vol1 p255-6
    Mackenzie, J.D., 1897, Castles of England (Heinemann) Vol1 p410-12
    Timbs, J. and Gunn, A., 1872, Abbeys, Castles and Ancient Halls of England and Wales Vol2 (London) p342-7
    Turner, T.H. and Parker, J.H., 1859, Some account of Domestic Architecture in England (Oxford) Vol3 pt2 p236, 403
    Eller, 1841, History of Belvoir Castle (London)
    Nichols, J., 1795, The History and Antiquities of the County of Leicestershire Vol2 p22
    Buck, Samuel and Nathenial, 1774, Buck’s Antiquities (London) Vol1 p158-9
• Journal Articles
  • Creighton, O.H., 1997, 'Early Leicestershire Castles: Archaeology and Landscape History' Transactions of the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society Vol71 p31
    Harfield, C.G., 1991, 'A Hand-list of Castles Recorded in the Domesday Book' English Historical Review Vol106
    Thompson, M.W., 1986, 'Associated monasteries and castles in the Middle Ages: a tentative list' Archaeological Journal Vol143 p308
    Cantor, Leonard, 1977-8, 'The Medieval Castles of Leicestershire' Transactions of the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society Vol53 p35
    Brown, R, Allen, 1959, 'A List of Castles, 1154–1216' English Historical Review Vol74 [Reprinted in Brown, R. Allen, 1989, Castles, conquest and charters: collected papers (Woodbridge: Boydell Press) p249-280]
    Hussey, 1956, Country Life Vol120 p1402-5 [suggested traces of the old castle]
    Walker, John Holland,, 1937, 'Belvoir Castle' Transactions of the Thoroton Society of Nottinghamshire Vol41 p87-90
    Round, J.H., 1907, 'The origin of Belvoir Castle' English Historical Review Vol22 p508-10
    W.D., 1873, The Antiquary Vol3 p229-31 [not very useful]
• Guidebooks
  • The Duke of Rutland, n.d., Belvoir Castle (Derby: English Life Publications)
• Primary (Medieval documents or transcriptions of such documents - This section is far from complete and the secondary sources should be consulted for full references.)
  • Calendar of Patent Rolls (1266-72) p33
• Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
  • William Camden, 1607, Britannia [placed in Lincolnshire] [http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/cambrit/lincseng.html#lincs12]
    Chandler, John, 1993, John Leland's Itinerary: travels in Tudor England (Sutton Publishing) p282, 299, 351
    Toulmin-Smith, Lucy (ed), 1910, The itinerary of John Leland in or about the years 1535-1543 (Bell and Sons; London) Vol1 p97-8