The front of Leeds Castle

Leeds Castle

Leeds Castle in Winter

Leeds Castle and its ditch

Leeds Castle, four miles south east of Maidstone, Kent, England, dates back to 1119, though a manor house stood on the same site from the 9th century. The castle and grounds lie to the east of the village of Leeds, which should not be confused with the city of Leeds in West Yorkshire. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2032 × 1524 pixel, file size: 666 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Photo of Leeds Castle taken by myself I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2032 × 1524 pixel, file size: 666 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Photo of Leeds Castle taken by myself I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under... Download high resolution version (2048x1536, 757 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Download high resolution version (2048x1536, 757 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (873x580, 138 KB) Summary Leeds Castle in Winter - Dec 1996 Photo Cas Liber Licensing File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Leeds Castle ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (873x580, 138 KB) Summary Leeds Castle in Winter - Dec 1996 Photo Cas Liber Licensing File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Leeds Castle ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 541 pixelsFull resolution (1519 × 1027 pixel, file size: 898 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Picture taken by Lucio Sinibaldi in August 2005 at Leeds Castle (Kent, England). ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 541 pixelsFull resolution (1519 × 1027 pixel, file size: 898 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Picture taken by Lucio Sinibaldi in August 2005 at Leeds Castle (Kent, England). ... Maidstone is the county town of Kent, England, halfway (30 miles) between the City of London and the English Channel. ... The Kent coat of arms For other uses, see Kent (disambiguation). ... Motto (French) God and my right Anthem No official anthem - the United Kingdom anthem God Save the Queen is commonly used England() – on the European continent() – in the United Kingdom() Capital (and largest city) London (de facto) Official languages English (de facto)1 Unified  -  by Athelstan 927 AD  Area  -  Total... Pierrefonds Castle, France. ... Masouleh village, Gilan Province, Iran. ... For the northern UK city see Leeds and other uses of Leeds see Leeds (disambiguation). ... Look up city, City in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... , Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. ... Coat of Arms of South Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, that has a population of 2. ...

History

Built in 1119 by Robert de Crevecoeur to replace the earlier Saxon manor of Esledes, the castle became a royal palace for King Edward I of England and his queen, Eleanor of Castile in 1278. Major improvements were made during his time, including the Barbican, made up of three parts, each with its own entrance, drawbridge, gateway, and portcullis. The medieval keep is called the "Gloriette" in honour of Queen Eleanor. Edward I (17 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), popularly known as Longshanks[1], also as Edward the Lawgiver because of his legal reforms, and as Hammer of the Scots,[2] achieved fame as the monarch who conquered Wales and who tried to do the same to Scotland. ... For other Eleanors of England, see Eleanor of England (disambiguation) Eleanor of Castile (1241 – 28 November 1290) was the first Queen consort of Edward I of England. ... Drawbridge at the fort of Ponta da Bandeira; Lagos, Portugal A drawbridge is a type of movable bridge typically associated with the entrance of a castle, but the term is often used to describe all different types of movable bridges, like bascule bridges and lift bridges. ... Counterweights for the sliding portcullis A portcullis is a grille or gate made of wood, metal or a combination of the two. ...

In 1321 King Edward II besieged the castle after his queen was refused admission, and used ballistas, or springalds, to force its defenders to surrender. In 1395, King Richard II received the French chronicler Jean Froissart there, as Froissart described in his Chronicles. Edward II, (25 April 1284 – 21 September? 1327), of Caernarfon, was King of England from 1307 until deposed in January, 1327. ... The ballista (Latin, from Greek ballistēs, from ballein to throw, plural ballistae) was a powerful ancient crossbow, although employing several loops of twisted skeins to power it, it used torsion (instead of a prod). ... Richard II (January 6, 1367 – February 14, 1400) was the son of Edward the Black Prince, Prince of Wales, and Joan The Fair Maid of Kent. He was born in Bordeaux and became his fathers successor when his elder brother died in infancy. ... Jean Froissart (~1337 - ~1405) was one of the most important of the chroniclers of medieval France. ... Froissarts Chronicle was written in French by Jean Froissart. ...

Henry VIII transformed the castle for his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, and a painting commemorating his meeting with Francis I of France still hangs there. His daughter, Queen Elizabeth I was imprisoned in the castle for a time before her coronation. Henry VIII (28 June 1491 – 28 January 1547) was King of England and Lord of Ireland, later King of Ireland, from 22 April 1509 until his death. ... Katherine of Aragon (Alcalá de Henares, 16 December 1485 – 7 January 1536), Castilian Infanta Catalina de Aragón y Castilla, also known popularly after her time as Catherine of Aragon, was the first wife and Queen Consort of Henry VIII of England. ... Francis I (François Ier in French) (September 12, 1494 – March 31, 1547), called the Father and Restorer of Letters (le Père et Restaurateur des Lettres), was crowned King of France in 1515 in the cathedral at Reims and reigned until 1547. ... Elizabeth I redirects here. ...

The castle escaped destruction during the English Civil War because its owners, the Culpeper family, sided with the Parliamentarians. The last private owner of the castle was the Hon. Olive, Lady Baillie, a daughter of Almeric Paget, 1st Baron Queenborough, and his first wife, Pauline Payne Whitney, an American heiress. Lady Baillie bought the castle in 1926. She redecorated the interior, first working with the French architect and designer Armand-Albert Rateau (who also oversaw exterior alterations as well as added interior features such as a 16th-century-style carved-oak staircase) and then, later, with the Paris decorator Stéphane Boudin. Baillie established the Leeds Castle Foundation. The castle was opened to the public in 1976. The English Civil War consisted of a series of armed conflicts and political machinations that took place between Parliamentarians (known as Roundheads) and Royalists (known as Cavaliers) between 1642 and 1651. ... Almeric Hugh Paget, 1st Baron Queenborough, GBE (14 March 1861–22 September 1949) was a British peer and Conservative Party politician. ... Pauline Payne Whitney (born March 21, 1874 – November 22, 1916), was an American heiress and a member of the prominent Whitney family. ... Stéphane Boudin, 1888–1967, French interior designer and president of Maison Jansen (House of Jansen) the Paris based international interior decorating office. ...

On 17 July 1978, the castle was the site of a meeting between the Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Foreign Minister Moshe Dayan in preparation for the Camp David Accords. is the 198th day of the year (199th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1978 Gregorian calendar). ... Muhammad Anwar Al-Sadat (محمد أنورالسادات in Arabic) (December 25, 1918 – October 6, 1981) was an Egyptian politician and served as the third President of Egypt from September 28, 1970 until his assassination on October 6, 1981. ... Moshe Dayan (Hebrew: משה דיין; May 20, 1915–October 16, 1981) was an Israeli military leader and politician. ... Celebrating the signing of the Camp David Accords (1978): Menachem Begin, Jimmy Carter, Anwar Sadat The Camp David Accords were signed by Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin on September 17, 1978, following twelve days of secret negotiations at Camp David. ...

In September 1999, Sir Elton John played two sold-out solo concerts in the grounds of Leeds Castle. Sir Elton Hercules John, KBE, born Reginald Kenneth Dwight on March 25, 1947, is one of the most successful British pop singers, composers, and musicians. ...

Tourism

This castle and its grounds are now an important leisure destination in the county of Kent. The castle has an aviary, a maze, a grotto, a golf course and what may be the world's only museum of dog collars. It also plays host to an annual hot air balloon display. An aviary is a large enclosure for confining birds. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Hot air balloon in flight Hot air balloons are the oldest successful human carrying flight technology, dating back to the Montgolfier brothers invention in Annonay, France in 1783. ...

Trivia

• The castle was used as the location for Chalfont, the family home of the d'Ascoynes, in the film Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949) [1].
• Because of Lord Fairfax there is a sundial at Fairfax, Virginia, telling the time in Leeds Castle, and a sundial at Leeds Castle telling the time in Virginia. [2]
• The Doctor Who episode The Androids of Tara was filmed at the castle[3].

Kind Hearts and Coronets is a 1949 Ealing comedy film. ... The Lordship of Fairfax of Cameron was created in 1627 for Sir Thomas Fairfax. ... Location in the Commonwealth of Virginia Coordinates: Country United States State Virginia County Independent City Founded 1805 Government  - Mayor Robert Lederer Area  - City  6. ... This article contains a trivia section. ... The Androids of Tara is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from November 25 to December 16, 1978. ...

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Leeds Castle

• Leeds Castle
• Leeds Castle Exterior Quicktime Virtual Reality image of Leeds Castle
• Leeds Castle, Henry Vlll's Banqueting Hall — Quicktime Virtual Reality inside the Castle

Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... The Wikimedia Commons (also called Wikicommons) is a repository of free content images, sound and other multimedia files. ...

Gallery

A room inside the castle Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2560 × 1920 pixel, file size: 2. ...	Dining hall Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2560 × 1920 pixel, file size: 2. ...	Panorama of the castle Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 109 pixelsFull resolution (5993 × 814 pixel, file size: 2. ...	The maze Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2560 × 1920 pixel, file size: 2. ...
Black swans in front of Leeds Castle Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 547 pixelsFull resolution (1519 × 1039 pixel, file size: 717 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Picture taken by Lucio Sinibaldi at Leeds Castle (Kent, England) in August 2005: black swans in front of the castle. ...

Coordinates: 51°14′53″N, 0°37′44″E Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...