SP0327 : Sudeley Castle - Tithe Barn
taken 9 years ago, near to Winchcombe, Gloucestershire, England
The present Sudeley Castle dates mainly from the C15th, but it was probably built on the site of an earlier castle, perhaps created in the C12th in the reign of Stephen at the time when he was fighting a civil war with Matilda (aka The Empress Maud).
The C15th castle was originally built for Ralph Boteler around the middle of that century, while it later passed into Royal ownership and was extended towards the end of that century for Richard III.
In the following century, around 1572, it was much altered and enlarged by the then owner Lord Chandos.
As a Royalist stronghold in the Civil War it was twice attacked by the Parliamentarians; the second time successfully and as a result it was "slighted" on the orders of Cromwell - that is to say it was partly destroyed, so that it could never again be used as a fortress. It was at this time that much of the building was demolished. It stood for nearly 200 years largely as a ruin, until the glove making family, the Dents, took over the estate in the mid C19th.
They set about restoring those parts of the castle that could reasonably be repaired and also added some extra Victorian Gothic features.
Descendants of the Dent family still own the castle, and live there, though it is now open to the public - see the Castle's own website here Link for opening times etc. as well as a more detailed history.
The castle - now effectively a grand country house - is surrounded by beautiful well-tended grounds and gardens. As well as the ruins of the castle, there is also a notable ruined tithe barn and Ralph Boteler's C15th church (restored by the Victorians) within the grounds.
This church, dedicated to St Mary, is the final resting place of Queen Katherine Parr - the sixth and final wife of Henry VIII and one of the two to survive him (the other being Anne of Cleves). Katherine was Queen of England from 1543 until Henry's death in 1547 - occasionally acting as Regent in Henry's absence - apparently very proficiently and successfully. On becoming a widow she moved to Sudeley and soon married the ambitious Thomas Seymour - her fourth husband. Just a year later she died shortly after giving birth to a daughter in September 1548 - the latter surviving, but mysteriously vanishing from history.
Katherine's tomb in the church is the only example of a Queen of England being buried in a private chapel. Her original tomb here was only rediscovered in the C18th, and she was reburied in the fine monument that is now in the church.
The castle is of course EH Grade I listed Link
as is the Tithe Barn Link
and the Church of St Mary Link
Listed Grade II are the following:
Gateway Link
Terrace Wall Link
North Lodge & Wing Walls Link
Fountain Link
The parkland in which all these buildings sit is also separately listed Link
Wikipedia article on Sudeley Castle Link
Wikipedia article on Katherine (or Catherine) Parr Link