Grimsthorpe Castle
The Yarwell History group trip to Grimsthorpe Castle
Tuesday 20th August 2019.
What a little treasure of history we discovered on our visit to Grimsthorpe. We all met up for a coffee etc in the old coach house tea rooms at the beginning of our visit. We then discovered the delightful old walled kitchen gardens, full of flowers, fruit and vegetables. We followed the path which led out to the parkland and the topiary gardens with beautiful views across the lake. The weather was warm and sunny and we all spent some time admiring the topiary and the flora and fauna.
After lunch we headed for our tour around the castle. We were met by our guide, Karen, who gave us a very informative and amusing tour of the castle and it’s history. We started in the chapel where Karen told us about the beginnings of the castle, then into the great hall where she explained the symmetrical style of the castle. Onwards round the rest of the castle, all too soon our tour came to an end. We wandered into the garden and enjoyed chatting about our visit and what we had seen before making our way back to the shop and tea rooms for a cuppa before heading home.
We all agreed yet again another very enjoyable day out for the history group.
A brief history of Grimsthorpe Castle.
In 1516 Grimsthorpe and its lands were presented by Henry VIII as a wedding gift to William, 11th Lord Willoughby de Eresby and his Spanish bride, Maria de Salinas, lady-in-waiting and confidante of Henry’s Queen, Katherine of Aragon. Through myriad different titles bestowed upon their descendants over the last five hundred years – the ownership of Grimsthorpe has remained in successive generations of the same family united under one ancient title, the Barony of Willoughby de Eresby.
The Willoughby de Eresby family is one of three in England who still fulful the hereditary office of Lord Great Chamberlain, the Monarch’s representative at the Palace of Westminster. Due to this role, Grimsthorpe houses one of the largest collections of royal thrones and furnishings outside the Royal Palaces.
If you would like to join our History Group please don’t hesitate to contact us. Please use the contact form at the bottom of the About Us page or visit the ‘Yarwell Mill‘ Facebook page.
