Kirtling Tower facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Kirtling Tower |
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| Kirtling, Cambridgeshire, England | |
The remaining Tudor gatehouse
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 Kirtling Tower
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| Coordinates | 52°11′21″N 0°27′54″E / 52.1891°N 0.4650°E |
| Site information | |
| Open to the public |
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| Condition | Private |
| Site history | |
| Materials | Brick |
Kirtling Tower was once a grand medieval castle and later a large Tudor country house in Kirtling, Cambridgeshire, England. Today, only its impressive gatehouse still stands.
Contents
The Story of Kirtling Tower
Early Days: A Medieval Castle
The first records of Kirtling Tower are from 1219. In the 1200s, Kirtling Castle had a moat (a deep, wide ditch, often filled with water), a ditch, and a palisade (a fence of strong wooden stakes).
In 1424, the castle was rebuilt quite a lot by Richard de Beauchamp, who was the Earl of Warwick. He used a hundred oak trees to create new rooms like a parlour (a living room), a solar (a private upper room), and other chambers.
A Grand Tudor Home
Edward North, a very successful lawyer, rebuilt the castle between 1540 and 1558. He used an architect named Francis Adams and renamed it Kirtling Hall. The land around the castle was changed to create a raised area for the new house.
This new house had many features popular in Tudor times. It included a large gatehouse, a long gallery, many lodgings (rooms for guests), a special banqueting house for feasts, and a beautiful garden. The garden even had fancy water features and ponds.
Queen Elizabeth I's Visit
Queen Elizabeth I visited Kirtling Tower in September 1578. She stayed for three days as a guest of Roger North, 2nd Baron North. This visit was part of her grand tour across Cambridgeshire. Lord North spent a lot of money, about £642, to host the Queen. That was a huge amount of money back then!
Decline and Rebuilding
Kirtling Tower continued to grow. By the 1660s, it was the biggest country house in Cambridgeshire. It had a main two-story building facing south, with wings on the east and west sides for more rooms and facilities.
However, after 1691, the castle started to fall into disrepair. By 1735, old records describe the property as being "in disorder." Much of the castle was taken down in 1748 to make the rest of it livable for Lord Elibank. But after he died in 1762, the property began to decline again.
By the 1770s, it was no longer safe to live in. Most of the castle was pulled down in 1801. In the 1830s, the gatehouse was turned into a home and renamed Kirtling Tower. An extension was added in 1872, and people continued to live there for many years.
Kirtling Tower Today
Today, the most important part of Kirtling Tower that remains is the three-story Tudor gatehouse. It looks very similar to the gatehouse at Leez Priory, which was built by Richard Rich, a friend and fellow lawyer of Edward North.
The gatehouse is made of brick and has eight-sided turrets (small towers). It also features an oriel window, which is a type of bay window that sticks out from the wall and is supported from below. This window has an Italian design. The gatehouse is considered a very important historical site and is protected by law.
Images for kids
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Kirtling Tower gatehouse (2013)
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