Thornbury Castle is a Tudor castle in the place of Thornbury, in

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

, England, situated next to the parish church of St Mary, founded in the Norman era. Construction was begun in 1511 as a further residence for Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham (1478-1521), of

Stafford Castle Stafford Castle is an ancient Grade II listed castle situated two miles west of the town of Stafford in Staffordshire, England. From the time of the Norman Conquest and as recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 it was the seat of the powerful Ang ...

in Staffordshire. It is not a true military fortress but rather an early example of a Tudor

country house An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...

, with minimal defensive attributes. As at

Richmond Palace Richmond Palace was a royal residence on the River Thames in England which stood in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Situated in what was then rural Surrey, it lay upstream and on the opposite bank from the Palace of Westminster, which ...

in Surrey, the main ranges of Thornbury framed courts, of which the symmetrical entrance range, with central

gatehouse A gatehouse is a type of fortified gateway, an entry control point building, enclosing or accompanying a gateway for a town, religious house, castle, manor house, or other fortification building of importance. Gatehouses are typically the mo ...

and octagonal corner towers, survives, together with two less regular side ranges with many irregular projecting features and towers. It is now a

grade I listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

building that is operated as a hotel.

History

The site was occupied by a manor house in 930;

Jasper Tudor Jasper Tudor, Duke of Bedford (November 143121/26 December 1495), was the uncle of King Henry VII of England and a leading architect of his nephew's successful accession to the throne in 1485. He was from the noble Tudor family of Penmynydd i ...

, Duke of Bedford & Earl of Pembroke, died in the Manor House in 1495. Part of the original plans for a very grand residence were "well advanced", with a

Licence to crenellate In medieval England, Wales and the Channel Islands a licence to crenellate (or licence to fortify) granted the holder permission to fortify his property. Such licences were granted by the king, and by the rulers of the counties palatine within the ...

being granted in 1508, before the 3rd Duke of Buckingham was beheaded for

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

in 1521, by order of King

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

. Following the 3rd Duke's death Thornbury was confiscated by King

Henry VIII of England Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

, who stayed there for ten days in August 1535 with Queen

Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and of her execution by beheading for treason and other charges made her a key ...

. In 1554 Queen Mary granted the castle and manor to

Henry Stafford, 1st Baron Stafford Henry Stafford, 1st Baron Stafford (18 September 1501 – 30 April 1563) was an English nobleman. After the execution for treason in 1521 and posthumous attainder of his father Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, with the forfeiture of al ...

. Following the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, the castle fell into disrepair, but was renovated in 1824 by the

Howard family The House of Howard is an English noble house founded by John Howard, who was created Duke of Norfolk (third creation) by King Richard III of England in 1483. However, John was also the eldest grandson (although maternal) of the 1st Duke of the ...

Today

The castle is now a 26-room luxury hotel and restaurant, and a venue for weddings. Between 1966 and 1986 the castle was operated as one of the UK's top restaurants by Kenneth Bell MBE with staff including food writer

Nigel Slater Nigel Slater (born 9 April 1956) is an English food writer, journalist and broadcaster. He has written a column for ''The Observer Magazine'' for over a decade and is the principal writer for the ''Observer Food Monthly'' supplement. Prior to ...

and MasterChef New Zealand judge Simon Gault early in their culinary careers. A report in March 2022 indicated that all of the bedrooms and suites of the hotel had been refurbished. Since November 2021, the property had been a member of Relais & Châteaux.

Locomotive

There was a

GWR Castle class The 4073 or Castle Class are 4-6-0 steam locomotives of the Great Western Railway, built between 1923 and 1950. They were designed by the railway's Chief Mechanical Engineer, Charles Collett, for working the company's express passenger trains. ...

4-6-0 locomotive in preservation named 7027 ''Thornbury Castle''. In August 2022 the future restoration of ''Thornbury Castle'' was called into question when the Great Western Society's ''4709 Group'' bought the locomotive with the intention of donating the boiler to their project to re-create a

GWR 4700 Class The Great Western Railway (GWR) 4700 Class was a class of nine 2-8-0 steam locomotives, designed by George Jackson Churchward. They were introduced in 1919 for heavy mixed-traffic work. Although primarily designed for fast freight, the class ...

. Thornbury Castle's chassis and other components are to be used to recreate a

GWR Star class The Great Western Railway (GWR) Star Class of 2-2-2 broad gauge steam locomotives were used for passenger train work. Designed by Robert Stephenson, the class was introduced into service between November 1838 and November 1841, and withdrawn be ...

locomotive.

Images

References

External links