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Caludon Castle

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Venue Type & Location

Private Residence

Site Name: Caludon Castle
Location: near Coventry
County: Warwickshire
Location Type: Town - near town at determined location

Overview

Located on a main road a few miles NE of Coventry.

Part of the contrasting sandstone N wall of the great hall, including the fireplace, and the surrounding moat on 3 sides remain.

Current Status

Scattered ruins in Caludon Park, Wyken, accessible to the public.

History of the Venue

Late 12th c. Manor house built by the Segrave family.

1305 Licence to crenellate granted to John de Segrave.

1354 2nd licence to crenellate granted to John de Mowbray, husband of the Segrave heiress.

1399 Thomas de Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk exiled by Richard II, after which the castle fell into disrepair.

1485 Granted by Henry VII to Gilbert George Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury.

1491 The castle should have passed to the Berkeley family via the marriage of Isabel Mowbray, the last in line. William Berkeley had given everything away and it was up to his son Maurice to petition the King to get back his family possessions. Maurice eventually successfully sued for the return of his estates, including Caludon.

1584 Substantially rebuilt by Henry, Lord Berkeley.

early 17th c. Additions made by Elizabeth, Lady Berkeley.

1632 Sold by George, 18th Lord Berkeley, to Thomas Morgan.

1643 Morgan, a Royalist, killed at battle of Newbury. Thereafter the castle was largely destroyed during the Civil War and abandoned.

1710-30 Castle passed to the Clifford family, who used stone to build an adjacent house.

1815-46 Castle and estates sold piecemeal to different buyers. Castle further demolished to provide building stone.

c 1920 Castle site and surrounding lands acquired by Coventry for housing estates. Remaining outbuildings demolished.

1964 Caludon Park, including castle remains, created.

Patrons who owned this venue

Name Date Titles
Berkeley, Henry 1534-1613 Baron Berkeley

Bibliographic Sources

View a list of abbreviations.

  • Emery, Anthony. Greater Medieval Houses of England and Wales 1300–1500. 3 vols. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1996--2006
  • Hodges, E. Some Ancient English Homes and Their Associations: Personal, Archaeological & Historic. London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1895
  • King, David J. Cathcart. Castellarium Anglicanum: An Index and Bibliography of the Castles in England, Wales and the Islands. 2 vols. Millwood, NY, London and Nendeln, Liechtenstein: Kraus International Publications, 1983
  • Mackenzie, James D. The Castles of England: Their Story and Structure. 2 vols. New York: The Macmillan Co., 1896
  • Page, William, ed. The Victoria History of the County of Warwick. 8 vols. London: Archibald Constable & Co. [vols 1-–2]; Oxford UP [vols 3-–8], 1904--8 [vols 1--2]; 1945--69 [vols 3--8]
  • Pevsner, Nikolaus, and Alexandra Wedgwood. Warwickshire. Harmondsworth, Midd: Penguin Books, 1966