Kenilworth Castle

	Simon de Montfort's grim fortress of Kenilworth

Kenilworth Castle is one of those grim old fortresses that served as centres of government, impregnable refuges against misfortune and, in these less troubled times, irresistible magnets for tourists.

Unusually for such an important castle, it wasn't built on top of a remote peak but in the middle of gently rolling, fertile countryside. It compensated for this defensive oversight by surrounding itself with a lake, a feature dreamed up by Bad King John, who had his own reasons for wanting a safe refuge from his barons.

Somewhat carelessly, one of his successors gave the castle away to his son-in-law, a French immigrant called Simon de Montfort. When the two fell out, although Simon himself was trapped and killed in a place called Evesham, his son and his supporters holed up in Kenilworth and held out for six months against the worst that even Prince Edward could do. Edward was forced to forego the sweetness of revenge in order to bring them out.