Days Out: Kimbolton Castle

Welcome to the first in a semi-regular series I’ll be showcasing on here of days out I have personally experienced in Britain & Ireland. Today was Kimbolton Country Fayre & Classic Car Show, hosted at Kimbolton Castle in Bedfordshire.

The castle itself isn’t normally open to the public as it is now used as a public school, but what a history it has. The first castle in Kimbolton was a wooden motte and bailey, of which only a low mound remains. Following this, in the 1200s, the first castle on the current site was commissioned by Geoffrey Fitzpiers, Earl of Essex – nothing of this castle survives.

The castle changed hands many times over the ensuing years, but by the 1520s, it had been remodelled as a Tudor manor house under the ownership of the Wingfield family. In May 1534, Katherine of Aragon, first wife of Henry VIII arrived at the castle and was kept here as a semi-prisoner. She died around two years later, and is buried at Peterborough Cathedral.

The next inhabitant of any note was Sir John Popham, who owned the castle around 1600. In his early years he was reportedly a highwayman, but went on to become Lord Chief Justice and was the judge at the trial of Guy Fawkes. Local legend has it that he also threw his baby daughter to her death from a window overlooking the courtyard here.

A mere decade later, the castle came into the hands of the Montagu family – in particular Sir Henry Montagu, who went on to become the 1st Earl of Manchester. His son, Edward Montagu was a high-ranking officer in Oliver Cromwell’s parliamentarian army during the early part of the English Civil War. The castle remained in the possession of the Montagus until 1950 when it was sold by the 10th Earl to become Kimbolton School, after it had served the Royal Army Medical Corps in the Second World War.

Back to present day – the Country Fayre & Car Show itself was a fantastic mix of over 800 classic cars, live music, craft & food stalls, and events in the main ring including heavy horse displays and a civil war re-enactment. The castle is holding an open day on 5th November, and is well-recommended for fans of architecture and stately homes.