Travelling with Nick: Hampton Court Castle nr. Hereford

In August 2020 our youngest son and family were holidaying in Herefordshire. He wanted to take them to have a look around a castle. He chose three which were close to where they were staying. For one reason or another Hampton Court Castle seemed to have the most appeal, so that is where they went. They were all (two adults and three children, three, five and eight) delighted with the experience. He told my wife and me about it and we resolved to visit it too. We had never heard of Hampton Court Castle. We found out that it was in existence for nearly one hundred years before Cardinal Wolseley started work on his "Palace" of the same name.

It is reputed that King Henry IV took possession of the land and commenced to build a castle there, in the early part of the fifteenth century but in 1427 he gave it to Sir Rowland Lenthall who had served in the Battle of Agincourt and had married a cousin of the King. In 1434 Sir Rowland was given permission to crenellate the castle ramparts by King Henry VI (in theory, enabling it better to withstand sieges but it was more an outward show of nobility). This was a high honour, indicating that the owner of such buildings could be trusted by the then ruler.

In 1510 the castle was sold to Sir Humphrey Coningsby, head of a noble Herefordshire family. Generations of the Coningsby family remained at Hampton for nearly three hundred years. Then, early in the 19th Century, the Castle was bought by Richard Arkwright, son of the man who, amongst other things, invented the "Spinning Jenny" which was to revolutionise the wool weaving industry in the second half of the 18th Century.

The Arkwrights lived at the Castle until 1912. It then passed through a succession of owners until it was bought by a wealthy American, Robert van Kampen, in 1994. It was he that renovated and furnished the Castle as it appears today. Sadly Robert died at the early age of 60 in 1999. His family retained ownership until 2008 when it was sold to Graham Ferguson Lacey, a British entrepreneur. He had plans to turn it into a "high end" country club but these plans did not materialise and the castle was sold again in 2016. It is now in private hands but throughout this later period the Castle, its wonderful gardens and riverside walks have been open to the public. It currently majors in weddings (held in its own Chapel) and wedding receptions. A more spectacular location could not be imagined.

It is not an easy place to find and because it has always been held in private hands it does not receive the publicity that National Trust or English Heritage properties receive. In many ways this is a great pity because it is a real treasure in my view. My wife and I have visited a number of well known "stately homes" and gardens in recent years and overall I would say that this visit was the most enjoyable. One of the reasons for saying that is because it was such a surprise!

Here are some photos that I took -