Grimsthorpe Castle

The origins of Grimsthorpe Castle date back to the 12th century when Gilbert de Gant, the first Earl of Lincoln, began its construction. The King John Tower from this early phase is still preserved today. In 1516, the estate came into the possession of the Willoughby family through the marriage of William Willoughby, the 11th Baron Willoughby de Eresby, to María de Salinas. King Henry VIII granted the castle to the groom as a wedding gift. Later, under Katherine Willoughby and her husband Charles Brandon, the 1st Duke of Suffolk, Grimsthorpe Castle was expanded as a resting place for the king. Materials from the dissolved Vaudey Abbey were used to transform the medieval fortress into a four-sided country house. Henry VIII visited the castle in 1541. In the late 17th century, under Robert Bertie, the 3rd Earl of Lindsey, the north front was remodeled in a classical style.