Belvoir Castle

Belvoir Castle (/ˈbiːvər/ ^ⓘ BEE-vər) is a faux historic castle and stately home in Leicestershire, England, situated 6 mi (10 km) west of the town of Grantham and 10 mi (16 km) northeast of Melton Mowbray. A castle was first built on the site immediately after the Norman Conquest of 1066 and has since been rebuilt at least three times. The final building is a grade I listed mock castle, dating from the early 19th century. It is the seat of David Manners, 11th Duke of Rutland (the tiny county of Rutland lies 16 mi (26 km) south of Belvoir Castle), whose direct male ancestor inherited it in 1508. The traditional burial place of the Manners family was in the parish church of St Mary the Virgin, Bottesford, situated 3 mi (5 km) to the north of the Castle, but since 1825 they have been buried in the ducal mausoleum built next to the Castle in that year, to which their ancient monuments were moved. It remains the private property of the Duke of Rutland but is open to the general public.

The castle is situated at the extreme northern corner of the county of Leicestershire and is sandwiched between Lincolnshire to the east and Nottinghamshire to the west, and overlooks the Vale of Belvoir to the northwest on the Nottinghamshire border. It is surrounded by the villages of Redmile, Woolsthorpe, Knipton, Harston, Harlaxton, Croxton Kerrial, Muston and Bottesford. The antiquarian John Leland (d.1552) stated: "the Castle stands on the very nape of a high hill, steep up each way, partly by nature, partly by the working of men's hands".

The 15,000 acre (6,000 hectare) Belvoir estate, situated in the heart of England's fox-hunting terrain is the headquarters of the Belvoir Hunt ("the Duke of Rutland's Hounds"), established in 1750 and now kennelled 0.6 mi (1 km) southeast of the Castle.

The castle's name Belvoir means beautiful view in Norman French. Emma Manners, Duchess of Rutland has said the name Belvoir was brought over by the French-speaking Normans in the 11th century. As the Middle English–speaking Anglo-Saxons were unable to pronounce the name, they preferred to call it "Beaver Castle" – a usage which persists today.

A Norman castle originally stood on the high ground within the wapentake of Framland, overlooking the adjacent wapentake of Winnibriggs in Lincolnshire and dominating both. It was built on the land of Robert de Todeni, mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, and inherited from him by William d'Aubigny. It eventually passed to William's granddaughter Isabel, who married Robert de Ros c. 1234.

Belvoir was a royal manor until it was granted to Robert de Ros in 1257. He was given a licence to crenellate in 1267. When the male de Ros line died out in 1508, the manor and castle passed to George Manners, 11th Baron de Ros, nephew of the last baron de Ros, who inherited the castle and barony through his mother. His son was created Earl of Rutland in 1525.

By 1464, the Norman castle was recorded to be ruins. In 1528, Thomas Manners, 1st Earl of Rutland started construction of a large Tudor manor house. It was completed in 1555. Much of the stone for this building came from Croxton Abbey and Belvoir Priory following their dissolution.

Two local carpenters refurbished the billiard table in 1602 and a new baize cloth was bought from a merchant in Grantham. Tents were brought to Belvoir to accommodate the retinue of James VI and I in April 1603, and new ovens were constructed. Prince Henry and the Venetian ambassador Antonio Foscarini stayed in August 1612. In the early 17th century, servants Joan, Margaret and Phillipa Flower were accused of murdering the 6th Earl's two young sons by witchcraft. Joan died while in prison and Margaret and Phillipa were hanged.