Rockingham Castle
Rockingham Castle is located a mile from Corby, near the beautiful village of Rockingham, Market Harborough, Leicestershire. Once a royal bastion and hunting lodge, and currently the home of the Saunders Watsons, Rockingham Castle is a delightful and award-winning family attraction that offers a variegated and fun family day out.
The family attraction dates back to an Anglo-Saxon fort founded on the site, before a Norman castle was constructed as a retreat for the new royal line, who used it as a base to hunt wild game, including deer and wild boar. Rockingham Castle’s heyday was prior to the rise of Henry VIII in the early 16th century, when it passed from royal stewardship to the Saunders Watson clan in the 1550s. It’s remained the familial residence ever since and ticket holders can inspect their humble abode, with its magnificent gardens and impressive battlements, not to mention the cricket ground of the Old Eastonians Cricket Club! Not something you’ll see at just any family attraction.
A family day out to Rockingham Castle provides an educational and relaxing experience, as ticket holders can stroll the fine environs of the family attraction and learn about its fascinating past. Erected on the orders of William the Conqueror, the stronghold hosted the Great Council of Rockingham in 1095, while Richard the Lion Heart played host to the Scottish king a century later. King John visited Rockingham Castle frequently, and on his last journey north left a treasure chest in the Great Hall, giving rise to a legend that his crown jewels are buried at Rockingham Castle. Any ticket holder who finds them would have the best family day out ever!
Henry VIII granted Rockingham Castle to Edward Watson, who converted the fortifications into a Tudor estate, its Great Hall housing period portraits of the likes of Jayne Seymour and Queen Elizabeth I. The family attraction was rebuilt after skirmishes during the British Civil Wars of 1642-51, when the Royalist stronghold was captured by the Parliamentarians and besieged by Royalists. It held out, and Rockingham Castle became the setting of the BBC TV series, By The Sword Divided.
Rockingham’s finery was fully restored during the Victorian era, when the Watsons entertained the likes of author Charles Dickens, a friend of Richard and Levinia, and the family attraction inspired the Chesney Wold setting of Bleak House. Dickens loved to visit Rockingham Castle and frequently performed in his plays in the Long Gallery.
The castle remains the hub of the Welland Valley and maintains a gallery of 20th Century pictures, while ticket holders to Rockingham Castle can enjoy the super Gardens, with views of five counties, 18 acres of lawns and the 400 year old ‘Elephant Hedge’. The circular Rose Garden is on the site of the keep, and a wild garden in the ravine boasts over 200 species of trees and shrubs, including Yew hedges and pillars, the Dog Wood, Tulip Tree and Handkerchief Tree.
Guides provide information on the Rockingham Castle tour taking in The Old Kitchen, the Great Hall, adjacent Panel Room – still used for dining and wedding receptions (see the Rockingham Castle website for details of corporate and other booking), and the Long Gallery. Other tours include the Civil War tour, Garden Tour, Candlelight Supper tour and School tours with the audio-visual Castle Under Siege exhibition.