Leeds is one of a handful of royal residences which belonged to the Saxon kings and was appropriated by the Normans.
A stone castle was begun in 1119, the keep, or great tower being located on the site of the present gloriette, on a small island, and the main lodgings in the outer bailey.
After being alienated it returned into direct royal ownership when it was granted to Queen Eleanor of Castile in 1278. She and King Edward I made improvements, and the castle became part of the queen’s jointure – the portfolio of property that consorts enjoyed during their lifetime. It was then held by a succession of queens. For many no building records survive so we are in the dark about the exact nature of the accommodation. We know that there was a household chapel in the outer bailey and a private chapel in the gloriette.
After quite a long period of royal neglect Henry VIII took a special interest in the place and undertook a refurbishment of the royal lodgings for himself and Katherine of Aragon. As well as appealing to his militaristic and chivalric tastes Leeds was on the route from London to the coast as well as being in an area in which he could hunt.
In the 1540s the king’s lodgings were quite extensive, there was a gallery, a privy chamber, a dressing room and a dining chamber amongst other places. A gallery seems to have been built across the water into a garden where there was a banqueting house.
Leeds was one of the houses that was granted away in the reign of Edward VI passing out of royal ownership in 1552.
After hundreds of years in private ownership, the old castle was substantially rebuilt in the Tudor style in the early 19th century. Since it opened to the public in the 1970s, Leeds Castle has become one of England’s top tourist attractions with over 600,000 visitors a year.