Maxstoke Castle
Maxstoke Castle, Castle Lane, Coleshill, Warwickshire, B46 2RD
The building of Maxstoke Castle was commissioned by Sir William de Clinton, the 1st Earl of Huntingdon in the early part of the fourteenth century. Records are sparse but we safely assume that building works were completed in line with the licence to crenelate, dated February 1345.
Sir William’s nephews occupied the Castle for 80 years before the family exchanged it for other manors in Northamptonshire. Humphrey, Earl of Stafford and 1st Duke of Buckingham and his family then resided at the Castle from 1438 to 1521.
Sir Henry Stafford, son of Humphrey, was later married to Margaret Beaufort. The two of them lived happily at the castle for some time. Margaret was the mother of King Henry VII. Capitalising on the political turmoil of the time, Margaret played a fundamental role in securing the crown for her son.
Ownership became chequered through the late 15th and 16th centuries including a short period of requisition by the Crown (1483-1485).
The Dilke (later Fetherston-Dilke) family bought Maxstoke in 1599 and have, bar periods in the 20th century, been in continuous occupancy for over 400 years.
Maxstoke Castle has remained a home, for which purpose it was built more than six and a half centuries ago. Its longevity is due to the character and efforts of those who have lived at the Castle over time.
Over the centuries, the Castle has undergone modifications, reflecting the personal tastes of the incumbent of the time but the original medieval curtain walls remain.
The Castle was used by the Red Cross during the second half of the First World War as an auxiliary hospital for soldiers wounded on the Western Front.
During the Second World War, the Castle was requisitioned by the Ministry of Aircraft Production for the remote storage of aircraft engines, supplying the new factory near Castle Bromwich where Spitfires were made.
Antiquities include a chair used to crown Henry VII after the Battle of Bosworth, a table owned by Sir Everard Digby a co-conspirator of the Gunpowder plot, artifacts from Queen Mary’s visit in 1927 and a ‘Whispering Door’ from Kenilworth Castle.