Bolsover Castle

En un regard

Le château en bref

Bolsover Castle occupies the tip of a limestone spur overlooking the Vale of Scarsdale, in north-east Derbyshire. On the site of a medieval fortress founded after the Norman Conquest, the Cavendish family built a singular aristocratic ensemble in the 17th century, designed less for defence than for pleasure, display and theatrical effect. The heart of the site is the Little Castle, a neo-medieval keep begun in 1612, whose painted interiors, panelling and carved fireplaces are among the most remarkable of the Jacobean period in England. It opens onto the Fountain Garden, laid out in the former inner bailey. Along the terrace stretch the spectacular ruins of the Terrace Range, while the riding house is among the oldest to survive complete in the country. A witness to the splendour of the court of Charles I, who was received there in 1634, and then to the upheavals of the Civil War, Bolsover is today managed by English Heritage and open to the public.