Grimsthorpe Castle has been in the Willoughby de Eresby family for five hundred years. It was granted by Henry VIII to William Willoughby, 11th Baron Willoughby de Eresby on the occasion of his marriage to Maria de Salinas, lady-in-waiting to Katherine of Aragon, in 1516. The castle is set in extensive parkland and is a large quadrangular house with a central courtyard. The oldest part of the castle, King John’s Tower, was built in the early 13th century and the South façade is Tudor. However it is the principal north front which gives the castle its grandeur and dramatic scale. The final masterpiece of Sir John Vanbrugh, architect of Blenheim Palace and Castle Howard, it was commissioned in 1715 by Robert Bertie, 17th Baron Willoughby de Eresby and 1st Marquis of Lindsey (later becoming 1st Duke in 1715), to celebrate the family’s elevation to Dukes of Ancaster and Kesteven. This long and continuous occupation by the Willoughbys is reflected in the remarkable collection of art and furnishings to be found in the house today. The state rooms include collections of paintings, furniture, tapestries and objects d’art.

The Willoughby de Eresby family is one of three in England who still fulfil the hereditary office of Lord Great Chamberlain, the Monarch’s representative at the Palace of Westminster. Due to this role, Grimsthorpe houses one of the largest collections of royal thrones and furnishings from the House of Lords outside the Royal Palaces.

This visit will be led by Emma Miller, Collections Curator at Grimsthorpe Castle and Michael Shrive Assistant Curator of Decorative Arts at Waddesdon Manor and FHS Events Committee member.

Please note date change from Newsletter notice. 

This visit is fully subscribed. Please contact events@furniturehistorysociety.org if you wish to be placed on a wait list. 

Grimsthorpe Castle