Editing Kenilworth Castle (section)

===17th century===
[[File:Kenilworth Castle window in Leicester's gatehouse.jpg|thumb|upright|The interior of Leicester's gatehouse, converted into a domestic house by Colonel Hawkesworth after the [[English Civil War]]]]
Sir Robert Dudley, having tried and failed to establish his legitimacy in front of the Court of the [[Star Chamber]], went to Italy in 1605.<ref name="ODNB RobDudley"/> In the same year [[Sir Thomas Chaloner]], governor (and from 1610 chamberlain) to [[James I of England|James I's]] eldest son [[Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales|Prince Henry]], was commissioned to oversee repairs to the castle and its grounds, including the planting of gardens, the restoration of fish-ponds and improvement to the game park.<ref>Westby-Gibson, p.459</ref> During 1611–12 Dudley arranged to sell Kenilworth Castle to Henry, by then Prince of Wales.<ref name="ODNB RobDudley"/> Henry died before completing the full purchase, which was finalised by his brother, [[King Charles I of England|Charles]],<ref>Sharpe, p.29</ref> who bought out the interest of Dudley's abandoned wife, [[Alice Dudley]].<ref name="ODNB RobDudley"/> When Charles became king, he gave the castle to his wife, [[Henrietta Maria]]; he bestowed the stewardship on [[Robert Carey, 1st Earl of Monmouth|Robert Carey, Earl of Monmouth]], and after his death gave it to Carey's sons [[Henry Carey, 2nd Earl of Monmouth|Henry]] and [[Thomas Carey (English politician)|Thomas]].<ref>Sharpe, p.29; Morris 2010, p.48</ref> Kenilworth remained a popular location for both [[James I of England|King James I]] and his son Charles, and accordingly was well maintained.<ref name="Morris 2010, p.48."/> The most famous royal visit occurred in 1624, when [[Ben Jonson]]'s ''[[The Masque of Owls at Kenilworth]]'' was performed for Charles.<ref name="Morris 2010, p.48."/>

The [[First English Civil War]] broke out in 1642. During its early campaigns, Kenilworth formed a useful counterbalance to the Parliamentary stronghold of Warwick.<ref name="Roberts and Tincey, p.46.">Roberts and Tincey, p.46.</ref> Kenilworth was used by Charles on his advance to [[Battle of Edgehill|Edgehill]] in October 1642 as a base for raids on Parliamentary strongholds in the Midlands.<ref name="Roberts and Tincey, p.46."/> After the battle, however, the royalist garrison was withdrawn on the approach of [[Robert Greville, 2nd Baron Brooke|Lord Brooke]], and the castle was then garrisoned by Parliamentary forces.<ref>Hughes, p.148</ref> In April 1643 the new governor of the castle, Hastings Ingram, was arrested as a suspected Royalist [[double agent]].<ref>Hughes, p.181</ref> By January 1645 the Parliamentary forces in Coventry had strengthened their hold on the castle, and attempts by Royalist forces to dislodge them from Warwickshire failed.<ref>Hutton, p.46</ref> Security concerns continued after the end of the [[First English Civil War|First Civil War]] in 1646, and in 1649 Parliament ordered the [[slighting]] of Kenilworth. One wall of the great tower, various parts of the outer bailey and the battlements were destroyed, but not before the building was surveyed by the antiquarian [[William Dugdale]], who published his results in 1656.<ref name="Morris 2010, p.50."/>

Colonel Joseph Hawkesworth, who was responsible for the implementation of the slighting, acquired the estate for himself and converted Leicester's gatehouse into a house; part of the base court was turned into a farm, and many of the remaining buildings were stripped for their materials.<ref name="Morris 2010, p.50."/> In 1660 [[King Charles II of England|Charles II]] was restored to the throne, and Hawkesworth was promptly evicted from Kenilworth.<ref name="Morris 2010, p.51.">Morris 2010, p.51.</ref> The Queen Mother, Henrietta Maria, briefly regained the castle, with the Earls of Monmouth acting as stewards once again, but after her death King Charles II granted the castle to [[Sir Edward Hyde]], whom he later created Baron Hyde of Hindon and Earl of Clarendon.<ref>Sharpe, p.29; Morris 2010, p.51.</ref> The ruined castle continued to be used as a farm, with the gatehouse as the principal dwelling; the King's Gate was added to the outer bailey wall during this period for the use of farm workers.<ref name="Morris 2010, p.51."/>

{{wide image|Kenilworth Castle - Hollar top panel.jpg|1000px|Kenilworth Castle from the south in 1649, adapted from the engraving by [[Wenceslaus Hollar]]. From left to right, the watergate; the relocated Pleasance; the Strong Tower, Gaunt's great hall and Saintlowe Tower; the state apartments and Gaunt's Tower; the top of the great tower; Leicester's building; Leicester's gatehouse; Mortimer's tower; the Tiltyard/causeway and the Gallery Tower. In the foreground is the Great Mere.}}
[[File:Baker KenilworthCastle HAGAM.jpg|thumb|213x213px|Kenilworth Village and Castle by [[Thomas Baker (artist)|Thomas Baker]], 1836]]