Editing Leeds Castle (section)

===Medieval and Tudor===
[[File:1 castle leeds panorama 2017.jpg|thumb|An aerial panorama of Leeds Castle]]
From 857, the site was owned by a [[Saxon]] chief called Led or Leed who built a wooden structure on two islands in the middle of the River Len.<ref name="Illustrated London News"/> In 1119, Robert de Crevecoeur rebuilt it in stone as a Norman stronghold<!-- to replace the earlier [[Saxon]] manor of Esledes--> and Leeds Castle descended through the [[Hamo de Crevecoeur|de Crevecoeur]] family until the 1260s.<ref name=pastscape>{{PastScape |mnumber=418125 |mname=Leeds Castle |access-date=14 March 2012 |mode=cs2}}</ref> What form this Norman stronghold took is uncertain because it was rebuilt and transformed in the following centuries. Adrian Pettifer speculates that it may have been a [[motte and bailey]].<ref>{{harvnb|Pettifer|1995|pp=121&ndash;122}}</ref>

In 1278, the castle was bought by King [[Edward I of England|Edward I]]'s Queen, [[Eleanor of Castile]], through the purchase of the debt bond from Jewish [[moneylender]]s forced to sell at a considerable discount as a result of Edward's own excessive tax demands.{{sfn|Hillaby|Hillaby|2013|p=13}} As a favoured residence of Edward's, it saw considerable investment. The king enhanced its defences, and it was probably Edward who created the lake that surrounds the castle. A [[barbican]] spanning three islands was also built and a [[gloriette]] with apartments for the king and queen was added.<ref name="Emery 2006 304">{{harvnb|Emery|2006|p=304}}</ref> In the [[Late Middle Ages]], the growth of the royal household meant fewer residences could accommodate the monarchy when they visited. As a result, expenditure on royal residences in south east England generally decreased except for the [[Tower of London]] and [[Windsor Castle]]. The activity at Leeds Castle during the reign of Edward&nbsp;I was a notable exception to this pattern.<ref>{{harvnb|Emery|2006|p=268}}</ref>

The castle was captured on 31 October 1321 by the forces of [[Edward II of England|Edward II]] from [[Margaret de Clare, Baroness Badlesmere]], wife of the castle's constable, [[Bartholomew de Badlesmere, 1st Baron Badlesmere]], who had left her in charge during his absence. The King had besieged Leeds after she had refused Edward's consort [[Isabella of France]] admittance in her husband's absence; when the latter sought to force an entry, Lady Badlesmere instructed her archers to shoot at Isabella and her party, six of whom were killed.<ref>{{harvnb|Costain|1958|pp=193–195}}</ref> Lady Badlesmere was kept prisoner in the Tower of London until November 1322.<ref>{{harvnb|McKisack|1959|p=64}} note 3</ref> After Edward&nbsp;II died in 1327 his widow took over Leeds Castle as her primary residence.<ref>{{harvnb|Emery|2006|p=305}}</ref>

[[Richard II of England|Richard II]]'s first wife, [[Anne of Bohemia]], spent the winter of 1381 at the castle on her way to be married to the king. In 1395, Richard received the French chronicler [[Jean Froissart]] there, as described in ''[[Froissart's Chronicles]]''.

[[Henry VIII of England|Henry VIII]] transformed the castle in 1519 for his first wife, [[Catherine of Aragon]]. A painting commemorating his meeting with [[Francis&nbsp;I of France]] still hangs there. The glazier [[Galyon Hone]] reworked and restored the chapel windows in 1536.<ref>{{cite book |author-link=Hilary Wayment |last=Wayment |first=Hilary |title=Stained Glass in Henry VIII's palaces |editor-link=David Starkey |editor-first=David |editor-last=Starkey |work=Henry VIII: A European Court in England |location=London |date=1991 |isbn=978-1558592414 |publisher=Abbeville Press |pages=28}}</ref> In 1544, Hone returned to repair windows in the lodgings and a banqueting house in the garden for a visit by [[Catherine Parr]].<ref>[[Howard Colvin]], ''History of the King's Works'', 3:1 (London: HMSO, 1975), p. 262.</ref>

In 1552 Leeds Castle was granted to Sir [[Anthony St Leger (Lord Deputy of Ireland)|Anthony St Leger]] (d.1559){{sfn|McCann|2002|p=14}}<ref name=pastscape/> of [[Ulcombe]], Kent, whose grandfather [[Ralph I St Leger]] (d.1470), of Ulcombe, [[Sheriff of Kent]] in 1467/8, had been Constable of Leeds Castle.