Editing Kenilworth Castle (section)

===Inner court===
Kenilworth's inner court consists of a number of buildings set against a [[Ward (fortification)|bailey]] wall, originally of Norman origin. It exploits the defensive value of a natural [[Hillock|knoll]] that rises up steeply from the surrounding area.<ref>Pettifer, pp.257–8.</ref> The 12th-century [[keep|great tower]] occupies the knoll itself and forms the north-east corner of the bailey. Ruined during the slighting, the great tower is notable for its huge corner turrets, essentially hugely exaggerated Norman [[pilaster]] [[buttresses]].<ref name="Thompson, p.77; Pettifer, p.258.">Thompson 1991, p.77; Pettifer, p.258.</ref> Its walls are {{convert|5|m|ft|abbr=off}} thick, and the towers {{convert|30|m|ft|abbr=off}} high.<ref name="Hull 2009, p.102.">Hull 2009, p.102.</ref> Although Kenilworth's great tower is larger, it is similar to that of [[Brandon Castle]] near [[Coventry]]; both were built by the local [[Geoffrey de Clinton|Clinton family]] in the 1120s.<ref name="Morris 2010, p.37.">Morris 2010, p.37.</ref> The tower can be termed a hall keep, as it is longer than it is wide.<ref name="Pettifer, p.258."/> The lowest floor is filled with earth, possibly taken from the earlier motte that may have been present on the site, and is further protected by a sloping stone [[plinth]] around the base.<ref name="Thompson, p.77; Pettifer, p.258."/> The tall Tudor windows at the top of the tower date from the 1570s.<ref>Morris 2010, p.8.</ref>

Much of the northern part of the inner bailey was built by [[John of Gaunt]], a son of King Edward III, between 1372 and 1380.<ref name=Emery2000P402>Emery 2000, p.402.</ref> This part of the castle is considered by historian Anthony Emery to be "the finest surviving example of a semi-royal palace of the later middle ages, significant for its scale, form and quality of workmanship".<ref name=Emery2000P402/> Gaunt's architectural style emphasised rectangular design, the separation of ground floor service areas from the upper stories and a contrast of austere exteriors with lavish interiors, especially on the 1st floor of the inner bailey buildings.<ref>Emery, pp.205–6.</ref> The result is considered "an early example of the [[Perpendicular Period#Perpendicular Gothic|perpendicular style]]".<ref name=StokstadP77>Stokstad, p.77.</ref>

[[File:Kenilworth Castle - Great Hall.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|John of Gaunt's great hall, showing the vertical lines characteristic of the [[Perpendicular Period#Perpendicular Gothic|perpendicular style]]]]
The most significant of Gaunt's buildings is his great hall. The great hall replaced an earlier sequence of great halls on the same site, and was strongly influenced by [[Edward III]]'s design at [[Windsor Castle]].<ref>Emery, p.205; Thompson 1977, pp.211–8.</ref> The hall consists of a "ceremonial sequence of rooms", approached by a particularly grand staircase, now lost.<ref>"Emery, p.246; Pettifer, p.258."</ref> From the great hall, visitors could look out through huge windows to admire the Great Mere or the inner court.<ref>"Stokstad, p.78; Pettifer, p.258."</ref> The [[undercroft]] to the hall, used by the service staff, was lit with slits, similar to design at the contemporary [[Wingfield Manor]].<ref name=Emery2000P402/> The roof was built in 1376 by William Wintringham, producing the widest hall, unsupported by pillars, existing in England at the time.<ref name=EmeryEmeryP543>Emery, p.543; Emery 2000, p.401, 404.</ref> There is some debate amongst historians as to whether this roof was a [[hammerbeam roof|hammerbeam design]], a [[Collar beam|collar]] and [[Truss|truss-brace]] design, or a combination of the two.<ref name=EmeryEmeryP543/><ref group=lower-alpha>An example of the combination of the curved hammerbeam and right-angled collar and truss-brace design can be seen in [[:Image:Westminster Hall edited.jpg|this depiction]] of the roof of [[the Palace of Westminster|Westminster Hall]].</ref>

There was an early attempt at symmetry in the external appearance of the great hall&nbsp;– the Strong and Saintlowe Towers architecturally act as near symmetrical "wings" to the hall itself, while the plinth of the hall is designed to mirror that of the great tower opposite it.<ref>Emery 2000, p.340, 403; Morris 2010, p.13.</ref> An unusual multi-sided tower, the Oriel, provides a counterpoint to the main doorway of the hall and was intended for private entertainment by Gaunt away from the main festivities on major occasions.<ref>Hull 2009, p.118.</ref> The Oriel tower is based on Edward III's ''"La Rose"'' Tower at Windsor, which had a similar function.<ref>Morris 2010, p.17.</ref> Gaunt's Strong Tower is so named for being entirely [[vaulted]] in stone across all its floors, an unusual and robust design.<ref>Morris 2010, p.12.</ref> The great hall influenced the design of [[Bolton Castle|Bolton]] and [[Raby Castle|Raby castles]]. The hall's roof design was independently famous and was copied at [[Arundel Castle]] and [[Palace of Westminster#Westminster Hall|Westminster Hall]].<ref>Emery, p.205, 543.</ref>

[[File:Ruins of Kenilworth Castle - geograph.org.uk - 78245.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|left|The architectural [[symmetry]] of the Strong Tower on the left, the great hall and the Saintlowe Tower on the right, viewed from the left-hand court]]
Other parts of the castle built by Gaunt include the southern range of state apartments, Gaunt's Tower and the main kitchen.<ref name=StokstadP77/> Although now extensively damaged, these share the same style as the great hall; this would have unified the appearance of Gaunt's palace in a distinct break from the more eclectic medieval tradition of design.<ref>Stokstad, pp.77–8.</ref> Gaunt's kitchen replaced the original 12th-century kitchens, built alongside the great tower in a similar fashion to the arrangement at [[Conisbrough Castle|Conisbrough]].<ref>Thompson 1991, p.77.</ref> Gaunt's new kitchen was twice the size of that in equivalent castles, measuring {{convert|19|by|8|m|ft|abbr=off|spell=in}}.<ref>Morris 2010, p.11.</ref>

The remainder of the inner court was built by [[Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester|Robert Dudley, the Earl of Leicester]], in the 1570s. He built a tower now known as Leicester's building on the south edge of the court as a guest wing, extending out beyond the inner bailey wall for extra space.<ref>Morris 2010, p.19.</ref> Leicester's building was four floors high and built in a fashionable contemporary Tudor style with "brittle, thin walls and grids of windows".<ref>Morris 2010, p.19, 48.</ref> The building was intended to appear well-proportioned alongside the ancient great tower, one of the reasons for its considerable height.<ref name="Morris 2010, p.48.">Morris 2010, p.48.</ref> Leicester's building set the style for later Elizabethan country house design, especially in the Midlands, with [[Hardwick Hall]] being a classic example.<ref>Johnson 2000, p.234; Morris 2010, p.48.</ref> Modern viewing platforms, installed in 2014, provide views from [[Elizabeth I of England|Elizabeth I's]]'s former bedroom.<ref>''[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-coventry-warwickshire-29053731 Leicester's Building at Kenilworth Castle reopened after more than 350 years]'', BBC News. Retrieved 11 November 2014.</ref>

Leicester also built a [[loggia]], or open gallery, beside the great keep to lead to the new formal gardens.<ref name=StokstadP80>Stokstad, p.80.</ref> The loggia was designed to elegantly frame the view as the observer slowly admired the gardens, and was a new design in the 16th century, only recently imported from Italy.<ref name=StokstadP80/>