England · Demolished
Melbourne Castle
Melbourne Castle was a medieval fortified manor-house built from local Millstone Grit in Melbourne, Derbyshire, begun c.1311 and enlarged under the Lancastrian dukes. It fell into disuse in the 16th century and was demolished for building stone in the early 17th century; only foundations and a short section of wall remain today. Contemporary drawings provide the only clear images of its former appearance.
Its prime
1400
Today
Demolished
As it stood in 1400
What Melbourne Castle looked like in its prime.
Compact rectangular castle on a slight rise east of the town, its ashlar-faced Millstone Grit curtain walls topped by crenellated parapets. The silhouette is crowded with short, squat drum and multi-angular towers at the curtains and corners, a central crenellated gatehouse and numerous tall thin chimneys and roof pavilions rising from ranges behind the walls. Windows are narrow, vertically proportioned, and the masonry is pale-brown sandstone with dressed ashlar facing; the whole appears complete and roofed at its prime.
Its story
The story of Melbourne Castle.
Melbourne Castle rose on the site of an earlier royal manor house that had provided accommodation for noblemen hunting in a nearby royal park in the reign of King John. Construction was started in 1311 by Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster, and continued until 1322, shortly before his execution. The work was never fully completed. From the early 14th century the castle was mainly in the possession of the Earls and Dukes of Lancaster or the crown, with improvements and repairs made in particular by John of Gaunt.
The castle held a royal prisoner of note: John I, Duke of Bourbon, was kept at Melbourne for 19 years after his capture at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. It was later considered as a possible prison for Mary, Queen of Scots, though events led to her incarceration at Tutbury Castle instead. By the end of Elizabeth I's reign the stonework was sound, but minimal maintenance had left other parts of the structure significantly deteriorated.
In 1604 the manor was purchased by Henry Hastings, 5th Earl of Huntingdon, who had his own castle in nearby Ashby-de-la-Zouch, and Melbourne was demolished as a source of building materials. All that remains is a section of wall about 15 metres long and 4 metres high and some foundations; nothing is known of the internal layout. The ruins are grade II listed and the site is a scheduled monument, with no public access.
Step inside
10 places to explore in 1400.
The record describes 10 distinct spots at Melbourne Castle, including 4 interiors: great hall (communal hall), great chamber, castle chapel and more. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and explore every one, more scenes means more rooms, more angles, and more of the place to stand in.
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Recreate Melbourne Castle with AI to explore it.
The artist rebuilds it as it stood in 1400, a photoreal reconstruction that belongs to you alone. Pay with coins, no subscription needed.
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Clans who held Melbourne Castle.
The families that held Melbourne Castle for a decade or more across its history, follow a name to its clan.
Lancaster
Begun in 1311 by Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster; mainly held by the Earls and Dukes of Lancaster or the crown from the early 14th century.
Hastings
Purchased in 1604 by Henry Hastings, 5th Earl of Huntingdon, who demolished the castle for building materials.
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