Belvoir Castle: A Gothic Revival Masterpiece

In this installment of ‘Larger Than Life: Architecture Through the Ages,’ we visit a faux historic castle in Leicestershire, England.

The neo-Gothic castle’s turrets and towers rise over a 16,000-acre estate in Leicestershire, England, like a fairy-tale illustration. Crowning a hill in the Vale of Belvoir, which means “beautiful view” in Norman French, the castle is acknowledged as one of England’s finest examples of Regency architecture. FlowFocusPhoto/Shutterstock

Belvoir Castle’s faux fortress dates back to 1801, though its original construction took place more than 700 years earlier. Under the influence of his new wife, Elizabeth Howard, John Manners, fifth Duke of Rutland, rebuilt the existing structure in the romantic Gothic Revival style seen today.

Since 1067, three castles—a Norman castle, a Tudor manor, and a country house—stood on the spot where Belvoir Castle stands today. To stylistically return the castle to its origins, the duchess commissioned architect James Wyatt, the first prestigious English architect to fully embrace the developing Gothic Revival style.