Melbourne Castle

Melbourne Castle was a medieval fortress in the Derbyshire town of Melbourne, built on a site once used by royal hunters. The first buildings there were a manor house used by noblemen in King John’s reign, and the castle itself was started in 1311 by Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster. Work continued until 1322 but was never finished before his execution. The castle stood on slightly raised ground east of the 14th-century town, enclosed by walls about three metres thick. Its outer defences covered nearly three hectares, with gardens and outbuildings spreading over eight hectares. Foundations show a multi-angled tower, while nearby castles like Tutbury and Pontefract share similar gatehouses and chapels. The castle passed from the crown to Lancastrian earls and dukes, who kept it in good repair through the 15th and early 16th centuries. John of Gaunt made improvements, and the building housed important prisoners, including John I, Duke of Bourbon, held for 19 years after Agincourt. Plans to imprison Mary, Queen of Scots here came to nothing, and by Elizabeth I’s reign the castle was already decaying. A local noble bought it in 1604, stripped the stone for his own building, and left only a short stretch of wall and some foundations. Today the ruins are protected as a scheduled monument and Grade II listed. Visitors see a single standing wall about fifteen metres long and four metres high, with traces of the foundations beneath. The remaining masonry is built of local Millstone Grit, once dressed to a smooth finish. Nearby, the town’s medieval core still centres on the church, the old High Street and the castle site. The surrounding area was once a royal hunting park, and the landscape still carries the memory of those wide estates. Though the castle’s internal rooms are lost, the surviving fragments hint at its former strength and scale.