Kenilworth Castle and Spitalfields Market

Source A Photo of Kenilworth Castle today showing the mere which was enlarged by King John. Between 1210 and 1215 King John spent £1,100 on the castle defences of Kenilworth which included raising the height of the dam and extending the mere until it was 800m long and about 150m wide. The resulting fortifications made it one of the strongest castles in England to defend

The historic environment topic requires you to engage with themes of change and continuity related to a specific environment over time. It also requires you to think about the way in which historians use buildings as well as written sources to form an understanding of the function of buildings or the nature of a particular area. The first question will always require you to explain change over a particular time period with reference to the environment studied, while the second question tests your understanding and ability to weigh the utility of sources in relation to the environment studied.

If you have studied Kenilworth Castle you will be familiar with its history from 1120 to 1700 and will understand its transition from baronial castle to royal fortress to Elizabethan status symbol and its subsequent gradual decline. The joint functions of defence and status symbol are clearly evident in the features of the castle. Its ownership by the de Montforts, John of Gaunt and the Dudleys meant that the castle was central to the political and dynastic struggles of England in the medieval and early modern period.