How far does the evidence from the site and written sources explain why a castle was built and maintained at Kenilworth?

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How far does the evidence from the site and written sources explain why a castle was built and maintained at Kenilworth?

After the Norman Conquest, Kenilworth remained property of the king until 1129, when Henry I granted it to his Chamberlain - Geoffrey de Clinton. See source 1. This was done for several reasons; at the time Henry I was very concerned about the rising strength of the De Montforts and the Beauchamps within the midlands. The De Montforts had built nearby and he feared that they would want to build one in Kenilworth. Kenilworth was also a strateig position because the opposing Warwick Castle was nearby. Henry I the first had one problem, he couldn't afford to build a castle there. So instead he gave the land to his good friend and Chamberlain, Geoffrey de Clinton. He knew that Geoffrey de Clinton would have build a castle there in order to control and defend his land. Henry I also knew that Geoffrey de Clinton was very loyal to him and in this way the castle could principally be just like it were his own. He solved his problem. Another advantage of building the castle in Kenilworth was that the welsh droving roads went straight through the land. Having the castle nearby would allow the control of the droving road and pinch some cattle whilst your at it. An outcrop of superb building stone nearby was quite probably one of the determining factors. See source 2. Geoffrey de Clinton gave much of Kenilworth to an Augustinian monastic order to build the Abbey of St Mary. However, Clinton kept the land that his castle would be built on.

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In the construction of the castle the keep was first built, it was part of the outer curtain wall which enclosed the bailey. Any buildings actually within the bailey itself would have been made of wood. See source 3. The keep was a large square building with thick walls, plinths, and defensive turrets. The keep is two storeys high, with a gallery below the wall walk. It has been changed and modified rather dramatically twice since the 12th Century and so now looks rather different to how it would have done originally. It was built up to its current ...

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