Grimsthorpe Castle, Bourne, England

The following is from the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest.

HISTORIC DEVELOPMENT

Grimsthorpe Castle is of 13th-century origin and in 1516 Henry VIII granted the 'park of Grymsthorp' to William, tenth Baron Willoughby de Eresby (Chandler 1993). His daughter Katherine became eleventh Baroness in 1526 and her husband Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk rebuilt Grimsthorpe Castle in 1539. The Duchess of Suffolk's second marriage was to Richard Bertie and their grandson, Robert Bertie, became thirteenth Baron of Willoughby de Eresby and inherited the estate in 1601. He was created Earl of Lindsey by Charles I in 1626 and had the Four Mile Riding laid out in the park. His grandson, Robert Bertie, third Earl of Lindsey inherited the property in 1666 and undertook the complete rebuilding of Grimsthorpe in the classical taste and probably laid out gardens around 1680 (Pardo 1991). His son, Robert succeeded him to the estate and the title in 1701 and in 1711 commissioned Stephen Switzer (1682-1745) to lay out gardens. Robert was created Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven by George I in 1715, the same year that he commissioned Sir John Vanbrugh to aggrandise the castle. The first Duke died in 1723 and was succeeded by his son, the second Duke, who carried out Vanbrugh's alterations between 1723 and 1730 (Knox 1996). Further alterations took place after the third Duke inherited in 1742 and in 1771 he commissioned Lancelot Brown (1716-83) to provide a design to update the park. The Duke died in 1778 and the dukedom became extinct in 1809. The baronetcy passed to Lady Priscilla Bertie who became twentieth Baroness Willoughby de Eresby (see the description of Gunby Hall elsewhere in the Register). She married Sir Peter Burrell of Beckenham, later Baron Gwydir, and in about 1811 a thorough restoration of the Castle was undertaken. When Lady Priscilla's son, Peter Robert Burrell died in 1865 he was succeeded by his daughter Clementina. Her grandson, the twenty-fifth Baron Willoughby inherited the estate in 1910 and restored and modernised the Castle both before and after the First World War. During the Second World War the property was requisitioned by the army, after which further restoration work was undertaken by the twenty-sixth Baron who lived at the Castle until his death in 1982. In 1978 he created a charitable trust to which he transferred ownership of the Castle and surrounding estate.