Leeds Castle
Leeds Castle is a castle in Kent, England, 7 miles (11 km) southeast of Maidstone. It is built on islands in a lake formed by the River Len to the east of the village of Leeds. It is a historic Grade I listed estate.
For the ships, see HMS Leeds Castle.
A castle has existed on the site since 857.[1] In the 13th century, it came into the hands of King Edward I, for whom it became a favourite residence; in the 16th century, Henry VIII used it as a dwelling for his first wife, Catherine of Aragon.
The present castle dates mostly from the early 19th century. Its last private owner, Olive, Lady Baillie, left the castle in trust to open it to the public. It has been open since 1976.
Filming location[edit]
The castle was a location for the Ealing Comedy film Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949) as a stand-in for 'Chalfont', the ancestral home of the aristocratic d'Ascoyne family. It also appeared in the films The Moonraker (1958) and Waltz of the Toreadors (1962). It was used for filming of Purge of Kingdoms (2019) starring Armando Gutierrez and Angus Macfayden.
On the small screen, the castle and grounds provided all the filming locations for a Doctor Who serial, The Androids of Tara, in 1978. Cliff Richard performed a live concert at the location (released on DVD), with Leeds Castle as a backdrop, titled Castles in the Air.[34][35][36]
A more recent source states that the castle has been used for The Hollow Crown (TV series), for a Bollywood action movie called Rustom (film) and for "Darkest Hour, Casanova, Classic Mary Berry (BBC1), Who Do You Think You Are special with Danny Dyer, Antiques Roadtrip (BBC1), What Would Your Kid Do? (ITV)".[37]
