Belvoir Castle

Belvoir Castle is a stately home in the English county of Leicestershire, overlooking the Vale of Belvoir. It is a Grade I listed building. A corner of the castle is still used as the family home of the Manners family and remains the seat of the Dukes of Rutland, most of whom are buried in the grounds of the mausoleum there. The castle remains privately owned and is open to visitors.The castle is near several villages, including Redmile, Woolsthorpe, Knipton, Harston, Harlaxton, Croxton Kerrial and Bottesford and the town of Grantham. Antiquarian John Leland wrote in the 16th century, "the castle stands on the very nape of a high hill, steep up each way, partly by nature, partly by the working of men's hands."HistoryFirst castleA Norman castle originally stood on the high ground within the wapentake of Framland, overlooking the adjacent wapentake of Winnibriggs in Lincolnshire and dominating both. It was built on the land of Robert de Todeni of the Doomsday Book, and inherited from him by William d'Aubigny. It then eventually passed to William's granddaughter Isabel, who married Robert de Ros circa 1234.