ENGLAND TRIP: Day 5: Part 2: Leeds Castle Renovations / Lady Baillie

Here's more about our visit to historic Leeds Castle!

Leeds Castle and Moat

HENRY'S CASTLE RENOVATIONS 
Henry VIII lowered the original defensive walls of the castle (it was built in the 1000s) to make the castle more of a retreat than a true castle. The lowered walls are seen out front against the water of the moat.
  In the lower part of the castle (back) he added the second floor and the windows to the keep that faced the moat. Those large windows were part of Henry VIII's dining hall.
  MORE ABOUT HENRY VIII's RENOVATIONS in the next blog. 

LATER CASTLE RENOVATIONS
The part of the castle closest to you was added after Henry VIII's time. A later owner, Lady Baillie, wound up gutting and renovating the entire inside. She also had the drawbridge removed that was used during Henry VIII's time.

WHO WAS LADY BAILLIE? 

VIDEO:   Here's a video we took inside one of the rooms in Leeds Castle where Lady Baillie's portrait hung. The tour guide provides an explanation of who Lady Baillie was, and the history of the room.

In 1925, Leeds Castle became the home of Olive, Lady Baillie (1899 – 1974). She was an  heiress, landowner and hostess. She married and divorced several times. In 1925, she married Arthur Wilson Filmers. When the Wilson Filmers bought Leeds Castle it was in a poor condition,  having not been lived in since 1924, and parts of the grounds were overgrown. 

According to Wikipedia, for the remainder of her life, the future Lady Baillie spent a large portion of her inherited fortune on the restoration of the castle and its associated buildings, and on the park and estate. She initially employed Owen Little, a Surrey architect, to carry out work on the entrance lodges and the stable yard. Much of the internal restoration of the castle at that time was designed by the French designer Armand-Albert Rateau. The work was carried out by craftsmen from France and Italy, as well as from Britain. Later, between 1936 and 1967, Lady Baillie worked with the French designer Stéphane Boudin in planning further restorations and improvements to the castle.  On her death the castle was bequeathed to a charitable trust to enable it to be open to the public.