Welcome to the Codnor Castle History Page!
This is a public community page to share Codnor Castle's long and varied history from when the Castle was first built up to the present day. This creates a chronological time frame of Codnor Castle's past and story so far.
This page represents the Community's links to Codnor Castle so the public can share material such as articles, photos, reports, newspaper articles and personal memories onto this page. Please let us know however if material submitted to this page is published or copy righted so we can reference the material and accolade the writers or photographers.
This history page also offers a public forum for any new historic findings to be posted for public interest. History is never static as we know!
Thankyou to the Codnor Castle Heritage Trust for kindly supplying their historical research and sharing their knowledge, reports and articles to this page for public benefit.
On behalf of all the community both local and regionally. We hope you enjoy.
This is a public community page to share Codnor Castle's long and varied history from when the Castle was first built up to the present day. This creates a chronological time frame of Codnor Castle's past and story so far.
This page represents the Community's links to Codnor Castle so the public can share material such as articles, photos, reports, newspaper articles and personal memories onto this page. Please let us know however if material submitted to this page is published or copy righted so we can reference the material and accolade the writers or photographers.
This history page also offers a public forum for any new historic findings to be posted for public interest. History is never static as we know!
Thankyou to the Codnor Castle Heritage Trust for kindly supplying their historical research and sharing their knowledge, reports and articles to this page for public benefit.
On behalf of all the community both local and regionally. We hope you enjoy.
Codnor Castle Heritage Trust. 2006- 2022.
The CCHT would like to thanks Codnor Parish Council for awarding the former Trust with a plague of remembrance and acknowledgment which has been erected on Codnor Market Place next to King Charles coronation Oak tree.
There is a time line visual archive of the Trusts activities from 2006- 2022 on www.codnorcastlehistory.com.
Pictured beside the plague are former Chairman Rokia Brown, treasurer David Williams, Secretary Sheenagh Rothwell, Irene Oxley and Chairman of the Codnor Parish Council Mark Howard who attended the ceremony.
The CCHT would like to thanks Codnor Parish Council for awarding the former Trust with a plague of remembrance and acknowledgment which has been erected on Codnor Market Place next to King Charles coronation Oak tree.
There is a time line visual archive of the Trusts activities from 2006- 2022 on www.codnorcastlehistory.com.
Pictured beside the plague are former Chairman Rokia Brown, treasurer David Williams, Secretary Sheenagh Rothwell, Irene Oxley and Chairman of the Codnor Parish Council Mark Howard who attended the ceremony.
Although the Codnor Castle Preservation Society, (subsequently becoming the Codnor Castle Heritage Trust), was established in 2006 the team had no access to the site and there was very little of the Castle to be seen under the ivy, scrub and self seeded trees. In 2007 we were fortunate to host Time Team at the Castle which resulted in the film ‘Gold in the Moat’.
Time Team partially cleared the site to allow filming but when they had finished and left, the site was allowed to return to its former unkempt and overgrown state.
The Trustees set to and gradually cleared the area with the assistance of various volunteers who came and went over the years.
As you may appreciate from the ‘before’ photographs the task was formidable but order was achieved and over the last few years we were able to maintain the site and allow visits for events and guided tours on the second Sunday of each month.
We would like to thank all trustees and volunteers who assisted us and also to recognise the work by the Probation Service.
Time Team partially cleared the site to allow filming but when they had finished and left, the site was allowed to return to its former unkempt and overgrown state.
The Trustees set to and gradually cleared the area with the assistance of various volunteers who came and went over the years.
As you may appreciate from the ‘before’ photographs the task was formidable but order was achieved and over the last few years we were able to maintain the site and allow visits for events and guided tours on the second Sunday of each month.
We would like to thank all trustees and volunteers who assisted us and also to recognise the work by the Probation Service.
Curtain wall south court before clearing
The castle before access was granted to CCHT
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South Court and Tudor wall hidden before clearing
South court wall before clearing
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Situated on a ridge overlooking the Erewash Valley in Derbyshire, Codnor Castle has a very rich history and dates back to the late 12th or early 13th century and was the home and power base to one of medieval England’s most powerful families for 300 years; the De Grey family, otherwise known as the Barons Grey of Codnor. It is the only remaining one of two medieval castles still standing in Derbyshire, the other being Peveril Castle.
Many have speculated that the castle replaced an earlier Motte and Bailey Norman Castle, but there is no evidence, either physical or written to support this. It did possess a moat and curtain walls and all records describe it as Codnor Castle back to the 12th century. Henry De Grey (the first De Grey of Codnor) and his wife Isolda Bardolf lived at the castle as early as 1201 when Henry was paying six knights fees for the privilege. Henry was the progenitor of all the great houses of De Grey that spread throughout the realm, including Barons, Earls, Marquis and even a Queen (for nine days only) Lady Jane Grey. He was a veteran Crusader having served with King Richard ‘the lion heart’ and became very close to King John through his family connections and his service to him. By 1496 the last Baron De Grey of Codnor (also Henry) had died and the castle and manor passed into the hands of the Zouche family. |
John Zouche was Henry De Grey’s cousin and the first Zouche to inherit, but did not actually possess the castle. Because of legal claims from two other cousins of Henry the castle and manor fell into abeyance and in 1501 the King (Henry the Vll) purchased the castle and manor for his beloved son ‘Prince Henry of York’ (the future Henry the Vlll).
In 1509 Henry Vll sold the castle back to the Zouche family, but it was not a smooth transfer and many legal suits and even some violence ensued before the matter was resolved and George Zouche (grandson of John) took possession sometime in the 1540’s. The Zouches maintained the castle as a residence until they sold it in 1634 because of serious financial problems to Archbishop Sir Richard Neile of York. Having no use for it as a home he split the estate into tenanted farms and sold the castle stone for a profit. The castle played no role whatsoever during the Commonwealth period and the Neile family sold the castle in 1692 to Sir Streynsham Master. The Master family held on to the castle and manor until 1862 when they sold it to the Butterley Company. 
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