rarDonnington Castle
Donnington Castle is a 13th-century castle in the village of Donnington, near Milton Keynes in the English county of Buckinghamshire. It was built in the late 12th century by William Longespee, and enlarged over the following centuries by his descendants. The castle was attacked and partially destroyed in the Civil War and after that in 1588 during the Northern Rebellion. It was further damaged by fire in 1720, and in the late 18th century after becoming the private residence of the Rutland family. The last member of the Rutland family to live at the castle was John Charles Lyttelton, who was Prime Minister of Great Britain for a year in 1873. He inherited the estate on the death of his father, Charles Lyttelton, in 1857.
After Charles's death, his son, Edward Lyttelton inherited Donnington. He sold it in 1899 to Sir Henry and Lady Anne Martell, who lived there until their deaths. They bequeathed the estate to the National Trust in 1932. The castle and estate are now open to the public, and the Trust has run a campsite since 1953.
History
The village of Donnington is now in Buckinghamshire, but at the time of its construction it was on the border between Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire. In the 11th century, William the Conqueror created an estate that later passed through various lordships until Henry II passed the estate to his brother William Longespee. Longespee's son, Robert, married a Countess of Leicester, and when they died in 1137, the estates were inherited by Robert's son, William. William built Donnington Castle for his own use and the use of his descendants.
Longespee was a supporter of the Plantagenet kings, and he was present at the coronation of Richard I in 1189. In 1194 he supported John's claim to the throne, and he was made Earl of Kent and Sussex. William's nephew, Henry, son of William Longespee, was also present at Richard's coronation, and he was granted the earldom of Essex in 1199.
In 1205, Henry Longespee was granted the title of Earl of Winchester by King John of England. Henry also held the Earldom of Arundel and the title of Earl of Albemarle, and he granted lands to William Melton, who built St Mary's Church in
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