Mervyn’s Tower, Kenilworth, 1864 (b/w photo)

This photograph from c.1860 of the ruins of ‘Mervyn’s Tower’, at Kenilworth Castle was published as a plate to Ruined Abbeys and Castles of Great Britain ... The photographic illustrations by Bedford, Sedgfield, Wilson, Fenton, and others (1862-64). These volumes were published with a series of historical essays by William Howitt, illustrated with 26 photographs by Thompson, W. Russell Sedgfield, Thomas Ogle and William Despard Hemphill. Kenilworth Castle, founded in the 12th by Geoffrey de Clinton, was granted to Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester in 1563. Dudley transformed the original Norman stronghold into a Tudor palace which was later dismantled by Parliamentary forces in 1650. During the 18th century the ruins became a site of antiquarian interest, and throughout the 19th century the Castle was celebrated for its picturesque qualities.