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Quiz about Where Am I
Quiz about Where Am I

Where Am I? Trivia Quiz

UK Castles

Castles were built originally as fortifications against invaders. Many are now in ruins but some survived as homes and tourist attractions. Can you place the county in which these ten castles are situated?

A label quiz by Midget40. Estimated time: 3 mins.
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Author
Midget40
Time
3 mins
Type
Label Quiz
Quiz #
416,101
Updated
Apr 08 24
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
8 / 10
Plays
275
Awards
Top 20% Quiz
Last 3 plays: xchasbox (10/10), Guest 51 (10/10), klotzplate (10/10).
Numbers refer to the county not positioning within it. The counties concerned are all coloured orange.
Caernarfon Stirling Carrickfergus Alnwick Balmoral Skipton Sudeley Ludlow Arundel Tintagel
* Drag / drop or click on the choices above to move them to the answer list.
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Most Recent Scores
Oct 23 2024 : xchasbox: 10/10
Oct 20 2024 : Guest 51: 10/10
Oct 17 2024 : klotzplate: 10/10
Oct 11 2024 : bradez: 7/10
Oct 10 2024 : Guest 31: 8/10
Oct 09 2024 : marianjoy: 6/10
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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Tintagel

Tintagel Castle is located on the peninsula island of the same name in Northern Cornwall, England. It was a fortified stronghold from the 5th to the 7th century but its greatest fame came from its connection with Arthurian legends.

Welsh cleric Geoffrey of Monmouth wrote the "History of the Kings of Britain" circa 1136 and named it as the place where King Arthur was conceived. According to legend the King, Uther Pendragon, lusted for Ygerna, the wife of one of his barons who locked her away at Tintagel. Merlin transforms Uther to look like her husband and he thus enters the castle and spends the night with Ygerna who becomes pregnant with Arthur.

A century later the land was attained by Richard, Earl of Cornwall the younger brother of King Henry III who built a new castle on the site as a result of the legend. The site became more dilapidated and fell into ruin in the 12th century.
2. Arundel

Arundel Castle is a restored medieval castle on the River Arun in West Sussex, England. Work on the castle was began in 1067 by Roger de Montgomery, the first Earl of Arundel, who was a cousin of William the Conqueror and given the land for his loyalty.

Henry I left the castle to his second wife, Adeliza of Louvain, whose descendants are the current owners. A female heiress married Thomas Howard, the 4th Duke of Norfolk in 1555 and it is has since become their seat.

The Howards have a long history with the crown: sailing with Sir Francis Drake against the Armada; Tudor poets and courtiers; the 3rd Duke was the uncle of both Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard (two of Henry VIII's queens), and the 4th was beheaded for plotting to marry Mary, Queen of Scots. As a Catholic family there were also those imprisoned and sentenced to death by Henry VIII for refusing to renounce their faith.

The Dukes of Norfolk have also held the office of Earl Marshal since 1672. This position is still active in the United Kingdom and includes responsibilities for coronations, state funerals and the state opening of Parliament.
3. Sudeley

Sudeley Castle is located in the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England. Construction of the current castle began in 1443 by Ralph Boteler, the Lord High Treasurer of England.

The castle was seized by the crown in 1469 when he was found to be a supporter of the Lancastrian cause during the War of the Roses. Ownership went to King Edward IV and King Richard III. After Richard's death it transferred to King Henry VII who turned it over to the Tudors.

Henry VIII visited the castle with Anne Boleyn, and his son Edward VI (son of Jane Seymour) left the castle to his uncle Thomas Seymour. Thomas married Henry VIII's widow Katherine Parr and she lived and died at the castle and is buried in its church. One of Katherine's attendants was Lady Jane Grey who would be queen for nine days in 1553 and Queen Elizabeth I visited on numerous occasions.

The castle has a 1200 acre estate with 10 gardens, one is known as the Queen's garden to commemorate the four queens who once walked there.

The last royal occupant was King Charles I during the English Civil War. The castle fell into partial disrepair afterwards but has since been restored and is now both a private residence and tourist attraction.
4. Ludlow

Ludlow Castle is a ruined medieval fortification in the town of the same name overlooking the River Teme in Shropshire, England.

The castle was built by Walter de Lacy who was part of William the Conqueror's army. For his service he was granted the manor of Stanton which is the present site of the castle. He and his sons built the early castle and remained until the end of the 13th century.

In 1473 Edward IV sent his son Edward, the Prince of Wales to live at Ludlow and set up the Council of the Marches which became responsible for governing Wales and the border counties. The Prince was in residence when his father died and he became Edward V. He was never crowned as he and his brother were the 'princes in the tower' that mysterious disappeared during the War of the Roses.

Prince Arthur, the oldest son of Henry VII, spent time at Ludlow with his wife Catherine of Aragon before his death at the castle in 1502. She then married his brother Henry VIII and their daughter Mary (later Queen Mary)spent winters there.
5. Caernarfon

Caernarfon Castle is a medieval fortress in Gwynedd, Wales. There was a small motte and bailey castle on the site from the 11th century and this was greatly extended by King Edward I in 1283.

Edward set up the castle and its surrounding town as an administrative centre so it was built with huge defences because of the troubles at the time between the English and Welsh. With the beginning of the Welsh Tudor dynasty from 1485 these were greatly decreased and the castle was allowed to fall into disrepair.

It was still used and held by the Royalists during the Civil War and Parliamentarians sieges further ruined the structure. State funds started some repairs in the 19th century and the walls and towers remain but only foundations of the buildings inside.

It was used for the investiture of two Prince of Wales, the future kings Edward VIII in 1911 and Charles III in 1969.
6. Skipton

Skipton Castle is a Grade I listed medieval castle in Yorkshire, England. The castle was another motte and bailey built in 1090 by Robert de Romille, a Norman baron who had been ceded many lands in North Yorkshire. The stone castle was then built to withstand attacks from the Scottish.

The Romille line died out in 1310 and Edward II granted the castle to Lord Robert Clifford of Skipton whose line has continued to this day. He began improvements to the fortifications which withstood the Great Scottish Raid of 1322 when the rest of Skipton fell.

The castle was the last Royal stronghold in the north during the Civil War and withheld a three year siege before surrendering.
7. Alnwick

Alnwick Castle is located in the town of the same name in Northumberland, England. It was originally founded in the late 11th century by Ivo de Vesci, a Norman nobleman. His descendants added large properties in Northumberland and Yorkshire until they were sold to the Percy family in 1309.

They immediately converted a modest mott and bailey into a mighty border fortress. Originally the Earls of Northumberland they became Dukes in the 14th century and it has remained within the family for over 700 hundred years.

It is the second largest inhabited castle in the UK (after Windsor) and has a long history. As well as being a family home it has been a military outpost, an evacuee refuge, a teaching college and a film set.

It appeared in the first two Harry Potter movies as Hogwarts School, as Brancaster Castle in "Downtown Abbey", in "Robin Hood Prince of Thieves" and most recently "Transformers: The Last Knight".
8. Balmoral

Balmoral Castle is a large estate house in Aberdeenshire, Scotland that belongs to the British royal family. It is private property not part of the Crown Estate.

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert first visited Scotland in 1842, two years after their marriage and visited every few years until 1848 when they first leased Balmoral. Prince Albert then bought the property in 1852.

Finding the currant house to be too small they commissioned the current castle and it has belonged to the monarchy ever since. It has been expanded by successive monarchs since and now covers 50,000 acres and is a full working estate.

It was the summer residence of Queen Elizabeth II and her family. She died there on the 8th of September 2022, the first monarch to die in Scotland since James V in 1542.
9. Stirling

Stirling Castle is located in the town of the same name in Stirlingshire, Scotland. The first record appears from 1110 when a chapel was dedicated but a castle of some sort existed before this time.

The majority of the present buildings were constructed between 1490 and 1600 when the Stewart Kings James IV, V and VI developed it as a Royal Castle. Many Scottish Kings and Queens were crowned at Stirling including Mary, Queen of Scots in 1542.

Mary is connected to Stirling in other ways. She nursed Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, through an illness there before their wedding and their son James VI was baptised at the castle. It was also while travelling from Stirling Castle that she was abducted by the Earl of Bothwell which began the events that led to her abdication, flight to England and eventual execution.
10. Carrickfergus

Carrickfergus is a Norman castle in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It was built by John de Courcy, an Anglo Norman knight who came to Ireland in 1171 as part of the invading forces. He built the castle as his stronghold after he conquered eastern Ulster and ruled as a petty king until 1204.

The castle was besieged by the Scottish, Irish, English and French and was garrisoned continuously for 750 years until 1928 when the British Army transferred ownership to the Government of Northern Island.

The Victorian additions have since been removed to restore the Norman appearance and it is under preservation as an ancient monument.

On his wedding day in 2011 Prince William was created not only Duke of Cambridge but also Earl of Strathearn and Baron Carrickfergus although the geographical barony itself has not existed since the Victorian age and it is only a ceremonial title.
Source: Author Midget40

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor stedman before going online.
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