Caludon Castle Caludon Castle is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and Grade I listed building in Coventry , in the West Midlands of England . A second moated site to the south is a Scheduled Ancient Monument in its own right . The castle is now a ruin , and all that remains is a large fragment of sandstone wall . What remains of the estate is now an urban park , owned and run by Coventry City Council , but much of it was sold and developed into housing estates in the early 20th century . The site has been occupied since at least the 11th century CE . The original building , pre - dating the Norman conquest of England , was a large house , which became the property of the Earl of Chester after the conquest . The house was given to the Segrave family in the 13th century , and was first described as a manor in 1239 . A license for crenellation was granted in 1305 , at which point the house is thought to have been re - styled as a castle . Another license was received in 1354 , and the property was again rebuilt . In the 14th century , it came into the possession of Thomas de Mowbray , 1st Duke of Norfolk , who was banished in 1398 , after which the castle fell into disrepair . Mowbray ' s son , John , inherited the building , and it remained in the Mowbray family until 1481 , when it passed to William de Berkeley , 1st Marquess of Berkeley . It was rebuilt again circa 1580 , this time as a mansion , having lain derelict since Mowbray ' s banishment . The castle was all but destroyed in 1662 , and remained in ruins until 1800 , when the remains were used in the construction of a farmhouse on the site . The estate was divided up and much of it sold in 1815 , and remained in the hands of multiple private owners until most of the land was purchased by the Coventry Corporation after the First World War and used for housing developments . Architecture . The remains of the Caludon estate are today located in Wyken , a suburban area to the east of Coventry city centre . However , until portions of it were sold off in the 19th century , the estate was much more expansive . The estate was historically a detached part of St . Michael ' s parish , but was transferred to Wyken in 1884 , which in turn was absorbed into the City of Coventry in 1928 . The original boundary of the estate ran from Sowe Bridge ( now known as Clifford Bridge , ) over the River Sowe in the south - east to high ground near Stoke Heath in the north - west . The original castle was in an oval shape , surrounded by a defensive wall , including towers , and a moat . Entrance was via a gatehouse and bridge on the east side . Most living quarters were to the north and west sides of the enclosure , while kitchens and offices were to the south and east . Several farm buildings , associated with the castle , lay just outside the moat , along with a bowling green , gardens , and a three - acre field known as " the pool " . When the property was converted to a mansion , circa 1580 , many outbuildings were recorded as still standing , including a porter ' s lodge and brewing house . A survey conducted in 2008 found the foundations of a rectangular building , oriented north - north - west , thought to be the remains of a large hall , 33 x 13 metres ( 108 x 43 feet ) . To the north of the hall the survey found magnetic anomalies representing a complex of living buildings styled as a manor house . The same survey also found large magnetic anomalies in the eastern part of the site , which could be buried rubble from the demolition of a farmhouse , or the remains of in - filled cellars which are believed to have been built on the site . Evidence of a footpath around the interior of the site was also discovered . Given the evidence found , it is likely that the anomalies represent more than one phase of construction , though this could not be conclusively proven with the methods used . A moat , approximately 190 metres ( 620 feet ) to the south of the castle , was constructed in mediaeval times , likely around the time of the rebuilding in 1305 . A Scheduled Ancient Monument in its own right , the moat encloses approximately an acre of land around the property . The moat may have been an enclosure surrounding farm buildings connected to the castle . History . The site was originally occupied by a house , which pre - dated the Norman conquest of England . After the conquest , it came into the possession of the Earls of Chester . Circa 1232 , Ranulf de Blondeville , 6th Earl of Chester gave the house to Stephen de Segrave , who served as Chief Justiciar of England . His son , Gilbert de Segrave , inherited the property , and passed it on to his son , Nicholas de Segrave , 1st Baron Segrave , who was created Baron Segrave . The house was first described as a manor in 1239 , and , at that time , was the only permanent nobleman ' s residence in Coventry . The Caludon estate expanded slightly into Wyken , to the north , in 1279 when Nicholas de Segrave purchased a carucate and mill . The house was likely rebuilt as a castle in 1305 , when John de Segrave , 2nd Baron Segrave , Nicholas ' son , was granted a license by King Edward I of England to crenellate the property ( decorating a parapet with rectangular gaps in the wall through which archers could fire ; largely a status symbol by that time ) and to build a moat and wall . The property was also extended with a chapel and several outbuildings at around the same time . Further rebuilding was undertaken in 1354 , when another license to crenellate was received . In the second half of the 14th century , the castle was inherited by Thomas de Mowbray , 1st Duke of Norfolk , who , in 1398 , accused Henry of Bolingbroke ( later King Henry IV ) of treason against King Richard II . The two noblemen were to take part in a duel at Gosford Green , between Caludon Castle and Coventry , but Richard III banished both before the duel could take place . After Henry took the throne , he stripped Mowbray of the dukedom , and Mowbray died in exile shortly afterwards . Mowbray was succeeded by John de Mowbray , 2nd Duke of Norfolk , who was restored to the dukedom . The property remained in the Mowbray family until the death of Anne de Mowbray , 8th Countess of Norfolk ( the child bride of Richard of Shrewsbury , 1st Duke of York ) in 1481 . Anne ' s estate was divided between John Howard , 1st Duke of Norfolk and William de Berkeley , 1st Marquess of Berkeley , of whom the latter took possession of Caludon Castle . It lay derelict from shortly after Mowbray ' s banishment until the late 16th century ( circa 1580 ) , when it was rebuilt by Henry Berkeley , 7th Baron Berkeley in the style of a mansion . A large banqueting hall was added later by Elizabeth ( née Stanhope ) , wife of George Berkeley , 8th Baron Berkeley . The latter kept the house until 1632 , when he sold it to Sir Thomas Morgan , 1st Baronet . It passed from Morgan to Sir John Preston through the latter ' s marriage to Morgan ' s daughter and co - heir , Jane . The house was badly damaged in 1662 when King Charles II took revenge on Coventry for its heavily parliamentarian sympathies in the English Civil War . Their son , Sir Thomas Preston , inherited the estate , and upon his death in 1709 it passed to his daughter , Anne and her husband , Hugh Clifford , 2nd Baron Clifford of Chudleigh . The Cliffords retained the property , using the ruins of the castle to build a large farmhouse in 1800 , until 1815 , when the estate was divided up and much of it sold . The estate was then held by various private owners until after the First World War , when the Coventry Corporation purchased much of it and developed the area into suburban housing estates . Modern day . The castle is now a ruin , and all that remains above ground is a large grey sandstone wall , which has been the only remnant of any building on the site since at least the early 18th century . It includes two large tracery windows , decorated by red sandstone , which stand out against the grey . Red sandstone also appears at both ends of the walls , suggesting at least two more windows , and meaning that the wall would have been at least twice the length of the surviving fragment when built . Beneath the large windows are two smaller ones , suggestive of an undercroft , and a flue runs between the sets of windows . The wall fragment is thought to be 14th century , likely dating from the reconstruction in 1354 . The castle is now situated in a small urban park called Caludon Castle Park , owned and managed by Coventry City Council . The moat is now dry , and at least part of it is filled in , but parts are still visible , along with other earthworks . The remaining wall is a Scheduled Ancient Monument , as is the moated site to the south . Since 1955 , the wall has also had Grade I listed building status . References . county county county