Codnor Castle Codnor Castle is a ruined thirteenth - century castle in Derbyshire , England . The land around Codnor came under the jurisdiction of William Peverel after the Norman conquest . Although registered as a Scheduled Ancient Monument the site is officially , as at 2008 , a Building at Risk . History . William Peverel . The castle is a stone keep and bailey fortress and was established by William Peverel . The present fragmentary remains represent a three - storey keep and a strong curtain wall and ditch , flanked by round towers . The outer bailey is on a lower level and was constructed at a later period . The castle overlooks the Erewash valley and the counties of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire . It originally had a deep moat and on its eastern side there was once a considerable abundance of trees , which have now been cut down . On the west side there was a courtyard that was strongly fortified by huge round towers , which had battlements . In other parts of the ruins there is evidence that the outer walls had loopholes included to allow bowmen to use them if necessary . Henry de Grey . By 1211 it was owned by Henry de Grey , a descendant of the Norman knight Anchetil de Greye . Henry ' s descendants include the long line of Lords Grey of Codnor , the Lords Grey of Ruthyn , Wilton and Rotherfield , Lady Jane Grey and the Earls of Stamford , and the extinct families of the Dukes of Suffolk and Kent . His son Richard settled in Codnor and was a loyal Baron to Henry III . Along with his brother John they served the King in the Holy Land . John Grey distinguished himself in the Scottish wars and found himself in great favour with Edward III . Together with William D ' Eincourt , the Lord Grey commanded all the knights of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire in case of an invasion . Henry the last of the family , died during the reign of Henry VII , without a legitimate heir . He left part of his lands to his illegitimate sons , Henry and Richard , and part to his widow , Katherine Stourton . Zouche family . The remainder went to his aunt Elizabeth Grey , who in 1429 married Sir John Zouche , the youngest son of the fourth Baron Zouche of Harringworth . Sir John Zouche of Codnor was three times High Sheriff of Derbyshire . The castle remained in the hands of the Zouche family for two hundred years until they sold up and emigrated to Virginia in 1634 . Streynsham Master . Sir Streynsham Master , High Sheriff of Derbyshire , who bought the Codnor Castle estate in 1692 , is reported as the last resident of the castle . He lived there until his death in 1724 . The castle today . Today the remnants of Codnor Castle are a fragile ruin , its few remaining high walls supported by scaffolding . Signs at the perimeter fence indicate that the site is now owned by UK Coal Mining Ltd and that public access is prohibited . However , good views of the castle ' s remains are possible from nearby public footpaths . In June 2007 , Channel 4 ' s Time Team programme carried out an archaeological dig around the castle , with some interesting results . The most spectacular find was a perfectly - preserved medieval gold coin found in the moat , which is now displayed at Derby Museum and Art Gallery .