Tattershall Castle , Lincolnshire Tattershall Castle is a castle in Tattershall , Lincolnshire , England , north east of Sleaford , and in the care of the National Trust . History . Tattershall Castle has its origins in either a stone castle or a fortified manor house , built by Robert de Tattershall in 1231 . This was largely rebuilt in brick , and greatly expanded , by Ralph , 3rd Lord Cromwell , Treasurer of England , between 1430 and 1450 . Brick castles are less common in England than stone or earth and timber constructions ; when brick was chosen as a building material it was often for its aesthetic appeal or because it was fashionable . The trend for using bricks was introduced by Flemish weavers . There was plenty of stone available nearby , but Cromwell chose to use brick . About 700 , 000 bricks were used to build the castle , which has been described as " the finest piece of medieval brick - work in England " . Of Lord Cromwell ' s castle , the 130 foot high Great Tower and moat still remain . It is thought that the castle ' s three state rooms were once splendidly fitted out and the chambers were heated by immense gothic fireplaces with decorated chimney pieces and tapestries . It has been said that the castle was an early domestic country mansion masquerading as a fortress . Cromwell died in 1456 , the castle was initially inherited by his niece , Joan Bouchier , but was confiscated by the Crown after her husband ' s demise . Tattershall castle was recovered in 1560 by Sir Henry Sidney , who sold it to Lord Clinton , later Earl of Lincoln , and it remained with the Earls of Lincoln until 1693 . It passed to the Fortesques , but then fell into neglect . It was put up for sale in 1910 . Its greatest treasures , the huge medieval fireplaces , were still intact . When an American bought them they were ripped out and packaged up for shipping . Lord Curzon of Kedleston stepped in at the eleventh hour to buy the castle and was determined to get the fireplaces back . After a nationwide hunt they were found in London and returned . He restored the castle and left it to the National Trust on his death in 1925 . Lord Curzon had undertaken restorations on it between 1911 and 1914 . It remains today one of the three most important surviving brick castles of the mid - fifteenth century . The experience of Tattershall pushed Lord Curzon to push for heritage protection laws in Britain , which saw passage as the Ancient Monuments Consolidation and Amendment Act 1913 . Design . The castle is roughly square in shape , bounded by an outer moat which encloses an inner moat . The inner enclosure , or Ward , was that of the original thirteenth - century castle , and the original entrance was on the north side towards the west end . The Outer Ward , between the outer moat and inner moat , housed the stables . The Middle Ward , originally accessed via a bridge from the Outer Ward , housed a gatehouse and guardhouse . Today , access to the castle is via this Middle Ward . The Inner Moat encompases the Inner Ward , where the Great Tower , and kitchens were situated . The Great Tower . The separate doorways to the basement and ground floor ( parlour ) of the tower hint that they were intended to provide communal accommodation , while the three great upper rooms were an independent private suite . The design was extremely simple , with four floors , slightly increasing in size at each level by reductions in wall thickness . The fireplaces indicate that the rooms were not intended to be subdivided , but kept as one great room at each level . One of the four corner turrets contains the staircase , but the other three provided extra accommodation rooms at each level . The Basement was a place for storing spices and other items for the kitchens . It is believed that during the Civil War it was used as a prison . The ground floor was the Parlour and it was here that local tenants would come to pay their rent . Today , the Parlour is licensed for civil wedding ceremonies for up to 90 guests . The first floor of the private suite was the Hall , which would have been used to entertain and wine and dine guests . The middle floor was the Audience Chamber , and only the finest of guests would have been admitted here . A brick vaulted corridor led to a small waiting room , before the great hall of the Audience Chamber , which today houses beautiful Flemish tapestries bought by Lord Curzon . The top floor would have been the Private Chamber , where the Lord would have retired for the night . Above this , are the roof gallery and battlements , which provide good views across the Lincolnshire landscape , as far as Boston to the south , and Lincoln to the north . It is not possible today to access the turrets . The brick foundations to the south of the great tower , projecting into the moat , mark the site of the fifteenth century kitchens . Today , the old guardhouse is the gift shop , and the grounds are home to a number of peacocks .