Belvoir Castle Belvoir Castle ( pronounced " Beaver " ) is a stately home in the English county of Leicestershire , overlooking the Vale of Belvoir ( ) . It is a Grade I listed building . The castle is near several villages , including Redmile , Woolsthorpe , Knipton , Harston , Harlaxton , Croxton Kerrial and Bottesford , and the town of Grantham . Antiquarian John Leland wrote in the 16th century that the " castle stands on the very nape of a high hill , steep up each way , partly by nature , partly by the working of men ' s hands " . A corner of the castle is still used as the family home of the Manners family and remains the seat of the Dukes of Rutland , most of whom are buried in the grounds of the mausoleum there . Castle . A Norman castle originally stood on the high ground in this spot . During the English Civil War , it was one of the more notable strongholds of the king ' s supporters . It eventually passed into the hands of the Dukes of Rutland and following a fire , was rebuilt by the wife of the 5th Duke , and gained its present Gothic castle look . The architect James Wyatt was chiefly responsible for this restructuring , and the result is a building which bears a superficial resemblance to a medieval castle , its central tower reminiscent of Windsor Castle . The present Castle is the fourth building to have stood on the site since Norman times . Belvoir was a royal manor until it was granted to Robert , 1st baron de Ros in 1257 . When that family died out in 1508 , the manor and castle passed to George Manners , who inherited the castle and barony through his mother . His son was created Earl of Rutland in 1525 , and John Manners , 9th Earl of Rutland was created Duke of Rutland in 1703 . So Belvoir castle has been the home of the Manners family for five hundred years , and seat of the Dukes of Rutland for over three centuries . Whilst visiting Belvoir castle in the 1840s Anna Maria Russell , Duchess of Bedford found that the normal time for dinner was between 7 : 00 and 8 : 30 p . m . An extra meal called luncheon had been created to fill the midday gap between breakfast and dinner , but as this new meal was very light , the long afternoon with no refreshment at all left people feeling hungry . She found a light meal of tea ( usually Darjeeling ) and cakes or sandwiches was the perfect balance . The Duchess found taking an afternoon snack to be such a perfect refreshment that she soon began inviting her friends to join her . Afternoon tea quickly became an established and convivial repast in many middle and upper class households . The castle is open to the public and contains many works of art . The Queen ' s Royal Lancers Regimental Museum of the 17th and 21st Lancers was established here in 1964 but was required to leave in October 2007 . The highlights of the tour are the lavish staterooms , the most famous being the Elizabeth Saloon ( named after the wife of the 5th Duke ) , the Regents Gallery and the Roman inspired State Dining Room . Estate . The castle sits in a vast estate of almost . The landscaped grounds , nearer the castle , are also open and the Root Houses , built by the fifth Duke ' s wife , can also be seen . The present Duchess is restoring Belvoir Gardens , which includes the Secret Valley Garden and the Rustic Summerhouse of 1800 . The estate is open to the public and offers a range of outdoor activities - shooting , fishing , quad biking and four - by - four driving . Throughout the year they host sheep , duck and dog exhibitions . The Duke and Duchess of Rutland also own but do not manage The Manners Arms in Knipton , a country hotel and restaurant on the Belvoir estate . Present use . A corner of the castle is still used as the family home of the Manners family . The castle ' s name means beautiful view . The name " Belvoir " , is in fact , a Norman import by the French - speaking invaders , though the native Anglo - Saxon population was unable to pronounce such a foreign word , preferring to call it " Beaver Castle " . Belvoir Castle is still pronounced " Beaver " — despite its spelling — to this very day . Several films and television programmes have used it as a location , notably the film " Little Lord Fauntleroy " starring Sir Alec Guinness . The castle itself was used as a location for " The Da Vinci Code " - it represented Castel Gandolfo , the Pope ' s summer residence . It also featured in the 1985 film " Young Sherlock Holmes " starring Nicholas Rowe and Alan Cox . In September 2007 , it was used as a location for " The Young Victoria " . In the 2001 Jim Henson production of , the castle is where the giant bones have been discovered . The kitchen scenes of Hill House were filmed here for the 1999 version of The Haunting which is the remake of the 1963 version . Belvoir Castle is the host of Belvoir Fireworks , an annual pyrotechnic and firework competition that takes place in mid - August . The grounds also host Belvoir Cricket Club in Knipton , a village cricket club with teams playing in various leagues across Nottinghamshire . The 1st XI play in the Nottinghamshire Premier League . In 2009 , Belvoir castle hosted the CLA Game Fair . In August 2010 the castle ' s website was mistakenly hacked and taken over by an Algerian group who blanked the pages and inserted anti - Semitic texts in Arabic . The hackers had mistaken Belvoir Castle for Belvoir Fortress , which is located in Israel . In September 2010 , the Belvoir Wassailers – the castle ' s own male voice choir – was reformed at the request of the Duchess . Directed by Robert - John Edwards , and accompanied on the piano by Paul Emmett , the Belvoir Wassailers performed at the castle ' s annual " Belvoir by Candlelight " celebration in December 2010 . The choir is currently working on a variety of new material , including popular and folk music .