Site of a possible castle at The Grove

1 Before the Conquest Kenilworth was a member of Stoneleigh and had a castle (Regist de Stonle F 4a) on the banks of the Avon in the woods opposite Stoneleigh Abbey. It stood upon Hom Hill but was demolished in King Edmund’s time.
2 1961: Hom Hill was not located but is probably the wooded area now known as the Grove, which is centred at the above grid reference. This lies on elevated ground. No trace of a castle was found. 1968: ‘Register of Stoneleigh’ checked. It holds no further siting evidence.
3 Several field names in this area contain the element ‘How’, e.g. ‘How Grove’, ‘How Hill’, ‘How Meadow’ etc. could relate to Hom Hill.
4 For an alternative, more likely, site, see PRN 4817.
5 1 above is a misinterpretation. Before the conquest it was a member of Stonleigh; and it had a castle. The text is ambiguous and it could be taken to suggest that the castle was pre-conquest but given the known development of castles in England it is extremely unlikely (though not impossible) that the castle is this early. On balance it seems safest to interpret this as a separate clause merely indicating the presence of a castle, not that it predated the conquest. Dates changed to reflect this.