Geoffrey de Clinton, treasurer to Henry I, founded the castle in the early 1120s, and the Norman great tower survives with walls about 16 feet (5 m) thick. King John enlarged it in the early 13th century. John of Gaunt built a northern range from about 1372 to 1380, and the article calls it an early example of the Perpendicular style. William Wintringham built the great hall roof in 1376.
Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, added Tudor windows and gardens in the 1570s, with William Spicer rebuilding for him. The castle is mainly local New Red Sandstone. Parliamentary forces slighted it in 1649, destroying much of the north side.
The Town of Kenilworth owns it, and English Heritage has managed it since 1984. It is Grade I listed, and the gardens were reconstructed from 2005 to 2009.
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