Ralph Boteler, Lord High Treasurer of England, began Sudeley Castle in 1443 on the site of a twelfth-century fortified manor house. It has a double courtyard plan, and Richard III, as Duke of Gloucester, is credited with the banqueting hall. Catherine Parr lived at the castle with Thomas Seymour and died there in 1548. Elizabeth I visited three times, including a three-day stay in 1592.
Parliament ordered the castle slighted in 1649, and it was a neglected ruin for almost two centuries. John and William Dent bought it in 1837 and restored it. George Gilbert Scott directed the restoration of the chapel from 1859 to 1863, and Scott designed Catherine Parr's tomb.
The gardens cover about 15 acres in ten gardens, within a 1,200-acre estate. The castle opened to the public in 1970 and is Grade I listed.
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