On the death of Edward III., John of Gaunt, distrusting the new king, his nephew, took up his abode for a time at Kenilworth, and probably commenced his alterations there. The works were, no doubt, carried on for many years; and certainly were not ended 15 Richard II., 1391–2, when masons, quarrymen, carpenters, and labourers were employed at the castle, the result being the remodelling of the inner ward, and the construction of the magnificent range of kitchens, hall, and state apartments, of which the remains are still visible. When the son and successor of John of Gaunt became Henry IV., Kenilworth, with the other possessions of the Duchy of Lancaster, fell to the Crown, and so remained. The castle received certain small additions, not of a military character, and all now removed, from Henry VI. and Henry VIII. Elizabeth, in the fifth year of her reign, 1563, granted the domain to Lord Robert Dudley, creating him in the following year Earl of Leicester. Leicester’s works were considerable. He gutted the keep and forebuilding, fitting them up in the Tudor style; built the pile of masonry, now nodding to its fall, and which bears his name, at the south-east corner of the inner ward; he built or restored the Gallery Tower upon the outer end of the dam; probably added an upper storey to the great barn; and built the great gatehouse, a very fine specimen of its age. Probably also, late in his life, he filled up the ditch of the inner ward. His masonry, though of ashlar, and not ill executed, was not substantial; and upon the removal of the floors and roofs, the walls became unsafe, and much has fallen and is about to fall. No doubt his works were executed with great rapidity, since his famous reception of Elizabeth here took place in 1575. Leicester’s conduct threw a doubt upon the legitimacy of his only son, of which King James availed himself to make an enforced purchase of Kenilworth for an inconsiderable sum for Prince Henry; after whom it was held by Prince Charles, probably more for the use of the chase than as a residence. At that time the lake covered 111 acres, and there were four gatehouses; the four being, no doubt, Leicester’s Gatehouse, Mortimer’s and the Gallery Towers, and the entrance gate of the Brayz. [Illustration: KIDWELLY CASTLE. BIRDS EYE VIEW. _Drawn by J. H. Le Keux, from a Sketch by H. Smyth._ _J. H. Le Keux sc._] Charles granted Kenilworth, in 1621, on a lease on lives to Carey, Earl of Monmouth, which was converted into a freehold in 1626, and upon which the Careys founded a claim at the restoration in 1660; Colonel Hawkesworth and others having held it while Cromwell was in power. Finally it was granted by Charles II. to Lawrence Hyde, Earl of Clarendon, from whom it has descended in the female line to its present owner, whose conduct shows a true appreciation of the value of the remains. KIDWELLY CASTLE, CAERMARTHENSHIRE. DESCRIPTION.