The foundations for Lulworth Castle were laid in 1588, and it was completed in 1609, supposedly designed by
Inigo Jones. It was built as a
hunting lodge by
Thomas Howard, 3rd Viscount Howard of Bindon, a grandson of the
3rd Duke of Norfolk. In 1607 Viscount Bindon wrote to
Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, crediting him with the origins of the design:"If this little pile in Lulworth Park shall prove pretty or worth the labour bestowed in the erecting of it, I will acknowledge, as the truth is, that your powerful speech to me at Bindon laid the first foundation of the pile in my mind, which ever since has laboured for a speedy finishing for the contentment of those for whose further liking of that place the care is taken". According to the
NHLE listing, the building was subsequently remodelled 1609-11 for
Thomas, Lord Suffolk; remodelled again in 1641 for Humphrey Weld; in the early 18th century by the
Bastard brothers of
Blandford Forum for the then owner,
Edward Weld; and in the 1780s by Catholic architect John Tasker for Thomas Weld. Tasker also built the Roman Catholic chapel in the grounds.
Pevsner's assessment of the castle building two hundred years later views it as a Jacobean case of
one-upmanship among wealthy landowners whose residential needs are already satisfied elsewhere, hence a series of " '
mock castles', such as the Elizabethan castellated house
par excellence that is
Longford Castle" which probably inspired Bindon. In 1641,
Humphrey Weld, a grandson of Sir
Humphrey Weld (died 1610), purchased it from Howard's heir,
Lord Howard de Walden. The castle was seized by the
Roundheads during the
English Civil War, who used it as a garrison. Weld regained the property after the war finished and held on to it despite growing debts. Having married off his only daughter to an earl, Humphrey chose his catholic nephew, William Weld as his successor. William struggled with near insolvency, but partially rescued the estate finances by ensuring his son, Humphrey III (died 1722), married well into the Simeons family. Margaret Simeons and her parents helped out with a dowry and managed the estate after she was widowed. Humphrey was succeeded by their son,
Edward Weld (Senior) who had the means to decorate the interiors of the castle, build extensions and lay out the grounds, despite personal legal difficulties he managed to overcome.
Thomas Weld, Edward's youngest son, eventually inherited the property after his eldest brother, also
Edward, died as a result of a riding accident in 1775. Twenty-five-year-old Thomas set about refurbishing the interiors in
Adam style. He enriched the collection of books in the magnificent library, a few of which are extant. He also entertained
George III at Lulworth. Thomas and his wife Mary produced fifteen children, most of whom survived, and together with their descendants were able to retain Lulworth as the family seat into the 21st century. Following the
French Revolution, surviving members of the
French royal family were invited to use Lulworth as one of their residences-in-exile. Later
Charles X of France and family also stayed there briefly, following the
July Revolution of 1830 on their way to
Edinburgh. ==St Mary's Chapel, Lulworth==