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Bottesford Church and Belvoir Castle - July 2011

A visit to Bottesford where there are many tombs commemorating the early De Roos and Manners families who were the owners of Belvoir Castle. Then on to Belvoir Castle itself. The first castle was built by Robert de Todeni, William the Conqueror's standard bearer. Thomas Manners, the 1st Earl of Rutland began rebuilding the castle in about 1523 and it was completed in 1555. However the present castle was commissioned in 1799 and was finally completed after a disastrous fire in 1816 caused enormous damage to the partly completed castle. The Manners family still live in the castle

Bottesford Church - St Mary the Virgin

Gravestones in the churchyard

A crest above the church doorway

Crest of the de Roos family - 3 Bougets, pairs of leather water bottles connected by a wooden cross-piece for carrying on horseback.

A view of the chancel with its many tombs of the Barons de Roos

18 inch high effigy of Robert de Roos, ca.1213-1285, 1st Baron de Ros. He lived at the first Belvoir Castle and was buried at Kirkham Priory

Here lies the heart of Lord Robert de Roos whose body is buried at Kirkham who died the 18th of the calends of June AD 1285 Isabella Lady de Roos wife of the said Robert de Roos lies at a new place near Stamford who died AD 1301

William, Lord Roos, 1369-1414, 7th Baron de Ros

John, Lord Roos, 1396-1421, 8th Baron de Ros

Tomb of Thomas Manners, ca.1492-1543, 1st Earl of Rutland & 13th Baron de Ros, and his wife Eleanor Paston. Thomas started building the second castle in 1523.