Belvoir Castle is a stately home

Stately home

A stately home is a "great country house". It is thus a palatial great house or in some cases an updated castle, located in the British Isles, mostly built between the mid-16th century and the early part of the 20th century, as well as converted abbeys and other church property...

 in the English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 county of Leicestershire

Leicestershire

Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...

, overlooking the Vale of Belvoir

Vale of Belvoir

The Vale of Belvoir is an area of natural beauty on the borders of Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire in England. Indeed, the name itself derives from the Norman-French for beautiful view.-Extent and geology:...

 . It is a Grade I listed building.

The castle is near several villages, including Redmile

Redmile

Redmile is a village and civil parish in the Melton district of Leicestershire, England, about north of Melton Mowbray and west of Grantham, in the Vale of Belvoir....

, Woolsthorpe

Woolsthorpe-by-Belvoir

Woolsthorpe, also known as Woolsthorpe-by-Belvoir, is a small village in the English county of Lincolnshire, about 5 miles from the town of Grantham...

, Knipton

Knipton

Knipton, is a small village in the English county of Leicestershire. It is located around six miles from the town of Grantham just off the A607, and ten miles from Melton Mowbray...

, Harston

Harston, Leicestershire

Harston is a crossroads village in Leicestershire, England.Harston is near to the border with Lincolnshire; its nearest town being Grantham in that county.-Governance:...

, Harlaxton

Harlaxton Manor

Harlaxton Manor, built in 1837, is a manor house in Harlaxton, Lincolnshire, England. Its architecture, which combines elements of Jacobean and Elizabethan styles with symmetrical Baroque massing, renders the mansion unique among surviving Jacobethan manors....

, Croxton Kerrial

Croxton Kerrial

Croxton Kerrial is a village and civil parish in the Melton borough of Leicestershire, England. It is to the southwest of Grantham and northeast of Melton Mowbray— west of Leicestershire's boundary with Lincolnshire...

 and Bottesford

Bottesford, Leicestershire

This page is about the English village of Bottesford near Grantham. For the Bottesford near Scunthorpe, see Bottesford, LincolnshireBottesford is a village and civil parish within the Melton district of Leicestershire, England....

, and the town of Grantham

Grantham

Grantham is a market town within the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It bestrides the East Coast Main Line railway , the historic A1 main north-south road, and the River Witham. Grantham is located approximately south of the city of Lincoln, and approximately east of Nottingham...

. Antiquarian John Leland wrote in the 16th century that the "castle stands on the very nape of a high hill, steep up each way, partly by nature, partly by the working of men's hands".

A corner of the castle is still used as the family home of the Manners family

David Manners, 11th Duke of Rutland

David Charles Robert Manners, 11th Duke of Rutland is a British peer and landowner. He was born the elder son of the 10th Duke of Rutland by his second wife, the former Frances Sweeney...

 and remains the seat of the Dukes of Rutland

Duke of Rutland

Earl of Rutland and Duke of Rutland are titles in the peerage of England, derived from Rutland, a county in the East Midlands of England. The Earl of Rutland was elevated to the status of Duke in 1703 and the titles were merged....

.
A Norman

Norman architecture

About|Romanesque architecture, primarily English|other buildings in Normandy|Architecture of Normandy.File:Durham Cathedral. Nave by James Valentine c.1890.jpg|thumb|200px|The nave of Durham Cathedral demonstrates the characteristic round arched style, though use of shallow pointed arches above the...

 castle originally stood on the high ground in this spot.