One of the grandest and most interesting houses in Buckingham, Castle house has 15th century origins, and was built by William and Mary Lambert during the reign of James I. We know Barton Senior owned the house in 1431, but the side facing the road is newer, dating to 1708. The west side is the oldest surviving part.
On the 22nd June 1644, the Royalist army suddenly arrived in Buckingham, Charles I had arrived with 12,000 men and promptly settled into Castle House for a meeting of the War Council; he stayed for several days.
Charles I wasn’t the only royal visitor to the house. In 1513, Catharine of Aragon was based at Castle House and serving as Regent whilst her husband Henry VIII was campaigning in France. After her stay, she made a pilgrimage to Walsingham in Norfolk, leaving for Buckingham her wooden crucifix, now held at the Old Gaol.