John O Gaunt's Cellar/Leicester Castle, Leicester, Visitor Guide & Things to Do Nearby

Leicester Castle is a medieval castle site in the centre of Leicester, once a seat of the Lancaster family and later a royal residence. Beside it stands John O Gaunt's Cellar, named for the famous Duke of Lancaster, who held the castle. Together they link the city to several English kings.

The story behind it

Leicester Castle began as a Norman stronghold and grew into one of the most important properties of the House of Lancaster. Its owners included earls and dukes of Lancaster, and it became a royal residence when its lord, Henry Bolingbroke, took the throne as Henry IV. Henry V and Henry VI are also known to have stayed here, and Richard III is linked to the castle too, with letters sent from Leicester surviving from his time in the city.

John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, is the name tied to the cellar, though the name is better read as a label of association than as proof of his own hand. The cellar is probably later than his death, so he may never have set foot in it. The castle's story is really one of power passing through the Lancaster line and onto the throne.

What to look for

• The Great Hall, the castle's best-known surviving building, which gives a sense of the scale of medieval hospitality and government.
• The stonework of John O Gaunt's Cellar, a good place to think about how a great household stored and served its food and drink.
• The way the castle sits among later buildings, a reminder of how the city grew up around and over its medieval core.
• The neighbouring church of St Mary de Castro, which stands beside the castle and shares its long history.

Tips for your visit

• Allow about 20 to 30 minutes for the castle area on its own, longer if you add the church and the nearby gardens.
• Check current opening hours and access before you go, as entry to the buildings can vary.
• The castle sits close to the Castle Gardens and the River Soar, so it combines easily with a riverside stroll.
• Morning or late afternoon light is kind to the old stonework and brings fewer crowds to the narrow streets around it.

See it on a quest

The castle is one stop on Richard the Third's Leicester, a self-guided walk themed around the last Plantagenet king. You reach the castle on foot as part of a longer route through the city, the app tells you about each place as you arrive, and you solve a puzzle in what is in front of you. It is a paid quest, and one ticket covers the whole group. You can start any time, with no guide and no group to join.