The castle itself was a stone "keep and bailey"
fortress, with a three storey keep and a strong curtain wall and ditch,
flanked by round towers. As can be seen from the photo above, little now
remains.
The castle remained in the de Grey family until the death of Henry de Grey
in 1496, when it passed to Sir John Zouch, a relative by marriage. The
Zouch family lived at the castle, and were largely responsible for setting
up the parkland surrounding the castle, from which the name Codnor Park is
derived.
The Zouch's sold Codnor Castle in 1634 to the Archbishop of York, Richard
Neile, and, in turn, the Neile family sold it in 1692 to Sir Streynsham
Masters, who is the last known person to actually reside there.
It was eventually sold to the Butterley Company in the early 1800's, for
them to utilise the mineral rights in the area.
The castle has been in ruins since the late 1600’s, but contrary to
popular local belief, it isn’t a ruin because of the Civil War – indeed,
there is no evidence that the castle was in any way involved in the war,
let alone being the target of Oliver Cromwell's cannons!
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