The Dictum of Kenilworth, issued 31 October 1266, was a pronouncement designed to reconcile the rebels of the Barons ' War with the royal government of England.

The Dictum of Kenilworth was later incorporated into the Statute of Marlborough.

Part of the rebellious forces held out, however, and their stronghold was the virtually impregnable Kenilworth Castle.

In August, the king summoned a parliament at Kenilworth, where the siege was ongoing.

The result, known as the Dictum of Kenilworth, was made public on 31 October 1266.

The same was the case for Henry de Hastings, who was the commander of Kenilworth Castle.

The libretto of this opera by Giovanni Schmidt was in many of its incidents an anticipation of those presented to the world a few years later in Sir Walter Scott's Kenilworth.

The castle was the subject of the six-month long Siege of Kenilworth in 1266, believed to be the longest siege in English history, and formed a base for Lancastrian operations in the War of the Roses.

Kenilworth was also the scene of the removal of Edward II from the English throne, the French insult to Henry V in 1414 ( said by John Strecche to have encouraged the Agincourt campaign ), and the Earl of Leicester's lavish reception of Elizabeth I in 1575.

Kenilworth was partly destroyed by Parliamentary forces in 1649 to prevent it being used as a military stronghold.

Kenilworth Castle was founded in the early 1120s by Geoffrey de Clinton, Lord Chamberlain to Henry I.

The conflict spread across England and Kenilworth was garrisoned by Henry II's forces ; Geoffrey II de Clinton died in this period and the castle was taken fully into royal possession, a sign of its military importance.

The result was to turn Kenilworth into one of the largest English castles of the time, with one of the largest artificial lake defences in England.

Edward was taken back to Kenilworth, where chroniclers considered he was held in unduly harsh conditions.

The Siege of Kenilworth Castle in 1266 was " probably the longest in English history " according to historian Norman Pounds, and at the time was also the largest siege to have occurred in England in terms of the number of soldiers involved.

Henry, reoccupying most of the Lancaster lands, was made constable of Kenilworth and Edward was transported there in late 1326 ; Henry's legal title to the castle was finally confirmed the following year.

A deputation of leading barons led by Bishop Orleton was then sent to Kenilworth to first persuade Edward to resign and, when that failed, to inform him that he had been deposed as king.

Because New Orange was often confused with one of The Oranges in Essex County, the name " Kenilworth " was chosen when the borough was incorporated in 1907.

The spirit of peace and reconciliation established by the Dictum of Kenilworth lasted for the remainder of Henry III's reign and into the 1290s.

His early major works for the voice included The Masque at Kenilworth ( 1864 ); an oratorio, The Prodigal Son ( 1869 ); and a dramatic cantata, On Shore and Sea ( 1871 ).

By this point Kenilworth Castle consisted of the great keep, the inner bailey wall, a basic causeway across the smaller lake that preceded the creation of the Great Mere, and the local chase for hunting.

Edmund held many tournaments at Kenilworth in the late 13th century, including a huge event in 1279, presided over by the royal favourite Roger de Mortimer, in which a hundred knights competed for three days in the tiltyard in an event called " the Round Table ", in imitation of the popular Arthurian legends.

Kenilworth became the primary castle of the Lancaster estates, replacing Bolingbroke, and acted as both a social and a financial centre for Thomas.

Margaret removed Henry from London in 1456 for his own safety and until 1461, Henry's court divided almost all its time among Kenilworth, Leicester and Tutbury Castle for the purposes of protection.

Kenilworth remained an important Lancastrian stronghold for the rest of the war, often acting as a military balance to the nearby castle of Warwick.

With the victory of Henry VII at Bosworth, Kenilworth again received royal attention ; Henry visited frequently and had a tennis court constructed at the castle for his use.

Kenilworth remained a popular location for both James I and Charles and accordingly was well maintained.

The most famous royal visit occurred in 1624, when Ben Jonson's The Masque of Owls at Kenilworth was performed for Charles.

Kenilworth was used by Charles on his advance to Edgehill in October 1642 as a base for raids on Parliamentary strongholds in the Midlands.

Kenilworth spawned " numerous stage adaptations and burlesques, at least eleven operas, popular redactions, and even a scene in a set of dioramas for home display ", including Sir Arthur Sullivan's 1865 cantata The Masque at Kenilworth.

* Morris, Richard K. ( 2007 ) " A plan for Kenilworth Castle at Longleat ," English Heritage Historical Review, 2 ( 2007 ).

* Gatehouse Gazeteer bibliography for Kenilworth Castle

Siege towers also became more elaborate during the medieval period ; at the Siege of Kenilworth Castle in 1266, for example, 200 archers and 11 catapults operated from a single tower.

During her first week at the Kenilworth Junior High, she was bullied by a group of her peers who mistook her for an effeminate, scrawny boy.

On 20 January 1327, Edward II was informed at Kenilworth Castle of the charges brought against him: The King was guilty of incompetence ; allowing others to govern him to the detriment of the people and Church ; not listening to good advice and pursuing occupations unbecoming to a monarch ; having lost Scotland and lands in Gascony and Ireland through failure of effective governance ; damaging the Church, and imprisoning its representatives ; allowing nobles to be killed, disinherited, imprisoned and exiled ; failing to ensure fair justice, instead governing for profit and allowing others to do likewise ; and of fleeing in the company of a notorious enemy of the realm, leaving it without government, and thereby losing the faith and trust of his people.

Sullivan's long association with works for the voice began with The Masque at Kenilworth ( Birmingham Festival, 1864 ).

Fireplace at Kenilworth Castle, decorated with heraldic emblems of Robert Dudley and the letters R and L for " Robert Leicester "

A particularly elaborate masque, performed over the course of two weeks for Queen Elizabeth, is described in the 1821 novel Kenilworth, by Sir Walter Scott.

Much of the right-hand court of Kenilworth Castle is occupied by the castle garden.

Kenilworth Castle seen from the west ; by the 13th century, the foreground would have been occupied by the water defences of the Great Mere.

His estates, including Kenilworth, were confiscated by the crown.

Royal writs were issued in Edward's name by Isabella from Kenilworth until the next year.

As the months went by, however, it became clear that Kenilworth was proving a less than ideal location to imprison Edward.

According to the contemporary chronicler John Strecche, who lived at the neighbouring Kenilworth Priory, the French openly mocked Henry in 1414 by sending him a gift of tennis balls at Kenilworth.

Kenilworth Castle in 1799, by Maria Johnson

He and the soldiers were released and Despenser was sent to Isabella at Hereford whilst the king was taken by Lancaster himself to Kenilworth.

This was the last of many events he organised over the years, the most spectacular being the festival at his seat Kenilworth Castle in 1575 on occasion of a three-week visit by the Queen.

Kenilworth Castle, a massive fortress extensively modernized and given a new Great Hall by John of Gaunt after 1350.

Kenilworth was incorporated as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on May 13, 1907, from portions of Cranford and Union Township, based on the results of a referendum held on June 18, 1907.