This is because its position on elevated ground provides clear views of the Welland Valley from a strong defensible location.

William the Conqueror ordered the construction of a wooden Motte and Bailey at Rockingham in the 11th century shortly after the Norman conquest of England.

A stone keep was added to the large motte and the outer bailey was enclosed by a curtain wall.

In 1643 Rockingham was captured by Parliamentarian general Henry Grey, 1st Earl of Stamford and Lewis Watson was temporarily forced to leave.

Lees Court was a modern house having been rebuilt in the mid 16th Century by George Sondes 1st Earl of Feversham and it became the principal family seat, meaning that Rockingham Castle remained unaltered during this period.

He lived here with his wife, Lady Mary Faith Montagu, a daughter of the 9th Earl of Sandwich, until 1967, when he transferred it to his nephew, Commander Michael Saunders Watson CBE, chairman of the British Library.

There are two large semicircular towers, protruding from the castle wall, located on either side of the gate.

This passage is entered through a porch beneath a drop arch, and was guarded by a portcullis in front of a wooden door.

The place was visited by writer Charles Dickens, who was a friend of Richard and Lavinia Watson, ancestors of the current family.

The castle is arguably the inspiration for Chesney Wold in Dickens' novel Bleak House, published in 1853.

Rockingham Forest was, largely outside of the parish, named after the place during the time of William the Conqueror because of the castle's importance as a royal retreat.

Rockingham Castle was used as a principal setting for the BBC English Civil War period drama By the Sword Divided.