Bodiam Castle, on the river Rother, was built in 1385 by Sir Edward Dalyngrigge both as a defence and a comfortable home. Despite its long history, it has only three paintings, not currently on show, and only fairly recently executed or acquired. Although now a ruin, slighted in the Civil War, this fairy tale castle is very picturesque, rising from its lake-like moat, and has inspired many romantic images by artists.
It was acquired in 1917 by George Nathaniel (1859–1925), Lord Curzon, and was bequeathed by him to the National Trust along with Tattershall Castle in Lincolnshire, which he also saved from ruin. His ancestral home, Kedleston Hall, was also given to the Trust by his nephew Francis (1924–2000), 3rd Viscount Scarsdale.