DARTFORD DISTRICT
STATELY HOMES, CASTLES & TOWERS
Kent is home to various stately homes, country houses, castles, and towers, some of which have intriguing stories of hauntings throughout history. Notable figures like Sir Winston Churchill and Charles Darwin are linked to some of these locations. Additionally, there are lesser-known treasures that hold their own surprises.
Here is what has been found so far in the Dartford District
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Please note that not all of these sites are publicly accessible, as some may be located on private property. Be sure to check in advance and obtain permission if necessary. Do not trespass!
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If you know of any sites that are missing or have heard reports of paranormal activity at any stately homes Castle & Towers not mentioned here, please get in touch. Thank you.
LULLINGSTONE CASTLE
DARTFORD DA4
**PARANORMAL ACTIVITY**
The Hart family speaks of a ghost known as the Lavender Lady, considered one of their own. She lived in what is now called Brown Passage and had a secret lover among the staff, a groom. At that time, staff members resided in the attic, and she would ascend the stairs to meet him. When the family discovered her secret, they forbade her from visiting him, which led to her tragic suicide. Although she has not appeared to Guy and Sarah Hart, numerous visitors have reported sightings of her. One man described stepping out of the kitchen and encountering her in tears; he asked if she was alright and hurried back to fetch a friend, only to find she had vanished by the time they returned. Their daughter, Anya, often heard the sound of her dress rustling and an unhappy noise drifting down the stairs before fading away.
There have also been sightings of a little girl in a velvet dress running across Queen Anne's bedroom. An old tenant recounted seeing a young girl seated in a space they referred to as the coal hole, where the servants once gathered to stoke the fire.
**HISTORY**
Lullingstone Castle is a historic manor house, originally named Lullingstone House, located in the village of Lullingstone and the civil parish of Eynsford in Kent. The manor is mentioned in the Domesday Book.
The manor of Lullingstone was acquired in 1279 by Gregory de Rokesley, who served eight terms as Lord Mayor of London. It remained in the Rokesley family for several generations before being sold to the Peche family.
The current structure is a brick-built Tudor mansion featuring an outer gatehouse constructed in 1497, which was originally surrounded by a moat, and an inner gatehouse. It was built by Sir John Peche, who became Sheriff of Kent in 1495. Lullingstone Castle is believed to be one of the first buildings in England made entirely of brick, and the remnants of the house largely reflect the Queen Anne era.
Henry VIII and Queen Anne were reportedly regular visitors to the manor, as Sir John gained fame as Henry VII's Champion Jouster. His jousting tournament colors—russet, gold, and off-white—are said to be reflected in the colors of the house.
In 1543, the estate was transferred by marriage to his nephew, Sir Percyvall Hart, who served as chief steward and knight harbinger to Kings Henry VIII, Edward VI, and Queen Mary I, as well as Queen Elizabeth I. After his death in 1580, the estate passed to his grandson, Sir Percival Hart. The house later passed to his great-grandson, another Percival Hart, who was High Sheriff of Kent in 1706. He remodeled the house and renamed it Lullingstone Castle. He had one daughter, Anne, who married Sir Thomas Dyke.
In 1934, the estate was sold to Kemp Town Brewery, which resold it to Kent County Council in 1938. During World War II, it was occupied by the Army. In the mid-1960s, Dartford Rural District Council laid out a golf course in the grounds and created a public park, resulting in most of the estate’s grounds becoming Lullingstone Country Park.
The house itself remains in the hands of the Hart Dyke family, making Lullingstone Castle one of the oldest family estates, inhabited by members of the Hart Dyke family for twenty generations. The current owner, Guy Hart Dyke, oversees what remains of the estate, which once spanned 10,000 acres of prime Kent parkland but has since been reduced to 142 acres. The surrounding 120-acre park was historically a fenced deer park, with the castle serving as a hunting lodge. The grounds, situated along the River Darent, contain Queen Anne's bathhouse and an icehouse from the 18th century.
LULLINGSTONE ROMAN VILLA
LULLINGSTONE LANE, EYNSFORD, KENT, DA4
**PARANORMAL ACTIVITY**
Reports suggest the presence of a chilling cold spot and possible manifestations, though no concrete evidence has been recorded. This area remained undisturbed for around 60 years and even longer before that. Who knows what spirits or residual energies might still linger here? What events could have occurred in this space?
**HISTORY**
Situated in the picturesque Darent Valley in Kent, Lullingstone Villa is one of the best and most accessible Roman villa survivals in Britain. It is believed to have been constructed around 82 AD. It was located near several other villas and close to Watling Street. This Roman road facilitated travel between Londinium (London), Durobrivae (Rochester), Durovernum Cantiacorum (Canterbury), and the major Roman port of Rutupiæ (Richborough).
Some evidence found on-site suggests that around AD 150, the villa underwent significant enlargement, during which a heated bath block with a hypocaust system was added. It is believed that this villa may have served as a country retreat for the Roman province of Britannia governors. Two sculpted marble busts discovered in the cellar are thought to be of Pertinax and his father-in-law, Publius Helvius Successus, indicating that they might have stayed here at some point.
Pertinax became emperor on January 1, 193 AD, following the assassination of Commodus. However, he was assassinated only 87 days later by the Praetorian Guard, who, along with much of the population, resented the austerity measures he imposed.
In the 3rd century, a larger furnace for the hypocaust and an expanded bath block were added, along with a temple-mausoleum and a large granary. The original pagan shrine room was dedicated to local water deities, and a wall painting depicting three water nymphs from this period can still be seen in a niche within the room. Shortly after the 3rd century, this niche was covered over. The entire room was redecorated with white plaster painted with red bands, and two busts of male figures were placed there. Some scholars theorize that at this point, the inhabitants shifted their focus of worship from water deities to household deities and ancestor spirits.
In the 4th century, the ruins of a Roman temple-mausoleum on the site of the villa were incorporated into a Christian chapel known as Lullingstane Chapel, which was present at the time of the Norman Conquest and is among the earliest known chapels in the country. The dining room, or triclinium, was situated at the centre of the main building and was highly decorated with a pair of large mosaics on the floor. One mosaic depicts the abduction of the princess Europa by the god Jupiter, disguised as a bull. At the same time, the other shows Bellerophon slaying the Chimera, surrounded by four sea creatures. Surrounding these mosaics are smaller images of hearts, crosses, and swastikas.
The area above the pagan shrine was reportedly converted for Christian use during the 4th century. It featured painted plaster on the walls, including a row of standing worshipers (orans) figures and a distinctive Christian Chi-Rho symbol. Some of these paintings are now on display at the British Museum.
A fire destroyed the building in the early 5th century, leading to its abandonment and subsequent obscurity. The site was first discovered in 1750 when workers digging post holes for a deer park inadvertently disturbed a mosaic floor. Still, no systematic excavations were conducted until the 20th century. In 1939, a fallen tree revealed scattered mosaic fragments. Between 1949 and 1961, archaeologists conducted excavations of the villa. In the 1960s, the ruins were preserved under a specially designed cover after being taken over by English Heritage, which opened the site to the public.
The building began to leak late in the 20th century, necessitating a significant renovation and redisplay project costing £1.8 million from 2006 to 2008 to ensure it was safe for displaying fragile objects from the site. One room in the building had served both as a pagan shrine and, later, as one of the earliest Christian chapels in Britain. The evidence of this Christian house-church is a unique find for Roman Britain, and its wall paintings hold international significance. Not only do they provide some of the earliest evidence of Christianity in Britain, but they are also nearly unique—the closest parallels are found in a house church in Dura Europos, Syria.
Equally intriguing as the discovery of the house church is the possibility that pagan worship may have continued in the cult room below. It is unclear whether this arrangement reflects the family attempting to hedge their bets—publicly accepting Christianity while still honouring the old gods—or if it indicates that some family members were clinging to old beliefs despite the broader adoption of Christianity by others.
A Romano-Celtic temple-mausoleum complex was built around 300 AD to house the remains of two young individuals, a male and a female, in lead coffins. Although the young woman's coffin was looted in antiquity, the male's coffin has remained undisturbed. It is now on display at the site.
Ongoing research is continuing at the site, which is open to visitors from March to September