MAIDSTONE 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 Dickins 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 Maidstone 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!
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.
ALLINGTON CASTLE
CASTLE ROAD, ALLINGTON, MAIDSTONE ME16
**HISTORY**
The name Allington, shared with a nearby hamlet in Lenham, derives from the Old English 'tun' for 'farmstead' and is a development of the 11th-century Elentun, associated with Ælla. Some suggest that a moated village may have originally stood here before the medieval period.
Over time, discoveries of flint tools at the castle site have provided evidence that the area was once part of an ancient British settlement during the Bronze Age (2500 BC to 800 BC).
In medieval and later sources, Allington Castle was sometimes referred to as 'Medwaycester' or 'Medway Cester,' showing the development of its identity over time.
After the 1066 Conquest, Bishop Odo of Bayeux controlled the Allington estate and became Earl of Kent. In 1076, Odo was tried at Penenden Heath for defrauding the Crown and Diocese of Canterbury. After three days, he returned some of his property, and his assets were reapportioned. In 1082, he was imprisoned for planning a military expedition to Italy and lost his assets. Following Odo's downfall, Gilbert de Magminot, another Norman Bishop, managed the land.
Subsequently, William de Warenne, 2nd Earl of Surrey, received Allington manor by royal grant after the Norman Conquest. He built the first castle during King Stephen’s reign, between 1135 and 1154, a period known as the Anarchy.
The castle stood on a moated mound, possibly a motte and bailey, about a mile north of Maidstone beside a bend in the River Medway.
During Henry II’s reign (1154 to 1189), royal control was re-established, and in 1174, because the castle was built without permission, it was ordered demolished. A small fortified manor house replaced it, with only part of the original wall and the kitchen fireplace remaining.
Years later, Stephen de Pencester (1245–1303) became Constable of Dover and Warden of the Cinque Ports. He owned West Leigh and the manors of Overhill and Shepherd’s Well. The family’s name comes from Penshurst, which they owned during the time of William the Conqueror. Stephen acquired Allington by royal grant. By 1280, he had permission for a weekly market and fair. On 23 May 1281, Edward I also permitted Stephen and his wife, Margaret, to fortify their house. This led to the construction of the current castle between 1279 and 1299.
The new castle was constructed more as a residence than a defensive fortress. Bricks were likely utilised because Stephen had connections to a brickyard in Essex.
After Stephen de Pencester died in 1303, a period of transition began when his daughter Avice (also called Avis or Alice, c.1269–c.1340) inherited the castle. Through her marriage to Sir Henry de Cobham, 1st Baron Cobham (c.1260–1339), the castle passed to the Cobham family. Sir Henry improved the castle, reusing parts of the old manor house. However, following both their deaths, the castle was neglected. By 1398–99, records described it as being in very poor condition. Despite this, the Cobham family retained ownership until 1492.
A significant change occurred beginning in 1492 when Sir Henry Wyatt (c. 1460–1537), an English nobleman, knight, courtier, and politician, acquired the castle. He transformed it into a mansion, secured royal permission to fortify it, and made it his main residence. Later, while serving as Treasurer of the King’s Chamber from 1524 to 1528, he hosted Henry VIII in 1527, when the king visited Wolsey after his return from the continent and dined there with Anne Boleyn.
During Wyatt's time at Allington, he maintained a friendship with Sir Thomas Boleyn, resident at Hever Castle. During a family gathering at Hever, Sir Henry’s son, the poet Thomas Wyatt (b. 1503), and Sir Thomas’s daughter Anne, later queen, participated in a courtly love tradition.
Thomas married Elizabeth Brooke, daughter of Thomas Brooke, 8th Baron Cobham, in 1520. They had a son, also named Thomas (b.1521), later known as Sir Thomas Wyatt the Younger. In May 1536, Thomas Wyatt was imprisoned in the Tower of London for allegedly having an affair with Anne Boleyn. He was released later that year, thanks to his father’s friendship with Thomas Cromwell, and returned to his duties. While in the Tower, he may have seen Anne Boleyn’s execution on 19 May 1536 from his cell window.
When Sir Henry died in 1537, his 34-year-old son, Sir Thomas, inherited the castle. That same year, Thomas began an affair with Elizabeth Darrell, a former maid of honour to Catherine of Aragon. They had three sons together. By 1540, he had returned to the king’s favour and received sites and estates from the dissolved Boxley Abbey. In 1541, he was again charged with treason. Queen Catherine Howard intervened, and the charges were dropped on the condition that he reconcile with his wife. He was pardoned and returned to his role as ambassador. After Catherine Howard’s execution, rumours spread that Wyatt’s wife, Elizabeth, might become Henry VIII’s next wife, though she was still married to Wyatt. He became ill soon after and died on 11 October 1542, at about age 39. Thomas the younger inherited Allington and Boxley, but both estates were in debt. His father had also given property in Dorset to his mistress, Elizabeth, further reducing the inheritance.
Thomas, the younger, married Jane Haute at 16 and developed a reputation for being wild and impulsive.
In 1543, he drew official attention for causing a serious public disturbance in London. Subsequently, he volunteered for the Siege of Landrecies and later assumed military leadership during the Siege of Boulogne.
In 1547, he was elected to the House of Commons as a Member of Parliament for Kent.
Wyatt’s earlier experiences with the Spanish Inquisition during his time with his father fueled his strong dislike of the Spanish government. This background influenced him when, in January 1554, Queen Mary I announced her intention to marry Philip of Spain. As a result, Wyatt met with other rebels at Allington Castle and later led the failed Wyatt's Rebellion in 1554.
Following the failed rebellion, the Crown seized the castle. On April 11, 1554, Wyatt was beheaded and quartered for his actions. His head was hung from a gallows until it was stolen on April 17, and his limbs were displayed in different towns.
In 1583, Elizabeth I granted Allington Castle to Sir John Astley (c. 1507–1596) of Maidstone. Astley, who served various court roles and was Master of the Jewel Office, did not live at the castle. Instead, two farmhouses were built on the grounds while the rest of the castle continued to fall into ruin.
Later in the 1500s, a large fire contributed further to the castle’s deterioration by destroying much of the Great Hall and the northeast wing.
During the 1600s, the castle was leased to John Best the Younger, who lived with his family in the newer part of the structure. To accommodate and repair fire-damaged sections, he removed the battlements and added a half-timbered, gabled second story to the east and west wings. As Catholics, the family used a room in the east tower as their private chapel. Today, a priest hole remains in the gatehouse lodge, indicating the persecution Catholics faced at that time. However, the oldest part of the castle continued to deteriorate despite these changes.
In 1631, after Best's tenancy, Sir John Sedley, 2nd Baronet of Great Chart (1600 - 1673), acquired the Castle, but it was sold in 1657.
Eventually, in 1720, after several changes in ownership, Sir Robert Marsham, the 2nd Baron Romney and a descendant of the Wyatts, acquired the castle. Like previous absentee owners, he did not live there, and the structure was left to deteriorate.
Over the next two centuries, as ownership changed hands yet again, various alterations and additions were made to the castle. The structure evolved into a fortified compound with six towers, unevenly spaced along the curtain wall, and included domestic buildings, including one of England’s first long galleries.
In the early 19th century, another fire struck, destroying the top of the Long Gallery. About 20 years later, Charles Marsham, 5th Earl of Romney, almost demolished the castle. However, local residents, including the Rector of St. Lawrence Church, persuaded him to spare it. By then, the structure was in ruins: the Penchester wing was abandoned and used as a quarry for building materials, and the ground floor of the Long Gallery was converted into two farmhouses. Meanwhile, older parts of the castle, already damaged by fire, continued to decay from neglect and vandalism.
By 1841, as the property continued to function primarily as farmhouses, the Allington parish dwellings had a population of 49. One occupant in one of the castle farmhouses was Robert Fauchon. He was a farmer and his only daughter, Elizabeth, had died at the castle on 17 July 1815, at the age of 15, after suffering from illness. He died in 1844, and his son John remained there working until 1871. Thomas Pack was another farmer in the other farmhouse. When he died in 1860, their only son, Thomas, was already married, living in Ditton and working his own farm, so the widow Mary Pack continued to operate the 230-acre farm, employing 14 men and 6 boys, along with their three daughters, for over another decade. In 1881, at the age of 84, she had retired and moved to Gads Hill Higham with her daughters.
By the late 19th century, in 1895, Dudley C. Falke, a retired London barrister, rented the castle from Lord Romney and began restoration efforts. However, costs quickly became prohibitive, stalling his plans.
A new phase began in 1905, when Falke contacted Sir William Martin Conway, a well-known explorer and archaeologist seeking a historic property. Soon after, Conway bought the castle’s freehold from Lord Romney for £4,800. He initiated restoration between 1919 and 1937, working with architects W. D. Caroe and Philip Tilden, and with his wife, Katrina, and stepfather, Manton Marble. Craftsmen from Corbens, a local building firm, ensured the renovations stayed true to the castle's historic style. Conway and his daughter Agnes, also an archaeologist, researched the castle’s history. He opened the castle to the public for a small donation to charity, allowing visitors to see the restoration process and tour the property once it was finished.
By 1914, much restoration was finished. The gatehouse, Penchester wing, and Long Gallery were rebuilt, and an old dovecot became a study for Agnes Conway. Postwar, efforts continued outside.
In 1918, Sir William entered Parliament as a Unionist Member of the Combined English Universities and held the seat until 1931, when he was elevated to the peerage.
The Great Hall was rebuilt by 1927, and the northeast wing was restored by 1932.
In 1931, the civil parish of Allington had a population of 114. On 1 April 1932, the parish was abolished, although the parishioners, including Sir William Conway, objected; it was eventually merged with Maidstone and Boxley, and it is now in the unparished area of Maidstone.
On November 22 1933, Sir William's wife died at the government Hospital in Jerusalem. She had been visiting her daughter Agnes when she was taken ill.
On November 17 1934, Sir William, age 77, remarried to Ina Lawson, age 32. She was the widow of Reginald Lawson, who owned Saltwood Castle. He had died in a shooting accident, age 38, at Saltwood Castle in 1930. Ina had been a personal friend of his wife, and they shared a passion for antiques and castle restoration.
In 1935, Alfred C. Blossom, architect and MP for Maidstone, decided to rent the castle as his summer residence.
When Sir William Martin Conway died on April 19 1937, his daughter, Agnes Conway, inherited the castle. By then, restoration had stopped due to a lack of funds, and the castle had been leased to Alfred Bossom.
On the night of December 8 1945, a bomb fell on the ground of Allington Castle. Mr & Mrs Blossom, with some home guards, found a big crater on the lawn. They stood talking for a few minutes before leaving, and almost immediately after, the bomb exploded.
Agnes later returned with her husband, George Horsfield, in 1946. After Agnes died in 1950, her husband sold the castle to the Order of Carmelites from nearby Aylesford Priory for £15,000. One of Sir William's wishes was that the property be used for the people.
The castle became a Grade I listed building in 1951 and was managed by the Institute of Our Lady of Mount Carmel from 1951 to 1958. They carried out major repairs and restorations, held retreats and reflection days, and hosted events such as festivals, film screenings, theatre shows, barn dances, and concerts. Held medieval markets, fairs and festivals, and annual activities like fireworks and Christmas craft fairs. They also organised open days with tours to raise funds. People could take a cabin cruiser from Maidstone to Allington Castle. It remained a lively place and community hub for locals and their groups, like the scouts and Archery teams, who would use the castle land.
In Aug 1959, Margaret Irwin, the novelist, was staying at the Castle to complete a new book titled “That Great Lucifer.” Her books were legion at the time. She wrote a factual biography of Sir Walter Raleigh.
Later, the castle became a centre for ecumenical work within the Aylesford monastic community, which took over its management. More renovations were done to provide accommodation and facilities for residents. In September 1972, Allington Castle became an independent priory.
In 1975, an application was submitted to convert the garages into study bedrooms.
In April 1876, they built a recording studio that would be used by the Order of Carmelite Friars to produce programmes for BBC Radio Medway, hospital radio and other organisations. Its official name |is Whitefriars Recording Studio, and it was located in what was formerly a passageway in the castle. The studio was blessed by Father John Stapleton, the BBC's religious advisor.
In 1990, after decades as a convent, the friars left. The Castle was put up for sale, along with its outbuildings and 40 acres of land. was marketed as suitable for hotel and restaurant development, subject to planning permission. Maidstone council's Art and recreation committee agreed it had a duty” to ensure the castle retained its appearance and stayed open to the public but the council said they would not be buying it. They were open to discussions with potential interested parties about possible cooperation and partnership arrangements.
In March 1991, the Allington Castle Trust, which had formed to safeguard the castle's future, announced its intention to disband. They realised they could not raise enough money to buy the castle. They had only raised £1.7 million, but agents for the castle said £5 million would be nearer the mark. The castle was looked at by the London Brompton - By - Bow neighbourhood church, which was considering using it, as it had been, as a retreat and low-key conference centre. The agents said there were several people interested, some described as interesting and unusual, but it would go to the highest bidder. Strange, as in a 1995 article, it was said it was on the market for 1.5 million.
In November 1996, it was reported that the new owners had put in an application to the council to transform Allington Castle into an international conference centre and residential training centre. proposals to convert a barn on the land into an indoor swimming pool, with associated leisure facilities for private use and an annexe into a holiday home, all given the go-ahead.
In 1999, the castle returned to being a private home. It was bought by Sir Robert Worcester KBE, DL, an American-born British pollster and founder of MORI (Market & Opinion Research International Ltd.). Although the castle is a private home, the Great Hall is decorated with medieval-style tapestries and antique furniture.
The owners also leased several boat moorings for long-term, non-residential use.
On 5 September 2025, Sir Robert died at age 91. His wife had died in 2020, so it is unclear what will happen to the castle next.
The Kentish Lady Riverboat tour makes a special stop at Allington Castle as part of a weekly pre-booked trip. You can enjoy a private tour around the vibrant, eco-friendly garden and the magnificent Great Hall. More details can be found on the Riverboat Tours website:
Over the decades, the castle and gardens have been rented for weddings and for film or television productions, and past productions filmed there have been:
1962: Tim Waltz's film Waltz of the Toreadors, the location was changed from France to Allington Castle
1965: episode “Castle De’ath” of The Avengers TV series.
1965: British television adaptation of A Tale of Two Cities produced by the BBC (a TV movie/serial) starring Jack Gwillim as Jarvis Lorry. The Film crew used Allington Castle as the stand-in for the Bastille.
1971: BBC film Mary, Queen of Scots was also filmed at the castle.
1974: Terry Scott, a comedian, part of the Terry and June Happy Ever After series, used the castle as backdrop scenery for ‘Terry’s funny dream’.
1974: the castle was depicted as Locksley Castle of Lord Gilbert during the Crusades era in the children’s movie Robin Hood Junior, starring Keith Chegwin as young Robin.
1977: Dick Emery's Saturday show, featuring two Great Danes from the yellow pages advert, was filmed in the castle gardens.
1987 Religious TV programme Highway, featuring Sir Harry Secombe, was filmed at the castle and was broadcast on 5 June
1988: Paul Daniels presented a live Halloween Special at Allington Castle
1992: The ABC network aired the TV series, “Covington Cross”, using external shots and views of the castle in the series.
2011: The CBBC historical sketch show Horrible Histories used the castle for the Richard III song.
2015–2018: The castle was one of several locations used for the E! TV series The Royals
2018: The Swedish band Little Dragon filmed the music video for “Lover Chanting” at the castle.
2024: Filming for a female-led comedy set in the Dark Ages called Seize Them! by Entertainment Film Distributors took place at Allington Castle, which doubles for Queen Dagan’s castle throughout the film.
**PARANORMAL ACTIVITY**
Local legend tells of a maid who was hanged for drowning her illegitimate child in the moat. Her ghost is said to haunt the castle, with sightings near Solomon’s Tower and in the King’s Tower garden. I found some evidence of this in an article from the Maidstone Journal and Kentish Advertiser dated July 1, 1890, “Castles, Old Halls and Abbeys of Kent” by W. Dampike XVI.—Allington Castle. The article quotes Mr Russel’s ‘History of Maidstone,’ which describes the Kent assizes of 1678, when a young woman was executed for killing her newborn by throwing it from an upper window of the castle.Witnesses have also reported hearing phantom footsteps, which might be echoes from the past still lingering within the castle walls.
BINBURY CASTLE
THURNHAM MAIDSTONE
No Website - Ruins
(Latitude:51° 18' 44" N Longitude:0° 35' 52" E Lat/Long (dec):51.31235,0.59785)
**HISTORY**
This medieval castle, built between 1090 and 1539 AD, stands on the old Detling airfield and an industrial estate. It is protected as a nationally important site under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979.
The castle features a 100-foot-wide motte and bailey, with the remains of a masonry tower still visible within the bailey area.
The castle is located on the North Downs tableland, which is now part of the former Detling airfield. The manor was once owned by Bishop Odo of Bayeux.
After Bishop Odo lost his lands, Binbury Manor was taken over by Gilbert de Magminot.
The manor was once called Bingeberry. After Odo's fall from favour in Norman times, it became part of the Barony of Magminot. The owners had to provide soldiers to guard Dover Castle, showing that Binbury was important for military reasons early on.
Later, the manor and nearby Thurnham passed to the de Northwode family during Edward III's reign (1327 to 1377), but tragedy struck them. Lady Northwode died when the loose, sandy ground gave way beneath her as she watched a fox dig out, causing the hill to collapse and suffocate her before help could arrive.
Today, the castle survives as earthworks, including a large earthen mound, or motte, surrounded by a wide moat. To the southeast, you can see the remains of a walled bailey and a tower, likely a mural tower.
The motte is an oval-shaped mound that rises about 5 meters above the surrounding ground.
A moat surrounds the motte, though it is partly filled in on the north, west, and south sides. To the east, the moat was deliberately filled and now lies buried. The castle bailey is beyond the filled moat on the southeast side. Originally, a wall enclosed this area, but now only the ruins of a possible mural tower remain, which were later included in a medieval manor house.
During World War II, air raid shelters were built into the mound. These shelters have brick entrances, a main chamber at ground level made of steel and concrete, and a brick ventilation shaft.
There is also a concrete World War II bunker in the northwestern corner of the site, on the outer bank of the moat.
Even with changes from wartime use and manor house building, Binbury motte-and-bailey castle is still fairly well preserved. The motte and the bailey area have mostly remained untouched, preserving archaeological remains and environmental evidence. These remains help to learn about how the bailey was built and used, as well as the economy and daily life of the people who lived there.
**PARANORMAL ACTIVITY**
GhostConnections has investigated the site, but they have no firm evidence to report besides Clairvoyant results, which they provide upon request.
LEEDS CASTLE
LEEDS MAIDSTONE ME17
**HISTORY**
Leeds Castle, often called the 'Enchanted Castle of Kent,' has stood for 1,000 years. It witnessed many important events in the 14th and 15th centuries and is seen as one of the most remarkable buildings in the British Isles. As one of Kent's oldest castles, it is also among England's most picturesque, set on two small islands in a peaceful lake.
Over the years, the Castle has had many uses. It was a Norman stronghold, home to six medieval queens, a palace for Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, a Jacobean country house, a Georgian mansion, and a retreat for famous guests. Today, it is one of Britain's most visited historic sites.
From 857, the site was owned by a Saxon chief who built a wooden structure on two islands in the middle of the River Len.
In 1119, Robert de Crevequer (1090-1154) rebuilt the castle in stone as a Norman stronghold. He also helped establish Leeds Priory that same year, bringing in three canons for the castle chapel. He is remembered for his work on the castle and the nearby lands in Kent.
In 1278, the castle was bought by King Edward I's Queen, Eleanor of Castile, by purchasing a debt bond from Jewish moneylenders.
In 1321, during Edward II's reign (1307 to 1327), Leeds Castle became involved in a baronial uprising against the king, focused on opposing the Despenser family. The castle had been given to Bartholomew de Badlesmere, whose wife, Margaret de Clare, acted as constable that year. Badlesmere supported Edward II and opposed the baronial reformers, making the castle a target during the conflict. The castle was besieged from 26 to 31 October 1321 and surrendered to the rebels.
After the wider rebellion was suppressed, Badlesmere was captured, attainted and executed in April 1322 for his treasonous part in resisting the crown’s opponents.
In Summer 1326, Queen Isabella of France (known as the She Wolf of France) landed in England with an army; Roger Mortimer (1st Earl of March) joined her (reports of an affair while they plotted against Edward II and the Dispenser family circulated). In Autumn 1326, they advanced through southeast England, securing castles and support along the way. The king's forces began to desert him in support of the Queen.
In October 1326, Sir Alan Buxhull was the constable of Leeds Castle. He refused Queen Isabella entry, leading to another siege. The castle was eventually surrendered to Queen Isabella during her campaign. Her son, who became King Edward III in 1326 at age 14, later led a successful coup against Mortimer, who was then ruling England. Mortimer was executed in 1330, and the Queen was placed under house arrest, but she kept the castle until her death in 1358.
King Edward III (1327 – 1377) did not follow tradition and grant the Castle to his Queen, Philippa of Hainault. He retained ownership and made improvements to the buildings, including new outer gates with two portcullises, a new drawbridge, and the refurbishment of the royal apartments in the Gloriette.
In 1382, King Richard II (1377–1399) gave the castle to Queen Anne of Bohemia, and they visited often until she died of the plague in 1394. After her death, King Richard used the castle only a few times for business and leisure. The castle was then granted to private owners for a short time. When King Henry IV ascended the throne (1399–1413), he followed tradition and gave Leeds Castle to his Queen, Joan of Navarre. In 1412, she gave it to the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Arundel.
In 1517, during King Henry VIII's reign (1509- 1547), he made significant improvements to the Castle, transforming it into a Royal Palace for his queen, Catherine.
By 1618, the owner, Warham St. Leger, sold Leeds Castle to Sir Richard Smythe, when he needed to finance his expedition with Sir Walter Raleigh to Guyana.
In 1632, Smythe constructed a large Jacobean house on the north end of the island, where the New Castle now stands.
In 1665, while it was in the hands of the Culpeper family, the Gloriette was leased to the Government to house Dutch prisoners from the Anglo-Dutch War. Unfortunately, a fire started by these prisoners partially destroyed the Gloriette.
In 1749, Robert Fairfax, the owner at the time, drastically altered the appearance of the Jacobean house, making it resemble the Gothic style Strawberry Hill House in Twickenham.
In May 1785, a cricket match took place between the Millers and the Leeds Eleven, with a ‘Good ordinary’ served at the Swan at Park Gate (now the Park Gate Inn, within the Golf Course). Throughout the 19th century, cricket matches became a regular event at the castle for countrymen, workers, and soldiers.
In January 1811, while General Philip Martin owned the castle, a theft occurred. Someone broke into the butler's pantry and stole silver items marked with the family arms. A reward of 50 guineas was offered for the thief. William Wood, age 38, was caught with only two plates as evidence; the rest had been melted down. At the March Kent Lent Assizes, he was sentenced to death.
In 1821, Fiennes Wykeham Martin inherited the Castle and immediately began reconstruction work, demolishing the house to build a ‘New Castle’ in a more fitting medieval style.
For a full in-depth timeline of the history of the Castle, please refer to additional resources HERE
Over the centuries, it was used to incarcerate nobility and religious figures awaiting trial or execution.
In 1419, Queen Joan of Navarre, second wife of Henry IV, who was unpopular after her husband's death, was accused of sorcery against the life of her stepson, Henry V. She was deprived of all her revenues and imprisoned, first at Leeds Castle, and then placed in solitary confinement at Pevensey Castle. Shortly before Henry’s death, however, he had had a change of heart; Joan returned to Leeds Castle in March 1422 under much milder conditions, and in July she was freed and all her property restored to her. She outlived her stepson and died in 1437.
In 1441-2, Eleanor, the wife of Duke Humphrey, of Gloucester (uncle and protector of Henry VI. ), was put on trial with a trumped-up charge against her alleging " that she, by sorcery and enchantment, intended to destroy the King to the intent to advance and promote her husband to the crown." The trial took place at Leeds Castle in the Chapel. The charge was melting a figure of the King before a slow fire by means of magic, and she was considered dangerous on the grounds that by her sorcery she could cause his natural body to consume away as easily as his waxen effigy had melted. She was sentenced to do public penance by walking barefoot and lightly clad through the streets of London. and her male confederates were executed. She was incarcerated in Leeds Castle, then moved to Liverpool Castle, and then eventually imprisoned for life in the Isle of Man.
Sir Robert Filmer (c. 1588 – 26 May 1653) was an English political theorist who defended the divine right of kings. He was knighted by King Charles 1st. In the early 1640s, during the civil war, one of his tenants claimed that Filmer had hidden arms for the Royalists, although this was apparently a false charge. His house was plundered around 10 times, and his estates were eventually sequestered, and he was imprisoned at Leeds Castle for several years for his loyalty toward the King.
In 1646, Reverend John Reading (1588–1667) was an English priest of Calvinist views and a Biblical commentator. He was imprisoned at Dover Castle in 1646, but the following day, he was removed to Leeds Castle after a rumour of a plot to seize Dover Castle by troops from the continent. After several months, he was discharged by the parliamentary Committee of Kent, which found no reason for his detention, and an order was issued to return his possessions, but this was ignored, leaving him impoverished.
The Moat was a dangerous place for those who could not swim. On November 30 1843, the son of Mr Williams, a Butler for Leeds Castle, was sent on an errand to pay a bill but never returned. On January 1 1844, the children of the owner, Charles Wykeham Martin, saw a cap floating in the moat. They dragged through the water and found the body of the young boy. This was not the first or the last of moat drownings. In 1827, a groom was catapulted into the moat from a horse and chaise that hit a tree branch. In 1848, a gardener collecting water for the garden slipped in and drowned.
Many people died at the castle, especially among the nobility, including members of the Martin family, in the 19th century. For example, Sybilla Martin, sister of General Philip Martin and niece of Lord Fairfax, died on February 7, 1816, at age 86. Her brother had gained Leeds Castle upon his brother Denny's death, where he lived unmarried with his two sisters. Anna Susannah was next in 1817, then the General in 1821. The 7th death was Mrs Wykeham-Martin, who suffered a stroke on January 16, 1893, and died on January 25. Two servants, a steward and a housekeeper in their fifties, also died suddenly at the castle during this period.
In 1927, after the death of Fairfax Wykeham Martin, that was the end of the Martin family ownership for nearly a century, and the castle was sold to Mr Arthur Thomas Wilson - Filmer, nephew of Sir Robert Filmer, who had married Olive Cecilia Paget, the daughter of Lord Queensborough, and they intended to spend £100,000 on improvements. They were divorced in December 1930, after which Olive retained possession of the castle. On 4 November 1931, she married Sir Adrian Baillie, 6th Baronet, and Unionist Party MP for Linlithgowshire, gaining the title of Lady Baillie. They had one son: Gawaine George Hope Baillie.
During World War II in 1939, the Castle played a crucial role in a secret project to develop weapons and safety systems and hosted several important meetings, including one between Field Marshal Montgomery and Sir Bertram Ramsay.
Sir Adrian and Lady Baillie divorced in 1944, and upon his death in 1947, her son succeeded him as the 7th Baronet. Lady Baillie died in London on 9 September 1974, fifteen days before her 75th birthday. and bequeathed the Castle and its 500-acre park to the nation, under the trusteeship of the Leeds Castle Foundation. The Castle was subsequently opened to the public.
**PARANORMAL ACTIVITY**
The castle is known for its famous ghosts, and you can find YouTube videos showing supposed ghost sightings and stories of paranormal activity. Check out the GofEPS playlist to see more.People say the ghost of Henry VIII, sometimes with his wives, still walks around the castle. Both security staff and visitors have reported seeing what they believe is King Henry VIII’s apparition.Some witnesses have seen a ghostly woman gliding through the corridors. Many believe this is Eleanor Cobham, Duchess of Gloucester and wife of the Lord Protector. She was accused of witchcraft and held at Leeds before her trial there in the chapel in 1440.Another ghostly woman, seen in a long flowing dress brushing her hair in the Queen’s room, is thought by some to be Lord Fairfax’s wife.In 2010, another ghost was reportedly caught on YouTube at the castle. People say it is the spirit of one of Henry VIII’s daughters, who died at just 13 months old.The most famous haunting is not a person, but the ghost of a black dog. Witnesses describe it as a black, curly-haired retriever that can pass through walls and closed doors. The dog is said to have belonged to the Witch Duchess Eleanor. Over time, the black dog became linked to death and bad luck, but not everyone sees it as a bad omen. One story, shared by the Wykeham-Wentworth family, suggests otherwise:A woman was sitting in a bay window, watching the sunset, when a black dog appeared in the room. It looked real, and as it crossed the room, she got ready to greet it. Suddenly, the dog vanished into the wall. She stood up to investigate, and soon after she left her seat, the bay window cracked and broke away, falling into the moat below. If she had not moved, she might have fallen to her death. So perhaps the dog is not such a bad omen after all.There are also reports of other ghostly dogs, possibly the pets of Lady Ballies. These include a small white dog and a larger dark-colored dog, thought to be her white terrier, Smudge, and her Great Dane, Boots.
THURNHAM CASTLE (ALSO KNOWN AS GODARD'S CASTLE)
WHITE HORSE WOOD COUNTRY PARK DETLING ME14
**HISTORY**
Godard's Castle may be named after the Bishop of Rouen, who lived from 488 to 525 and was known by several names, including Gildard, Gildardus, Gildaredus, Godard, or Godardus. He was later canonised a saint in the Roman Catholic Church, and the Sarum Rite's missal refers to him as a confessor.
After its early association with the Bishop of Rouen, finds of urns in the area suggest that the Romans also established a station here. Godard's Castle is probably a Roman relic, although the Saxons might have repaired or used it later.
Some believe the site served as a military post for the English before Caesar's time. Its hilltop location on the edge of the North Downs offered a clear view of the valley and made it easier to control the surrounding land.
There are several theories about the site. For more details, visit the Kent Archaeology website:
Here is what I found about the site after the Norman conquest of 1066.
Thurnham Manor was under the control of Bishop Odo of Bayeux, who was made Earl of Kent after the Norman Conquest of England, but in 1076, Odo was tried before a large and senior assembly over three days at Penenden Heath in Kent for defrauding the Crown and the Diocese of Canterbury. At the conclusion of the trial, he was forced to return a number of properties, and his assets were re-apportioned. Then, in 1082, he was imprisoned and stripped of his assets for planning a military expedition to Italy.
In the medieval period, the Domesday Book from 1086 shows that Ralph de Courbepine held the land. He was a Norman tenant-in-chief of Bishop Odo and half-brother of William the Conqueror. The record mentions a church and a mill, but not a castle.
Thurnham Manor was granted (post‑1086) to Gilbert de Magminot, another Norman Bishop. The holders under Magminot were the knights of the de Say family; Robert de Say took the name Robert de Thurnham from the place.
By the 12th century, Robert built Thurnham Castle during Henry II's reign (1154–1189). However, Henry II often ordered the demolition of 'adulterine' castles built without royal permission, so the castle may never have been completed. Today, one side of the bailey wall still stands at 10 feet high and once enclosed about a quarter of an acre. The large motte shows no visible stonework.
Robert’s sons, Stephen de Thurnham and his younger brother Robert, who were great-grandsons of Ralph de Courbepine, continued the family’s legacy by joining Richard the Lionheart on the Third Crusade (1189 to 1192). Robert led the English fleet and later became governor of Cyprus. Stephen was chosen to escort the Queen Mother.
In the early 1200s, after both brothers died, the manor stayed with related local gentry. A charter from 1215 mentions the lands within the castle walls.
In the reign of Edward I (1272 to 1307), Thurnham Manor was held by Sir Roger de Northwode, Warden of the Cinque Ports and Baron of the Exchequer, who died 19 November 1286, leaving it to his son John, (1254 -May 26, 1319) who had married Joan de Badlesmere (Badlesmere family were connected to Leeds Castle) Their son John (b1275) who married Lady Agnes de Grandison died a year before his father in 1318, so his son Roger (1307-1361) inherited it and became 2nd Baron de Nothwode. He married Juliane, the daughter of Geoffrey de Say, chief lord of the manor. Son John (1321 - 1379), the third baron, served in France during the Hundred Years' War. When he married Joan Hert in 1350, he was disinherited by his father for marrying beneath him, so his brother, Roger de Northwode (1328- 1378), inherited it, but he alienated Thurnham. He married Margaret de Halgton, but they had no children. The other Northwodes are said to have resided in Thurnham, but the castle is thought to have been dismantled at an early period.
In the late 14th / 15th century, it was granted or sold to Robert Corbie of Boughton Malherbe (late 1300s), and later passed by marriage to the Wotton family via the Northwode/Wotton marriage. In 1416, Sir Nicholas Wotton (through his marriage to Joane de Northwood) held Thurnham.
The Culpepers acquired Thurnham later by purchase/inheritance after the Wottons’ line diminished.
Sir John Cutts (1545–1615) held Thurnham Castle's manor and lands in Kent through inheritance and marriage ties to the Culpeper family.
The Cutts family's tenure appears to have been limited to his generation and immediate heirs, and in the 17th century, it passed by marriage from the Wottons — Catherine Wotton married Henry, Lord Stanhope (c.1631); thereafter, it was sold by the Stanhopes.
The estate later passed to the Dalton family, who became known as the Daltons of Thurnham.
In 1822, Thurnham Farm was to be sold by auction, consisting of 113 ACRES of ARABLE, MEADOW, and WOOD LAND, CHALK-PIT, LIME KILN, FARMHOUSE, Stabling and Outhouses; also the remains of that ancient Building THURNHAM CASTLE—the whole at present let to a respectable yearly tenant, at considerably under its value at £6O per annum.
It sold it to the St. Leger family, who owned nearby land. By then, the castle was already in ruins. The estate, which stretched from Pilgrim's Road to Stockbury Road, was auctioned on July 10, 1850, at the Mart near the Bank of England in London. It included the ruins of a Roman watchtower, a keep, and a former Roman station. Its high position offers wide views of the valley and countryside. The property covers 114 acres, with 62 acres of meadow and pasture, 42 acres of arable land, and 9 acres of chestnut and oak plantation. There are two cottages, a barn, cattle lodges, and sheds, all in good condition. Two deep wells provide water. A lime kiln and chalk pit are next to the road from Thurnham to Sittingbourne, which crosses the estate. The old castle site was advertised as a potential house site. The property was bordered by Thurnham glebe land and the estates of Sir G. Hampson and the Earl of Aylesford.
After the 1850 auction, parts of the land and its contents, including meadows, newer houses, and cow sheds, were sold at later auctions.
In 1859, workers on Sir George Hampson's estate were levelling a chalk mound in a field near the top of Thurnham Hill, close to the castle. After digging two or three feet through the chalk, they reached natural soil. A few feet deeper, they found the remains of seven people arranged in a circle around the mound, with their heads pointing to the centre and the feet of some meeting the heads of those in the outer row. The remains of a horse were also found with them, but there were no relics to show who these people were. The bodies were well preserved, and one skull was placed in the Maidstone Museum. Most of the mound was left untouched.
Many years later, in 1983, Mr H. Batchelor, who owned the castle at the time, allowed surveys to take place for two years.
In 1986, the castle and 13 acres of land were put up for auction.
In 1999, Kent County Council began creating a new country park after clinching a deal of 65 acres of farm and woodland at Detling, and the Castle, and it was named ‘The White Horse Millennium Wood and Country Park Project’. They cleared away the undergrowth and created pathways so the public could visit and enjoy a variety of countryside activities.
**PARANORMAL ACTIVITY**
One ghost story tells of a seven-foot-tall man in a green and blue tunic. He is said to brush past visitors and wave his arms wildly. He has no face and short hair.In 2005, Ghost Connections conducted an investigation, and you can read their detailed report HERE.In 2013, Ghost Connections got a message from James. He confirmed one of their findings and shared his and his friends' experiences during their visit, including the story mentioned above.