TONBRIDGE & MALLING DISTRICT

STATELY HOUSES, CASTLES & TOWERS

Various Stately homes, Country houses, Castles and Towers still exist around our county of Kent and in among the history, some are rumoured to be haunted. These include Sir Winston Churchill and Charles Darwin among others. there is also a few lesser known treasures which have their own surprises in store. check out what we found so far for the District of Tonbridge & Malling.

It should not be assumed that these sites are all publicly accessible and may  be on private property. Please check first and get permission, if necessary....Do not trespass!

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​CLICK ON PICTURE FOR THE BUSINESS WEBSITE

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​If we have missed any out or you hear of any reports of Paranormal Activity at any of the ruins or the castles that arent reported here, please get in touch. Thankyou

ST LEONARDS TOWER - ST LEONARD'S ST, WEST MALLING ME19

St Leonard's Tower was built in the manor of West Malling, probably between 1077 and 1108, although its exact origins are unclear. Early theories proposed that the tower was a part of St Leonard's Church, the first records of which date from around 1120. This theory suggested that the tower was built by Gundulf, the Bishop of Rochester from 1077 onwards, who owned the manor and constructed Malling Abbey, a nearby nunnery. The tower could have acted as a bell tower for the church, which survived until the rest of the building was destroyed in the 18th century. After the founding of the abbey, which granted Gundulf some of his lands around West Malling, St Leonard's became the administrative centre of Gundulf's remaining estates, before being given to the nuns a few years later, shortly after his death in 1108. In practice, probably only Gundulf would therefore have had the time or motivation to build such a keep during this period. At some point in the post-medieval period, the tower was deliberately damaged to put it beyond military use, a process called slighting. This probably occurred towards the end of the English Civil War,  The tower was then owned by Sir John Rayney of Wrotham Place, a Royalist, who joined the Royalist forces against Sir Thomas Fairfax at the Battle of Maidstone on 1st June 1648. Although no skirmishes were recorded when Fairfax and his troops passed through West Malling to make camp at East Malling Heath on the eve of the battle, the Rayney properties in West Malling might well have been targeted as local Royalists assembled for battle at Penenden Heath and the tower would have been an effective lookout in any future conflict.

There appears to have been an attempt to bring down the whole tower by damaging the stair turret at its base, possibly using gunpowder, which failed due to the spiral staircase's unusually strong design. After this the upper storey of the tower was carefully removed instead, leaving the building roofless.
Various studies of the tower took place from the late 18th century onwards. The antiquarian Francis Grose noted in 1783 that the tower was then called the Old Jail, recording a local tradition that the abbey had used the basement as a dungeon, and the upper storeys as a prison for lesser offences. During this period, the tower was used for drying and stowing hops, probably in advance of their being taken to local kilns. The artist J. M. W. Turner visited and sketched the tower around 1791.  A group of French antiquarians visited in 1840, and commented on the considerable age of the building. Around 1863, a hole in the west wall, left by the attempted destruction of the stair turret, was filled with a new entrance way.
In the 21st century, St Leonard's Tower is managed by English Heritage and the exterior is open to visitors.  It is protected under UK law as a Grade I listed building
HAUNTINGS
The following story was reported in a local newspaper, the Gazette:
"At the end of the 19th century, Thomas Abery, West Malling blacksmith, also-ran the Joiners Arms in Gas Works Lane. One of his lodgers at the time was an Italian of dubious aristocratic origins who extracted a promise from Thomas that he would look after his incurably ill daughter if she could be transported from Italy. Although she never arrived, the Italian gentlemen was so grateful for the offer of help, he told Thomas to go to St Leonards tower at midnight where an apparition would appear to guide him to a casket of valuable jewels which would be left as a gift. At the stroke of midnight, while his family waited on the road, Thomas Abery entered the tower and the apparition appeared as promised. But just as the whereabouts of the treasure was about to be revealed, Thomas panicked and fled, never to return.
Mrs Alice Geoffries, who was 87 in 1970, was one of the children waiting on the road that night for the father to return with the jewels that would bring the family fame and wealth. She remembered how her father had described the apparition as white and so terrifying that he couldn't make himself wait long enough to receive the directions to the treasure, but she was still convinced that they were there, somewhere. Her daughter, Mrs Madeleine Friend, who also believed that they were still there, spent an exhausting time in 1970 examining the tower for any trace of them. However, the jewels have remained elusive to this day."
This events at the castle appears to have been the birth of a local legend about the tower. It speaks of a very old tale, of a beckoning figure seen leaning out of the window of St. Leonard’s Tower, who is thought to bring disaster to those who see him.
This legend has been put to the test several times, but allegedly all the people who witnessed the figure died shortly after. This series of events has helped reinforce the legend of the tower. The root of the legend seems to revolve around the secret of the hidden jewels, which could have been a trick or tale made by smugglers, to keep people away, so they could hide their stashes there.
A paranormal investigation has taken place on the Tower grounds, which included the use of a Ouija board. During the Ouija board session, communication was made which inferred the figure is actually a demon, set on the task of taking souls of those who desire everlasting riches.

TONBRIDGE CASTLE -  CASTLE STREET, TONBRIDGE,  KENT.   TN9

Following the Norman Conquest, Richard Fitz Gilbert was granted land in Kent to guard the crossing of the River Medway. He erected a simple Motte-and-bailey castle on the site. To dig the moat and erect the motte 50,000 tonnes of earth were moved. William I died in 1087 and his Anglo-Norman inheritance was split between his two eldest sons - Robert Curthose became Duke of Normandy whilst William Rufus became King William II of England. For the Norman magnates, the vast majority of whom had substantial estates on both sides of the English Channel, this was sub-optimal as they foresaw the impossibility of successfully serving two masters. Led by Odo, Bishop of Bayeux a rebellion erupted against William and this was supported by Richard De Clare (son of Fitz Gilbert). In response the King dispatched a force to attack and besiege Tonbridge Castle. Richard was present within the castle at this time and surrendered after he was wounded during the two day siege. Richard was allowed to retire to a monastery and Tonbridge Castle was burnt.
Before 1100, the De Clares ultimately accepted William II and recovered Tonbridge Castle and replaced the wooden castle with a stone shell keep. 
However, the new castle was eyed with envy by the church. Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury attempted to lay claim to it and sent a summons demanding that the then owner - Roger de Clare, Earl of Hereford - pay homage to him in order to retain the castle. Roger was less than impressed and the Archbishop's messenger was cordially invited to eat the summons complete with the wax seal!
Tonbridge Castle was attacked again in 1215 by King John. The then owner - Richard de Clare, Earl of Hereford - had been one of the barons tasked with upholding the provisions of Magna Carta. However, when that charter failed to secure peace, England descended into civil war. The King swept into Kent and seized Tonbridge Castle which then remained under Crown control until it was returned to the family by Henry III. The De Clares also supported the rebel cause when the Second Barons' War commenced in 1264 when the then owner - Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Gloucester - joined the forces of Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester. Henry responded by attacking Tonbridge seizing the castle and town along with Gilbert's wife, Alice. Undeterred, Gilbert went on to play an important role at the Battle of Lewes (1264) where Henry III was defeated and captured. The following year, the Earl changed sides and supported Prince Edward at the Battle of Evesham (1265) where Montfort was killed and Henry III released. Tonbridge Castle was returned to the family and construction of the gatehouse started at this time. The twin-towered gatehouse was built by Richard de Clare, third Earl of Hertford or his son Gilbert. Construction of the gatehouse took 30 years, being completed in 1260. The gatehouse shares many similarities with the ones at Caerphilly Castle built by Gilbert in 1268-1271. The great seal of England was temporarily kept here during one of Edward I's visits to France. In 1295 a stone wall was built around the town.
Several owners were prone to losing their lives unnaturally. The de Clares were well-known warriors, fighting in many battles during the medieval period. The first Richard was killed during a siege in Normandy, his grandson in Wales, and the last of the heirs Gilbert De Clare died at the 'Battle of Bannockburn'. Then Tonbridge Castle passed to the Stafford family, When Gilbert De Clare was killed in battle, his daughter inherited it, whose husband fell foul of domestic politics and the castle (along with the Earldom) passed to Hugh de Audley, 1st Earl of Gloucester. Thereafter it passed to Lord Ralph Stafford who added the Stafford Tower and Water Tower. Tonbridge Castle remained with the Staffords until 1520 when Edward Stafford, Duke of Buckingham was executed by Henry VIII. Tonbridge Castle had been changing hands between the Crown and its owners.
Kings fought and were entertained at Tonbridge Castle, archbishops quarrelled over its guardianship, and Henry III’s niece and Edward I’s daughter were both mistresses of the castle.

In Henry VIII’s reign the gatehouse was deemed to be "as strong a fortress as few be in England".
The castle was not lived in between 1521 and the late 18th century, except for a short period during the Civil War. The Castle was strengthened and garrisoned. Thomas Weller, who owned it at that time, was a Parliamentarian. He joined other West Kent gentlemen in opposing local unrest at Sevenoaks in 1643, and there was a three-hour skirmish on the outskirts of Tonbridge at Hilden Brook. The river crossing was fought over but not, it seems, the castle itself – though the Roundhead garrison wreaked havoc in the grounds. Later the castle was slighted on the orders of Parliament in 1646 and Weller was ordered to put the castle beyond military use by dismantling its defences. 
A later owner, John Hooker, sold stone from the castle to build locks on the River Medway, and in 1791 his son Thomas took more stone from the ruined walls to the mansion was completed in 1793. that now adjoins the Gatehouse. What was left of the once-proud fortress became a private home, then a military academy and a prep school until the site was purchased by the local council in 1899, who now use the mansion as offices, and who made the grounds a public park.
Tonbridge Castle saw military service, as part of a defensive line against possible German invasion in World War 2. Anti-tank defences and a machine-gun emplacement were constructed, and two pillboxes built into the 13th century wall devised by General Edmund Ironside and designed to slow a German invasion of mainland Britain following the defeat at Dunkirk.
Both castle and mansion are now Grade I listed buildings and in 1999, the Gatehouse at Tonbridge Castle closed to visitors and work on a £375,000 millennium project began. The missing floors on the ground and first floor levels have been replaced, and spiral staircase in the East Tower repaired.
This enables a circular tour of the gatehouse to be possible. In replacing the floors, two additional rooms have been created. An education room mainly for school and group use, provision for an exhibition space for local community use, and a second venue for Civil marriage ceremonies has been provided.  In September 2000, the Gatehouse reopened and open to the public
The castle is also the start of a 6 mile path to Penshurst Place called The Tudor Trail.
HAUNTINGS
Investigations have been done here and guests have reported footsteps and strange noises in the tunnels. In the great hall, reports of black shadows have been seen, also the smell of stale beer and the cellar gave some people strange feelings and sensations, others got a feeling of being watched as they did their investigations. Ghostly apparitions and haunting screams have also been reported by visitors within the castle and the grounds. so if you fancy an investigation, check out the Events in Kent page. 

GofEPS has visited the castle during the day and attended some Paranormal events here, so can definitely recommend a visit or investigation.

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