SEVERNDROOG CASTLE

Kent

Frequent travellers up the A2 into London may have noticed the turrets of this Castle peeking above the trees in Castle Wood above Shooter’s Hill in Eltham, some of these travellers may have wondered what this structure is and why it came into being.

Severndroog is a prime example of a type of folly Castle known as a ‘belvedere’. It was built to a rather strange triangular plan on the orders of Lady James in 1784 to commemorate the part played by her husband, Sir William James, in the siege of the real Castle of Severndroog on the coast of Malabar in 1755 when a brief but very violent battle against pirates was concluded by Commodore James storming the Castle.

For many years the folly Castle was used as a museum to the campaign. There are three internal storeys and excellent views can be had across Blackheath and towards the Thames from the battlemented rooftop. Unfortunately, recent years have been less kind to Severndroog Castle, vandals have made it necessary to remove Sir William’s momentos and the Castle is no longer open to the public having been burnt out on several occasions.

Slow progress is being made towards re-opening, but for the moment this oddity amongst Kent’s Castles must remain merely a backdrop for summertime picnics.

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This text first appeared in "In Front" Magazine in June 1999.

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2001