TONBRIDGE CASTLE

Kent

Tonbridge is Kent's best motte and bailey, although today it's focus is the great Gatehouse.  A Castle was built here as early as 1070, which was most likely timber.  It is uncertain when stonework began to arrive at Tonbridge, although its position by the Medway suggests it may have been quite soon.  It was certainly there by the time King John laid siege to the Castle in 1215 and captured it with little effort.  Soon afterwards it was strengthened and the keep was made more solid.

The Gatehouse, one of the best examples of its kind, was built by 1275 and probably inspired Edward I great gatehouses which are the focal point for his Welsh Castles.

Tonbridge saw virtually no action until the Civil War, merely passing from one set of politically devious owners to another.  By the Civil War the Castle was powerful and it withstood an attack in 1643.  The Castle wasn't slighted, unusually, but bits began to fall off in 1692 (when a big chunk of the south wall dropped into the Medway).

What remained of the Castle by 1900 was opened to the public and it stands in a public park today, the Gatehouse being opened during the summer months.

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2001