Thurnham Castle
Thurnham Castle , also known as Godard's Castle , is a ruined castle north of the village of Thurnham , about 5 km northwest of Maidstone in the English county of Kent .
Robert de Thurnham had the moth built from flint on a hill on the edge of the North Downs in the 12th century during the reign of King Henry II . One side of the castle wall has been preserved up to a height of 3 meters; originally it included an area of around 1000 m². There is no longer any visible masonry on the mound .
In the 12th century the fortress belonged to the De Say family and then to the De Thurnhams . Stephen and Robert de Thurnham went on a crusade with King Richard the Lionheart and became trusted henchmen, with Robert in command and later appointed Governor of Cyprus and his brother Stephen given the honor of escorting the Queen Mother. A source states that Robert de Thurnham never returned from the Crusades and the castle fell into disrepair. A charter from 1215 mentions land within the walls of the castle, so it can be assumed that the castle was already in ruins at that time, as was reported at the beginning of the 19th century.
The land was acquired by Kent County Council and incorporated into the White Horse Millennium Wood and Country Park Project . Most of the castle grounds were cleared of undergrowth and are now open to the public.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Thurnham Castle . eCastles. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
swell
- Plantagenet Somerset Fry: The David & Charles Book of Castles . David & Charles, Newton Abbott 1980. ISBN 0-7153-7976-3
Web links
Coordinates: 51 ° 17 ′ 39.2 " N , 0 ° 35 ′ 30.4" E