• Source: Tonbridge Castle

Tonbridge Castle is a 13th century castle situated in Tonbridge, Kent, England.




Early history



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. In 1088, the de Clare family (descendants of Fitz Gilbert) rebelled against King William II. His army besieged the castle. After holding for two days the castle fell and as punishment the king had both the castle and the town of Tonbridge burnt to the ground. Before 1100, the de Clares replaced the wooden castle with a stone shell keep. This was reinforced during the thirteenth century, and in 1295 a stone wall was built around the town.
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.
The castle was not lived in between 1521 and the late 18th century, except for a short period during the civil war. The mansion was added in 1793. Both castle and mansion are Grade I listed buildings.




Modern history



The site was purchased by the local council in 1900, who now use the mansion as offices, and who made the grounds a public park.
The castle is also the start of a 6-mile cycle ride to Penshurst Place called The Tudor Trail.




See also


Castles in Great Britain and Ireland
List of castles in England




References






External links



Official Website
26 historical prints
Castle History at "The Heritage Trail"
Discover the Garden of England;

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• Daftar kastel dan istana di Britania Raya
• Daftar daerah pemilihan Parlemen Britania Raya
• Daftar anggota parlemen yang terpilih dalam pemilihan umum Britania Raya 2019
• Tonbridge Castle
• Tonbridge
• Tonbridge and Malling (UK Parliament constituency)
• Castle-class corvette
• Tonbridge and Malling
• Roger de Clare, 2nd Earl of Hertford
• List of people from Tonbridge
• Dover Castle
• Caerphilly Castle
• River Medway