Thurnham Castle or Godard's Castle is situated to the north of the village of Thurnham which is 3 miles north-east of

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the c ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

(). It is a 12th-century flint-built castle constructed by Robert of Thurnham in the reign of Henry II on a hill on the edge of the

North Downs The North Downs are a ridge of chalk hills in south east England that stretch from Farnham in Surrey to the White Cliffs of Dover in Kent. Much of the North Downs comprises two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs): the Surrey Hills and ...

. One side of the bailey wall still stands 10 foot high and originally it enclosed an area of about a quarter of an acre. In the 12th century, the site belonged to the de Say family and then the Thurnhams. The site has been acquired by Kent County Council and included in the White Horse

Millennium wood A millennium (plural millennia or millenniums) is a period of one thousand years, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting point (ini ...

and Country Park Project. Much of the site has been cleared of undergrowth and public access has been provided.

References

* Fry, Plantagenet Somerset, ''The David & Charles Book of Castles'', David & Charles, 1980.

External links

A Brief History of Thurnham
Thurnham Parish Council Castles in Kent Borough of Maidstone History of Kent Ruins in Kent {{England-castle-stub

See also

References

External links