Allington Castle

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Alington

In the civil parish of Maidstone.
In the historic county of Kent (Modern Authority of Kent, 1974 county of Kent).

Square fortified country house with a moat connecting to the River Medway. The first castle on the site is believed to have been a motte and bailey constructed around the time of the Norman Conquest. This was demolished by Henry II. Subsequently a small manor house was built on the site. The present building was erected by Stephen de Penchester between 1279 and 1299, with further alterations and additions in the early C14 and after 1492. It was forfeited to the crown in 1554 at Sir Thomas Wyatt's rebellion, subsequently becoming two farmhouses. Eventually falling into ruins, it was restored between 1905 and 1929 by Lord Conway and his architect WD Caroe. Allington Castle currently comprises a square fortified country house consisting of buildings ranged around the inside of the courtyars with a curtain wall connecting them and with semi-circular towers facing the moat. In the southwest corner is Solomon's Tower which, at four storeys, is taller than the other towers. Licence to crenellate granted to Stephen of Penchester and his wife in 1281 by Edward I.

This site has been described as a;
Timber Castle
Masonry Castle.
The confidence that this site is a medieval fortification or palace is Certain.
Major remains.

A Royal licence to crenellate was granted in 1281 May 25.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is TQ75205791

Modern Map from Good for landscape form and features	Modern Map from Good for general location
Air Photo from	1st edition OS Map from

Sources of information, references and further reading

PastScape number; 415082

• Web site links
  • http://www.touruk.co.uk/castles/castle_allington.htm
    http://viewfinder.english-heritage.org.uk/search/easy_results.asp?index=1&main_query=allington%20castle
    http://victoria.tc.ca/~tgodwin/duncanweb/documents/licence.html
• Books
  • Salter, Mike, 2000, The Castles of Kent (Malvern) p18-19
    Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p110 -11
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol1 p228
    Newman, John, 1983, The buildings of England: North east and east Kent (Harmondsworth) p124-5
    Guy, John, 1980, Kent Castles (Meresborough Books)
    Smithers, David Waldron, 1980, Castles in Kent (Chatham)
    Fry, P.S., 1980, Castles of the British Isles (David and Charles) p178
    Renn, D.F., 1973 (2edn), Norman Castles of Britain (John Baker)
    Tipping, H.A., 1921, English Homes, period 1 Vol1 (London) p189-200
    Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
    Chalkley Gould and Downham, 1908, in Page, Wm (ed), VCH Kent Vol1 p411-12
    Sands, Harold, 1907, 'Some Kentish Castles' in Ditchfield and Clinch, Memorials of Old Kent (London) p27-
    Mackenzie, J.D., 1897, Castles of England (Heinemann) Vol1 p1-5
    Timbs, J. and Gunn, A., 1872, Abbeys, Castles and Ancient Halls of England and Wales Vol1 (London) p313-4
    Turner, T.H. and Parker, J.H., 1859, Some account of Domestic Architecture in England (Oxford) Vol3 pt2 p403
    Hasted, Edward, 1778-99, A History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent Vol2 p182-5
    Buck, Samuel and Nathenial, 1774, Buck’s Antiquities (London) Vol1 p121
    Grose, F., 1756, Antiquities of England and Wales Vol3 p1-3
• Journal Articles
  • Brown, R, Allen, 1959, 'A List of Castles, 1154–1216' English Historical Review Vol74 [Reprinted in Brown, R. Allen, 1989, Castles, conquest and charters: collected papers (Woodbridge: Boydell Press) p249-280]
    1928, Country Life Vol63 p438-44
    1918, Country Life Vol42 p386-91, 404-8, 424-9
    Conway, Agnes B., 1911, ‘The Owners of Allington Castle, Maidstone (1086-1279)’ Archaeologia Cantiana Vol29 p1-39
    Conway, Sir W. Martin, 1909, ‘Allington Castle’ Archaeologia Cantiana Vol28 p337-362
• Guidebooks
  • Thornton, D., 1987, The picture story of Allington Castle (Privately published)
    McGreal, n.d. c. 1970, (Faversham)
• Primary (Medieval documents or transcriptions of such documents - This section is far from complete and the secondary sources should be consulted for full references.)
  • Calendar of Patent Rolls (1272-81) p437
• Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
  • William Camden, 1607, Britannia [http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/cambrit/kenteng.html#kent14]
    Chandler, John, 1993, John Leland's Itinerary: travels in Tudor England (Sutton Publishing) p250