Mary le Bone Hill, Sandwich

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Manwood Road

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

Motte and bailey seen as a cropmark/soilmark seen located to the west of Sandwich on Mary-le-Bone Hill. The site was mapped from aerial photographs as part of the English Heritage: Richborough Environs Project. In 1995 an evaluation by Martin Herdman of single trial trench cut ahead of development on the other side of Manwood Road to the proposed castle site. Three large features were recorded; the earliest was a 3.2m wide ditch dated by ceramics to c.1150-1200, which may suggest an earlier foundation for the castle. The next year Ian Stewart and Keith Parfitt did an excavation comprising twelve trenches and eleven test-pits carried out following an evaluation (Event 1073530) and initial monitoring of topsoil stripping. A major ditch and associated earthen rampart were recorded along with medieval building remains asjacent to Manwood Road and clearly representing a hitherto part of Sandwich Castle. Position close to church suggests, to me, early foundation and probably the original timber castle. The later masonry castle (ibid) was built outside the town wall in a presumably less cramped site.

This site has been described as a;
Timber Castle.
The confidence that this site is a medieval fortification or palace is Certain.
Cropmarks/slight earthworks remains.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is TR33245808

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; 468353

• Web site links
  • http://www.sandwich-town.our-place.co.uk/studies/archaeologies.html