Queenborough Castle

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Sheppey; Quynborow; Quinborough

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

Scant traces of castle of unique circular concentric design built by Edward III in 1361-77. Unconventional circular plan with 6 rounded towers projecting from an inner curtain wall. Concentric outer wall. Pulled down in 1650. Probably mounted cannon and formed part of Thames defence but was, for a while, a favoured royal residence so, by no means, a stark artillery fort.

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

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is TQ91237215

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; 420340

• Web site links
  • http://www.channel4.com/history/timeteam/2006_queen.html
• Books
  • Salter, Mike, 2000, The Castles of Kent (Malvern) p58-9
    Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p133 [slight]
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol1 p232
    Newman, John, 1983, The buildings of England: North east and east Kent (Harmondsworth) p419
    Guy, John, 1980, Kent Castles (Meresborough Books)
    Smithers, David Waldron, 1980, Castles in Kent (Chatham)
    Colvin, H.M., Ransome, D.R. and Summerson, John, 1975, The history of the King's Works Vol3: 1485-1660 (part 1) (London) p292-293
    Colvin, H.M., Brown, R.Allen and Taylor, A.J., 1963, The history of the King's Works Vol2: the Middle Ages (London: HMSO) p793-804
    Toy, Sidney, 1953, The Castles of Great Britain (Heinemann) p207-8
    Toy, Sidney, 1939, Castles: A short History of Fortifications from 1600 BC to AD 1600 (London) p165-9
    Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
    Chalkley Gould and Downham, 1908, in Page, Wm (ed), VCH Kent Vol1 p408-9
    Mackenzie, J.D., 1897, Castles of England (Heinemann) Vol1 p30-2
    Hasted, Edward, 1778-99, A History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent Vol2 p656-7
    Grose, F., 1756, Antiquities of England and Wales Vol3 p90-3
    Clapham and Godfrey, n.d., Some Famous Buildings (Westminster) p271-5
• Journal Articles
  • Anon, 2006-7, 'Time Team at Queenborough' Castle Studies Group Journal Vol20 p165-7 [Brief report of Time Team Excavation]
    Hodge, C., 1998, 'The castles of Kent no4: Queenborough Castle' Kent Archaeological Society Newsletter Vol42 p2-4
    Kenyon, J.R., 1981 'Early Artillery Fortifications in England and Wales: a Preliminary Survey and Re-appraisal' Archaeological Journal Vol138 p209
    1949, Country Life Vol21 p136
    D'Elboux, B.H., 1945, Coats of arms in Queenborough Castle’, Archaeologia Cantiana Vol58 p14-27
    Cockerell, 1845, Proceeding of the Archaeological Institute p6-8
• Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
  • William Camden, 1607, Britannia [http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/cambrit/kenteng.html#kent16]
• Other sources and unpublished works (Theses, in-house reports and other such)
  • 2005, Queenborough Castle, Isle of Sheppey, Kent - Time Team archaeological evaluation (Wessex Archaeology)