| Sutton Valence Castle | |
|---|---|
| Kent | |
 The ruinedkeep of the castle | |
| Site information | |
| Owner | English Heritage |
| Open to the public | Yes |
| Condition | Ruined |
| Location | |
  Sutton Valence Castle | |
| Coordinates | 51°12′45″N0°35′52″E / 51.21238°N 0.59775°E /51.21238; 0.59775 grid referenceTQ815491 |
| Site history | |
| Built | 12th century |
| Materials | Ragstone andflint rubble |
Sutton Valence Castle is a ruinedmedievalfortification in the village ofSutton Valence inKent, England. Overlooking a strategic route to the coast, the original castle probably comprised aninner and anouter bailey and a protectivebarbican, with a three-storey highkeep on its southern side.
It was built in the second half of the 12th century, probably byBaldwin of Bethune, theCount of Aumale. It then passed to the families ofMarshal andde Montfort, before being given by KingHenry III to his half-brotherWilliam de Valence in 1265, from whom the castle takes its current name. It was abandoned in the early 14th century and fell into ruin. Today, the castle is managed byEnglish Heritage, and the remains of the keep are open to the public.
Sutton Valence Castle was probably built in the second half of the 12th century by theCounts of Aumale, most likely byBaldwin of Bethune, but perhaps byWilliam le Gros, Baldwin's father-in-law.[1]
The castle was built on a commanding position overlooking the strategic route between the towns ofMaidstone,Rye andOld Winchelsea and the location was also known as Sudtone and Town Sutton.[2]
The castlekeep was constructed around 1200.[3]
In 1203, Baldwin gave the castle to his daughter Alicia on her marriage toWilliam Marshal, theEarl of Pembroke, who later remarried, passing the property to his second wife,Eleanor.[4] After William's death, Eleanor marriedSimon de Montfort, theEarl of Leicester.[4] Simon led a rebellion against KingHenry III during theSecond Barons' War, but was killed at theBattle of Evesham in 1265, after which Eleanor lost ownership of the castle.[4]
After the de Montfort rebellion, King Henry III gave the castle toWilliam de Valence, his half-brother, who had supported him during the conflict.[3] Under William, the castle and village acquired its current name of Sutton Valence.[5]Aymer de Valence, his son, inherited the castle in 1307.[6] The Valences travelled around their estates, increasingly focusing their attention on a handful of their various great houses, and stayed at Sutton Valence on at least several occasions.[7]
After Aymer's death in 1324, the castle passed by marriage to Lawrence,Lord Hastings, and was held in the Hastings family until 1390, whenReginald Lord Grey de Ruthin acquired it.[8] There are few historical records of the castle beyond this point, but it appears to have been abandoned in the early 14th century and by the 15th century had become ruined.[9]
Sutton Valence Castle is on aspur of the Chart Hills on the east side of the village ofSutton Valence.
It probably comprised aninner, anouter bailey and a protectivebarbican, see the diagram.[10]
Access would have been through the eastern barbican, coming to an outer bailey, but these features only survive today as earthworks.[3]
A dry ditch protected the inner bailey, which was approximately 300 by 34 metres (984 by 112 ft) across, on the southern side of the site.[10]
The site probably included ahall,chapel and kitchen, but of the original buildings only the castle keep now survives.[10]
The keep on the South side of the site is 11 metres (36 ft) square, with walls 2.4 metres (7 ft 10 in) thick, built fromragstone andflint rubble and surviving up to 7 metres (23 ft) high.[10] It was originally 20 metres (66 ft) tall, with at least three storeys, and entered through an external staircase leading to a doorway in the first floor.[10] The building had a corner tower, in which was aspiral staircase linking the floors, and had claspingbuttresses at the corners.[11]
The historianEdward Hasted (1732-1812) in his "History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent" described Sutton Valence Castle as being "now almost covered with ivy, and the branches of the trees which sprout out from the walls of it."[12] See the drawing on the right from Halstead's History.
Archaeological excavations were carried out at the site during the mid-1950s with the assistance of Maidstone Museum and the local Sutton Valence School, concentrating on the area of the castle keep.[13]
The castle was placed in the guardianship of the state in 1976 and it is now owned byEnglish Heritage.
Conservation work was done on the ruins in the 1980s.[14]
It is protected under UK law as a Grade IIlisted building and aScheduled Monument.[15]
