- Type
- Castle
- Built
- 1441 · 15th century
- Location
- England, United Kingdom
- Coordinates
- 50.8702°, 0.3392°
History
In 1441 Sir Roger Fiennes, Treasurer of the Household of King Henry VI, received licence to fortify his manor and built a castle of brick, a material then rare and fashionable in England. Over the following centuries it belonged to the Barons Dacre. In 1777 the owner of the day, Robert Hare, gutted the interior to use the materials for the nearby house of Herstmonceux Place, and for more than a century the castle stood as a picturesque ruin. Restoration was begun in 1913 by Claude Lowther and completed in the 1930s by Sir Paul Latham. From 1957 to 1988 the Royal Greenwich Observatory was based on the estate, and since 1994 the castle has belonged to Canada's Queen's University.
What to see
The red-brick castle, with its octagonal towers and tall gatehouse, is reflected in a wide moat. Visitors stroll through the gardens, including an Elizabethan walled garden, and the woodland of the park, and the castle interior can be seen on guided tours. Nearby stand the domes of the former observatory, now home to an interactive science centre.
Wikipedia article Official website Wikidata Q2652207
Popularity: articles about this site in 16 Wikimedia projects (Wikipedia language editions and others).