Kent points of Interest

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Allington Castle

Allington Castle is a Grade I listed building. Much of the stonework was laid in an intricate herringbone pattern which is still visible today. It was the birthplace in 1503 of the English lyrical poet Sir Thomas Wyatt and in 1521 of his son the rebel leader Thomas Wyatt. The manor house on the site was fortified by Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports Stephen de Penchester in 1281 after a licence to crenellate was issued by Edward I. It was converted to a mansion in 1492 when the Wyatt family acquired the property. Towards the end of the 16th century whilst under the ownership of the Wyatt family the castle was badly damaged by fire, remaining largely derelict until 1905 when it was restored by Sir Martin Conway. In 1951 the castle became home to a convent of the Order of Carmelites. It is currently the private residence of the psephologist Sir Robert Worcester and Lady Worcester. It is not open to the public.

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Canterbury Castle

Canterbury Castle is a Norman Castle in Canterbury, Kent, England (grid reference TR14545743). It is five minutes walk from Canterbury East Station and main bus station around City Wall. Canterbury Castle was one of the three original Royal castles of Kent (the other two being Rochester Castle and Dover Castle). They were all built soon after the Battle of Hastings, on the main Roman road from Dover to London. This was the route taken by William the Conqueror in October 1066, and they were built originally as motte-and-bailey castles to guard this important route.

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Chiddingstone Castle

Chiddingstone Castle is situated in the village of Chiddingstone, Kent, England, in the upper valley of the River Medway. The castle reopened in 2008 after a period of restoration and now has over 10,000 visitors a year. The castle has collections of ancient artifacts which are on display in the castle rooms. As well as the collections, the castle puts on a range of themed events.The 35 acres (140,000 m2) of grounds are home to the award-winning orangery. In 2009, the castle announced plans to build the UK's largest Japanese stroll garden since Victorian times.

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Chilham Castle

Chilham Castle is a manor house and keep in the village of Chilham, between Ashford and Canterbury in the county of Kent, England. The polygonal Norman keep of the Castle, the oldest building in the village, dates from 1174; still inhabited, it was said to have been built for King Henry II. But archaeological excavations carried out in the 1920s suggest that it stands on the foundations of a much older Anglo-Saxon fortification, possibly dating from the fifth century, and there is evidence of earlier Roman habitation in the vicinity.

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Cooling Castle

Cooling Castle Coordinates: 51°27′20″N 0°31′23″E was built in the 1380s by John Cobham on the edge of marshes at Cooling, six miles north of Rochester, Kent. It is now about two miles inland. It was besieged by Thomas Wyatt the younger during Wyatt's rebellion in 1554; Lord Cobham surrendered after a brief resistance. Though he claimed to have surrendered to superior force, he had previously sympathized with Wyatt's cause, and he was briefly imprisoned for his role in the affair. The castle has also been the property of the Lollard leader John Oldcastle – executed for his beliefs, and later the source for Shakespeare's Falstaff – through his marriage to Joan Oldcastell, 4th Baroness Cobham. During the 1990s, the property was owned by the Rochester bridge wardens. The more recent residential parts of the castle are still in use – as of 2006 it is owned by musician Jools Holland. The main part of the castle is in ruins with a private house inside. The gatehouse is in good condition and can be seen from the road. The barns at Cooling Castle are mainly used for weddings and civil events.

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Deal Castle

Deal Castle is located in Deal, Kent, England, between Walmer Castle and the now lost Sandown Castle (grid reference TR378521). It is one of the most impressive of the Device Forts or Henrician Castles built by Henry VIII between 1539 and 1540 as an artillery fortress to counter the threat of invasion from Catholic France and Spain. It is shaped like a Tudor rose, being perfectly symmetrical, with a low, circular keep at its centre. Around the circumference of the keep are six bastions, with a further series of six bastions in the curtain wall, one of which serves as the gatehouse. All the outer walls of the castle and bastions are rounded to both provide strength and to deflect shot more efficiently than flat walls. Over 200 cannon and gun ports were set within the walls and the entire structure was completely surrounded by a very deep, wide moat.

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Dover Castle

Dover Castle is a medieval castle in the town of the same name in the English county of Kent. It was founded in the 12th century and has been described as the "Key to England" due to its defensive significance throughout history. It is the largest castle in England. Originally the site may have been fortified with earthworks in the Iron Age or earlier, before the Romans invaded in AD43. This is suggested on the basis of the unusual pattern of the earthworks which does not seem to be a perfect fit for the medieval castle, although archaeological excavation at the Castle has found no evidence of prehistoric activity. The site also contained one of Dover's two 80-foot (24 m) Roman lighthouses (or Pharoses), one of which still survives. On the site is a classic montrol (campsite) where the Normans landed after their victorious conquest.

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Eynsford Castle

Eynsford Castle is one of the most complete Norman castles in England,[citation needed] located close to the village of Eynsford. Built in 1088, ransacked in the 14th century it fell into decay and is now in the care of English Heritage and open to the public. For years it was used as dog kennels by the Hart-Dyke family of nearby Lullingstone. Surviving fragments include sections of the curtain wall, some up to 30 feet in height, including evidence of the latrines, and buildings within the walls.

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Folkestone Castle

Folkestone Castle stood on a spur of the North Downs to the north of the town of Folkestone, Kent (grid reference TR214380). This was Norman castle on a natural mound which was in existence in the late 11th and 12th centuries. It was excavated in 1878 by Augustus Pitt Rivers and this has been claimed to be the first excavation of a medieval site in Britain using scientific methods. Known locally as "Caesar's Camp", it is not actually Roman at all, but was probably constructed as early as 1095 and was certainly occupied for some time following the Norman invasion of 1066. The hill on which it stands is known as Castle Hill and it affords splendid views over the town and coast, from Folkestone across Romney Marsh to Dungeness, Rye and Fairlight The earthworks now overlook the end of the M20 motorway and the entrance to the Channel Tunnel at Cheriton.

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Hever Castle

Hever Castle is located in the village of Hever near Edenbridge, Kent, 30 miles (48 km) south-east of London, England. It began as a country house, built in the 13th century. From 1462 to 1539 it was the seat of the Boleyn, originally 'Bullen', family. Anne Boleyn, the second queen consort of King Henry VIII of England, spent her early youth there, after her father, Thomas Boleyn had inherited it in 1505. He had been born there in 1477, and the castle passed to him upon the death of his father, Sir William Boleyn. It later came into the possession of King Henry's fourth wife, Anne of Cleves. In the 21st century the castle is a tourist attraction.

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Kingsgate Castle

Kingsgate Castle on the cliffs above Kingsgate Bay, Broadstairs, Kent was built for Lord Holland (Henry Fox, 1st Baron Holland) in the 1760s. The name Kingsgate is related to an incidental landing of Charles II on 30 June 1683 ("gate" referring to a cliff-gap) though other English monarchs have also used this cove, such as George II in 1748. The building was later the residence of John Lubbock, 1st Baron Avebury. The building has now been converted into 31 flats.

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Leeds Castle

Leeds Castle, 5 miles (8.0 km) southeast of Maidstone, Kent, England, dates back to 1119, though a Saxon fort stood on the same site from the 9th century. The castle is built on islands in a lake formed by the River Len to the east of the village of Leeds. Built in 1119 by Robert de Crèvecœur to replace the earlier Saxon manor of Esledes, the castle became a royal palace in 1278 for King Edward I of England and his queen, Eleanor of Castile. Major improvements were made during his time, including the barbican, made up of three parts, each with its own entrance, drawbridge, gateway and portcullis.

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Leybourne Castle

Leybourne Castle is a 13th century castle in the parish of Leybourne, Kent. It is situated between West Malling and Larkfield. The two semi circular bastions of the twin towered gatehouse built in 1275 remain and are incorporated into a Tudor farmhouse the was extensively rebuilt around 1930. Some evidence of circular earthworks also remains. The curtain wall was extant until the 18th century but now none of it remains.

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Lympne Castle

Lympne Castle is a mediaeval castle near the village of Lympne, Kent, above Romney Marsh. Today, it is used primarily as a venue for corporate events and weddings. It is generally not open to the public. The Estate Manager is Rod Aspinall. In September 1978, the band Wings recorded some sessions for their album Back to the Egg at the castle.

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Rochester Castle

Rochester Castle stands on the east bank of the River Medway in Rochester, Kent, England. The 12th-century keep or stone tower, which is the castle's most prominent feature, is one of the best preserved in England or France. Located along the River Medway and Watling Street, Rochester was a strategically important royal castle. During the medieval period it helped protect England's south-east coast from invasion. The first castle at Rochester was founded in the aftermath of the Norman Conquest. It was given to Bishop Odo by his half-brother, William the Conqueror. During the Rebellion of 1088 over the succession to the English throne, Odo supported Robert Curthose, the Conqueror's eldest son, against William Rufus. It was during this conflict that the castle first saw military action; the city and castle were besieged after Odo made Rochester a headquarters for the rebellion. After the garrison capitulated, this first castle was abandoned.

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Saltwood Castle

Saltwood Castle is a castle in Saltwood village—which derives its name from the castle—1 mile (2 km) north of Hythe, Kent, England. The castle is known as the site where the plot was hatched to assassinate Thomas Becket (1118–1170). More recently, it became the home of the art historian Lord Clark of Saltwood (1903–1983), then his son Alan Clark (1928–1999), a minister in Margaret Thatcher's government.

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Sandgate Castle

Sandgate Castle is a coastal castle at Sandgate near Folkestone in Kent. It was originally built as an artillery castle in 1539-1540 by Henry VIII of England as part of his chain of coastal defences in response to the threat of invasion. As these forts were devised by Henry VIII, they are known as Device Forts. It was built to defend a vulnerable stretch of coastline and due to its proximity to the French coast the site has been constantly defended and refortified.

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Sandown Castle, Kent

Sandown Castle was one of Henry VIII's Device Forts or Henrician Castles built at Sandown, North Deal, Kent as part of Henry VIII's chain of coastal fortifications to defend England against the threat of foreign invasion. It made up a line of defences with Walmer Castle and Deal Castle to protect the strategic stretch of coast known as the Downs. These three castles were known as Castles of the Downs. It has been partially demolished by the sea, but originally it would have been identical to Walmer Castle in construction.

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Scot's Hall

Scott's Hall (or Scot's Hall) was a country house in Smeeth, between Ashford and Folkestone in southeast England. It was the property of a gentry family, the Scotts. The first known resident was Sir John Scott Esq. b. 1436, who married Caroline Carter. From the beginning of the fourteenth century to the end of the eighteenth century, the Scotts, who were the descendants of the Baliols, were influential in Kent, also owning Chilham Castle. Scot's Hall was the centre of the dynasty and there was a time when one could ride from Scot's Hall to London without leaving Scott Property, a journey of over fifty miles. During the reign of Elizabeth I, it was descreibed as one of the most splendid houses in Kent. It was demolished in 1808. Samuel Pepys was a regular visitor in the seventeenth century.

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Stone Castle

Stone Castle is a castle at Stone, near Bluewater in Kent, England. It was built between 1135 and 1140 on the site where William the Conqueror signed a treaty with the men of Kent in 1067. It was owned by the Wiltshire family, which included Bridget Wingfield, a close friend of Anne Boleyn, whose correspondence was used to help condemn the queen for adultery. In 1527, it was visited by Thomas Wolsey, Thomas More and the Earl of Derby. This was around the time Henry was first battling to marry Anne Boleyn, who lived at Hever Castle twenty miles away.

During World War II, the RAF occupied the castle. It is now owned by Blue Circle, and the land is leased to Land Securities in 2000, and the building to the Heritage Conference Centre, a corporate and private function venue.

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Thurnham Castle

Thurnham Castle or Godard's Castle is situated to the north of the village of Thurnham which is 3 miles north-east of Maidstone, Kent (grid reference TQ808582). It is a 12th century flint-built castle constructed by Robert de Thurnham in the reign of Henry II on a hill on the edge of the North Downs. One side of the bailey wall still stands 10 foot high and originally it enclosed an area of about a quarter of an acre. There is no visible stonework on the large motte. The site has been acquired by Kent County Council and included in the White Horse Millennium Wood and Country Park Project. Much of the site has been cleared of undergrowth and public access has been provided.

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Tonbridge Castle

Tonbridge Castle is situated in the town of the same name, Kent, England. Following the Norman Conquest, Richard Fitz Gilbert was granted land in Kent to guard the crossing of the River Medway. He erected a simple Motte-and-bailey castle on the site. To dig the moat and erect the motte 50,000 tonnes of earth were moved. In 1088, the de Clare family (descendents of Fitz Gilbert) rebelled against King William II. His army besieged the castle. After holding for two days the castle fell and as punishment the king had both the castle and the town of Tonbridge burnt to the ground. Before 1100, the de Clares replaced the wooden castle with a stone shell keep. This was reinforced during the thirteenth century, and in 1295 a stone wall was built around the town.

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Upnor Castle

Upnor Castle is an Elizabethan artillery fort located in the village of Upnor, Kent, England. Its purpose was to defend ships moored "in ordinary" on the River Medway outside Chatham dockyards. The property is owned by English Heritage and managed by Medway Council. Due to its sheltered position, close to London, the River Medway was used to build and repair warships, and to moor them in ordinary, that is with the rigging sails removed. To protect this fleet, Queen Elizabeth and her Privy council ordered in 1559, that a bulwark be built on the river at Upnor in the parish of Frindsbury for the protection of our navy. Six 'indifferent persons' selected a site opposite St Mary's Creek and 6 acres (24,000 m2) of land was purchased for £25 (£10,000 as of 2011) from Mr Thomas Devinisshe of Frindsbury. The bulwark was designed by Sir Richard Lee, but the building was supervised by Humphrey Locke and Richard Watts.[3] The building cost £3,621 (£850,000 as of 2011). Stage one was finished in 1564. A further £728 (£170,000 as of 2011) was immediately spent on lead for the roof. In 1564 twenty three ships of the Queen largest ships were moored in Bridge Reach.

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Walmer Castle

Walmer Castle was built by Henry VIII in 1539–1540 as an artillery fortress to counter the threat of invasion from Catholic France and Spain. It was part of his programme to create a chain of coastal defences along England's coast known as the Device Forts or as Henrician Castles. It was one of three forts constructed to defend the Downs, an area of safe anchorage protected by the Goodwin Sands, in Kent, south east England. The other forts were at Deal and Sandown.

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Westenhanger Castle

Westenhanger Castle is a fortified manor house once owned by royalty, located next to Westenhanger railway station and the grandstand of Folkestone Racecourse in Kent. The castle has endured a period of steady decline to near ruination in recent years, but the current owners have engaged a programme of consolidation, conservation and restoration to the castle and adjoining buildings. It is now being used as a conference and wedding venue. Recently purchased by Folkestone and Hythe Council.

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St Leonards Tower

Tower keep castle built between 1077-1108 by Gundulf, Bishop of Rochester. The castle survives as a ruin and in the form of associated earthworks and buried remains. Its most prominent feature is a tall, square keep constructed of course Kentish ragstone rubble in which some herringbone work is visible, with tufa ashlar dressings. The remains of the keep survive up to a height of 20m. Associated with the keep are two low stretches of medieval walling incorporated within a later post-medieval garden boundary wall. Considered to be one of the best examples extant of an Early Norman Keep. Built of stone with tufa dressings, 32ft square at the base, 60ft high on its north and east faces and 70 ft on the 2 other faces, the difference due to the inclined surface of the rocky shelf on which it is built. Corner buttresses. 3 stages. The 1st stage has traces of herringbone-work. Central buttress to left side elevation. 2nd stage has 5 round-headed arches on the east side, only the central one open, the rest blank. 2nd stage has 2 round-headed arches to east side and one to south side. West side has round-headed entrance to ground floor, round-headed arch to first and second floors and loop lights to buttresses. North side has 1 round-headed window. Internal evidence to suggest there were upper and lower floors, the lower only about 5ft above ground level. Some debate exists as to function since has ground floor entrance and no bailey but is too grand to be just a bell tower as is sometimes suggested.

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Starkey Castle

Considerable remains of a small, possibly fortified, manor house, possibly at one time also hospice, now house. Circa 1360-1380, C15 and early C19. Random rubble with dressed stone quoins and dressings. Some galletting. Plain tiled roof, with coped parapeted gabled cross-wing to left and tall stone and stack at extrance left. Central buttress to hall at right. Hall-house plan with services to left and solar wing to right, probably demolished in C17. 1 storey hall, floored in C16 and C17 and 2 storey cross- to left with 2 storey out-blocks behind and to left. Wide pointed-arched 3- light traceried window on cross-wing to left on first-floor above square-headed early C19 Tudor-style window on ground-floor. 2-storey pointed-arched dais window with early C19 wood and stone mullion and tracery in moulded surround with drip-mould to right. Square-headed windows with drip-moulds and 2-light Tudor-style glazing on ground and first-floors to right of centre. Doorway to left of centre in moulded pointed-arched surround with drip-mould. Doubled doors with 'Gothick'-glazed archlight. One of the most complete surviving stone-built medieval hall-houses in Southern England.

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Queenborough

Between the years 1361 and 1377 King Edward III ordered a castle to be built at Bynne, now known as Queenborough, on the site of an earlier fortification. The castle was to protect the passage of ships on the Swale and Medway Estuaries (at this time it was safer for ships to travel this way rather than the open waters of the English Channel when on their way too or from the south coast), they would also use this route when on their way to Europe as they stopped near Dover before crossing the channel.

The castle was designed by William of Wycheham who was the Surveyor of the King's Works and also the keeper of the Privy Seal and Lord Chancellor. The new castle resembled a French Style Chateaux and is believed to have influenced the designs of Walmer and Deal Castles. William also designed and built Windsor castle.

Queenborough Castle was built of stone to a circular design, quite novel for the time and seemed to anticipate Henry VIII's castles that were built nearly 200 years later. The circular walls were built to withstand cannon fire although the power of these weapons at this time were relatively modest.

The castle had a circular rotunda at the centre and six towers connected by a circular curtain wall. The curtain wall was lined by two storey apartments which faced into a circular courtyard with a deep well in its centre. The rotunda and outer ward, or barbican, was surrounded by a second curtain wall which had two gateways set into it, the main gate at the west and a postern to the east. Surrounding all of this was a wet moat that was crossed using drawbridges to the two gateways.

As you can imagine it would have been very difficult to storm the castle - to do this you would have had to cross the moat, passing through the outer gate followed by the inner gate. Once into the outer ward you would have to circle the rotunda while under heavy fire before passing through another gateway into the central courtyard. You would then be under fire from the apartments surrounding you, these were also compartmentalised making it even more difficult to take over the castle.

The castle was likely to have been equipped with gunpowder, stone throwing machines and trebuchets.

The castle hosted many royal parties especially during the reign of Queen Elizabeth.

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Lullingstone

Lullingstone Castle is one of England’s oldest family estates, dating back to the time of Domesday.

The present Manor House and Gatehouse were built in 1497 and have been home to the same family ever since. Both Henry VIII and Queen Anne are known to have been regular visitors.

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Stowting

Motte and bailey castle. The motte and its ditch are tree covered and in excellent condition. There is a heavy scatter of flint and tile on the top of the mount. The bailey, of rather unusual form, is almost destroyed. Excavated in 1920's but no records kept.

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Castle Toll

Earthworks occupy the end of a peninsula jutting into Romney Marsh and are of two distinct phases. The entire end of the peninsula appear to have been enclosed with defences more pronounced to the west across the landward approach. Excavation has shown that the works were unfinished; they are now badly damaged by ploughing. There is a strong possibility that this is the unfinished Eorpeburnan of the Burghal Hidage and mentioned in the Anglo Saxon Chronicle 892 as having been attacked by the Danes. Within the large enclosure is Castle Toll, sub rectangular in plan with a motte like mound. Excavation showed that this had two phases of construction; early and mid C13.

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Sandwich

Castle, mentioned in a documentary source of c.1327. Remains noted in 1877 and 1886 when the foundations were destroyed. The castle is assumed to have been abandoned in 1464. In 1290 Edward I began to build a small castle to defend the town against attacks by the French. In 1385, with Sandwich under threat of attack by the French, a rapid programme of repairs was carried out. In 1471 800-900 rebels fortified themselves within the castle, but surrendered on the approach of the King. The castle is not mentioned after 1539-40 when it is thought to have been dismantled by Henry VIII and its materials used for the construction of Sandown Castle, 4 miles to the south-east. (http://www.fortifications.org)

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Sutton Valence

Sutton Valence Castle is a Norman stone keep and bailey fortress, founded by Baldwin de Béthune, count of Albermarle. Standing against an escarpment, are the broken ragstone walls of a small 12th century two storey keep, with a square forebuilding. The castle was abandoned in the 14th century and now there are only glimpses of the bailey curtain wall, tracking the ridge. 4 miles north-east is Leeds Castle. Sutton Valence Castle is located in the village centre, off Rectory Lane. 7 miles south-east of Maidstone, on the A229-A274.

The site is owned by English Heritage and is freely accessible in daylight hours.

Car parking is by the side of the road.

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Scotney

Scotney is not one but two houses. At the top of the hill is the new house, designed by Anthony Salvin in Elizabethan style and built in 1837 for Edward Hussey III, who took the ‘Picturesque’ style as his inspiration. At the bottom of the valley are the romantic ruins of a medieval castle and moat. This is the focal point of the celebrated gardens featuring spectacular displays of rhododendrons, azaleas and kalmia in May/June with trees and shrubs providing autumnal colour. The estate is open all year, offering a variety of walks through beautiful parkland, woodland and farmland.

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Stone

Stone Castle Stone Castle is located about a mile to the south of Greenhithe and just north of the Roman Watling Street, Stone Castle dates from the mid-11th century, and is thought to have been constructed without license during the reign of King Stephen, but which was later permitted to remain by King Henry II, with his accession to the throne.

The castle was built almost entirely of flint. The only surviving portion of the original medieval castle intact is its large rectangular tower, rising 40 feet in height. An adjoining Georgian house was built onto the tower by Sir Richard Wiltshire; in 1527 Cardinal Wolsey stayed at his house while passing through the district. In more recent times the property has belonged to the Church of England. [edit] Stone today

Stone Castle is now the regional office of a large cement manufacturer. The cement works which once stood here have now been demolished.

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Brenchley Castle Hill

Medieval ringwork situated on the crest of a spur of Castle Hill, formerly believed to be a motte. The monument comprises a roughly circular central area surrounded by a series of defensive banks and ditches. A small mound and a rectangular enclosure overlie the defences on the north and west sides. Metal working slag found on the north eastern side of the site suggests that the area was subsequently used for small scale industrial activities, probably from C13 onwards.

Abacus - Flat portion on top of a capital.

Aisle - Space between arcade and outer wall.

Allure - Walkway along the top of a wall.

Ambulatory - Aisle round an apse.

Apse - Rounded and usually of a chancel or chapel.

Arcade - Row of arches, free-standing and supported on piers or columns; a blind arcade is a "dummy".

Arch - Can be round-headed, pointed, two-centered, or drop; ogee - pointed with double curved sides, upper arcs lower concave; lancet - pointed formed on an acute-angle triangle; depressed - flattened or elliptical; corbelled - triangular, peaked, each stone set a little further in until they meet, with a large capstone.

Arrow Loop - A narrow vertical slit cut into a wall through which arrows could be fired from inside.

Ashlar - Squared blocks of smooth stone neatly trimmed to shape.

Aumbry - Recess to hold sacred vessels; typically in a chapel.

Bailey - The ward or courtyard inside the castle walls, includes exercise area, parade ground, emergency corral

Baluster - A small column.

Balustrade - A railing, as along a path or stairway.

Barbican - The gateway or outworks defending the drawbridge.

Bar hole - Horizontal hole for timber bar used as a door-bolt.

Barrel vault - Cylindrical roof.

Bartizan - An overhanging battlemented corner turret, corbelled out; sometimes as grandiose as an overhanging gallery; common in Scotland and France.

Bastion - A small tower at the end of a curtain wall or in the middle of the outside wall; solid masonry projection; structural rather than inhabitable.

Batter - A sloping part of a curtain wall. The sharp angle at the base of all walls and towers along their exterior surface; talus.

Battlement - Parapet with indentations or embrasures, with raised portions (merlons) between; crenelations; a narrow wall built along the outer edge of the wall walk for protection against attack.

Bay - Internal division of building marked by roof principals or vaulting piers.

Belvedere - A raised turret or pavilion.

Berm - Flat space between the base of the curtain wall and the inner edge of the moat; level area separating ditch from bank.

Bivalate - A hillfort defended by two concentric ditches.

Blockhouse - Small square fortification, usually of timber bond overlapping arrangement of bricks in courses (flemish, dutch, french, etc.)

Bonnet - Freestanding fortification; priest's cap.

Boss - Central stone of arch or vault; key stone.

Brattice - Timber tower or projecting wooden gallery; hoarding.

Breastwork - Heavy parapet slung between two gate towers; defense work over the portcullis.

Bressumer - Beam to support a projection.

Broch - Drystone freestanding tower with interior court, no external windows (which face into the court), spiral stair inside wall, typically iron age Celtic refuge in Scotland.

Burg - German stronghold.

Burh - Saxon stronghold; literally a "neighborhood".

Buttery - Next to the kitchen, a room from where wine was dispensed.

Buttress - Wall projection for extra support; flying - narrow, arched bridge against the structure; pilaster - gradually recedes into the structure as it ascends.

Capital - Distinctly treated upper end of a column.

Carotid - Heart-shaped.

Casemates - Artillery emplacements in separate protected rooms, rather than in a battery.

Cesspit - The opening in a wall in which the waste from one or more garderobes was collected.

Chamfer - Surface made by smoothing off the angle between two stone faces.

Chancel - The space surrounding the altar of a church.

Chemise wall - Formed by a series of interlinked or overlapping semicircular bastions.

Chevron - Zig-zag moulding.

Choir - The part of a cruciform church east of the crossing.

Clasping - Encasing the angle.

Clunch - Hard chalky material.

Cob - Unburned clay mixed with straw.

Column - Pillar (circular section).

Concentric - Having two sets of walls, one inside the other.

Coping - Covering stones.

Corbel - A projecting block of stone built into a wall during construction; step-wise construction, as in an arch, roof, etc.

Corinthian - Elaborately foliated capital.

Cornice - Decorative projection along the top of a wall.

Counterguard - A long, near-triangular freestanding fortification within the moat.

Counterscarp - Outer slope of ditch.

Course - Level layer of stones or bricks.

Crannog - Celtic Scotland timber-built fortified lake village.

Creasing - groove in a wall face insuring a weather proof junction with a roof or chimney which abuts it.

Crenel - The low segment of the alternating high and low segments of a battlement.

Crenelation - Battlements at the top of a tower or wall.

Crocket - Curling leaf-shape.

Cross-and-orb - Modified cross slits to accommodate gunnery.

Crosswall - Interior dividing wall; structural.

Crownwork - Freestanding bastioned fortification in front of main defenses.

Cupola - Hemispherical armored roof.

Curtain Wall - A connecting wall hung between two towers surrounding the bailey.

Cushion - Capital cut from a block by rounding off the lower corners.

Cusp - Curves meeting in a point.

Cyclopean - Drystone masonry, ancient, of huge blocks.

Daub - A mud of clay mixture applied over wattle to strengthen and seal it.

Dead-ground - Close to the wall, where the defenders can't shoot.

Diaper work - Decoration of squares or lozenges.

Diaphragm - Wall running up to the roof-ridge.

Dog-legged - With right-angle bends.

Dogtooth - Diagonal indented pyramid.

Donjon - A great tower or keep.

Dormer - Window placed vertically in sloping roof.

Double-splayed - Embrasure whose smallest aperture is in the middle of the wall.

Drawbridge - A heavy timber platform built to span a moat between a gatehouse and surrounding land that could be raised when required to block an entrance.

Dressing - Carved stonework around openings.

Drum Tower - A large, circular, low, squat tower built into a wall.

Drystone - Unmortared masonry.

Dungeon - The jail, usually found in one of the towers.

Embattled - Battlemented; crenelated.

Embrasure - The low segment of the altering high and low segments of a battlement.

Enceinte - The enclosure or fortified area of a castle.

Fascine - Huge bundle of brushwood for revetting ramparts or filling in ditches.

Fillet - Narrow flat band.

Finial - A slender piece of stone used to decorate the tops of the merlons, spire, tower, balustrade, etc.

Fluting - Concave mouldings in parallel.

Foliated - Carved with leaves.

Footings - Bottom part of wall.

Forebuilding - An extension to the keep, guarding it's entrance.

Fosse - Ditch.

Freestone - High quality sand- or lime-stone.

Fresco - Painting on wet plaster wall.

Gable - Wall covering end of roof ridge.

Gallery - Long passage or room.

Garderobe - A small latrine or toilet either built into the thickness of the wall or projected out from it; ; projects from the wall as a small, rectangular bartizan

Gate House - The complex of towers, bridges, and barriers built to protect each entrance through a castle or town wall.

Glacis - A bank sloping down from a castle which acts as a defence against invaders; broad, sloping naked rock or earth on which the attackers are completely exposed

Great chamber - Lord's solar, or bed-sitting room.

Great Hall - The building in the inner ward that housed the main meeting and dining area for the castle's residence; throne room

Groined - Roof with sharp edges at intersection of cross-vaults.

Half-shaft - Roll-moulding on either side of opening.

Half-timber - The common form of medieval construction in which walls were made of a wood frame structure filled with wattle and daub.

Hall - Principal room or building in complex.

Herringbone - Brick or stone laid in alternate diagonal courses.

Hillfort - Bronze or iron age earthwork defenses of concentric ditches and banks.

Hoarding - Upper wooden stories on a stone castle wall; the living area; sometimes, a temporary wooden balcony suspended from the tops of walls from which missiles could be dropped.

Hood - Arched covering; when used as umbrella, called hood-mould.

Hornwork - Freestanding quadrilateral fortification in front of the main wall.

Impost - Wall bracket to support arch.

Inner Curtain - The high wall the surrounds the inner ward.

Inner Ward - The open area in the center of a castle.

Jamb - Side posts of arch, door, or window.

Joggled - Keyed together by overlapping joints.

Joist - Wall-to-wall timber beams to support floor boards.

Keep - A strong stone tower; main tower; donjon; stronghold.

Keystone - Central wedge in top of arch.

Lancet - Long, narrow window with pointed head.

Lantern - Small structure with open or windowed sides on top of a roof or dome to let light or air into the enclosed space below.

Lattice - Laths or lines crossing to form a network.

Lias - Greyish rock which splits easily into slabs.

Light - Glazing; component part of window, divided by mullions and transoms.

Lintel - Horizontal stone or beam bridging an opening.

Loophole - Narrow, tall opening, wallslit for light, air, or shooting through.

Louvre - Opening in roof (sometimes topped with lantern) to allow smoke to escape from central hearth.

Lozenge - Diamond shape.

Machicolations - Projecting gallery on brackets, on outside of castle or towers, with holes in floor for dropping rocks, shooting, etc.

Mantlet - Detached fortification preventing direct access to a gateway; low outer wall.

Merlon - The high segment of the alternating high and low segments of a battlement.

Meurtriere - An opening in the roof of a passage where soldiers could shoot into the room below. Also see "Murder Holes".

Moat - A deep trench usually filled with water that surrounded a castle.

Moline - Ends curling outward.

Mortar - A mixture of sand, water, and lime used to bind stones together; as opposed to drylaid masonry.

Motte - A mound of earth on which a tower was built; artificial conical earth mound (sometimes an old barrow) for the keep

Motte-&-bailey - Earth mound with wood or stone keep, surrounded by ditched and palisaded enclosure (or courtyard).

Moulding - Masonry decoration; long, narrow, casts strong shadows.

Mullion - Vertical division of windows.

Mural - Wall (adjectival).

Murder Holes - A section between the main gate and a inner portcullis where arrows, rocks, and hot oil can be dropped from the roof though holes. Provides good cover for defenders and leaves the attacker open. Only used when outer gate has been breach.

Nailhead - Pyramid moulding.

Narthex - Enclosed passage between the main entrance and nave of a church; vestibule.

Nave - Principal hall of a church, extending from the narthex to the chancel.

Necking - Ornament at the top of a column, bottom of the capital.

Newel - Center post of spiral staircase.

Nookshaft - Shaft set in angle of jamb or pier.

Offset - Ledge marking the narrowing of a wall's thickness.

Oilette - A round opening at the base of a loophole, usually for a cannon muzzle

O”lite - Granular limestone.

Open joint - Wide space between faces of stones.

Oratory - Private in-house chapel; small cell attached to a larger chapel.

Order - One of a series of concentric mouldings.

Oriel - Projecting window in wall; originally a form of porch, usually of wood; side-turret.

Orillons - Arrowhead bastions.

Oubliette - A dungeon reached by a trap door; starvation hole

Outer Curtain - The wall the encloses the outer ward.

Outer Ward - The area around the outside of and adjacent to the inner curtain.

Palisade - A sturdy wooden fence usually built to enclose a site until a permanent stone wall can be constructed.

Palmette - Looped like a palm-leaf.

Parados - Low wall in inner side of main wall.

Parapet - Low wall on outer side of main wall.

Pediment - Low-pitched gable over porticos, doors, windows.

Peel - A small tower; typically, a fortified house on the border

Pellet - Circular boss.

Perpendicular - English architectural style (1330-1540).

Petit appareil - Small cubical stonework.

Pier - Support for arch, usually square.

Pilaster - Shallow pier used to buttress a wall.

Pinnacle - Ornamental crowning spire, tower, etc.

Piscina - Hand basin with drain, usually set against or into a wall.

Pitch - Roof slope.

Pitching - Rough cobbling on floor, as in courtyards.

Plinth - Projecting base of wall.

Portcullis - A heavy timber or metal grill that protected the castle entrance and could be raised or lowered from within the castle. It dropped vertically between grooves to block passage or barbican, or to trap attackers.

Postern Gate - A side or less important gate into a castle; usually for peacetime use by pedestrians

Prow - Acute-angled projection.

Puddled - Made waterproof.

Putlog - Beams placed in holes to support a hoarding; horizontal scaffold beam

Putlog Hole - A hole intentionally left in the surface of a wall for insertion of a horizontal pole.

Quadrangle - Inner courtyard.

Quirk - V-shaped nick.

Quoin - Dressed stone at angle of building.

Rampart - Defensive stone or earth wall surrounding castle.

Rath - Low, circular ringwork.

Ravelin - Outwork with two faces forming a salient angle; like in a star-shaped fort.

Rear-arch - Arch on the inner side of a wall.

Redoubt - Small self-contained fieldwork, a refuge for soldiers outside the main defenses.

Reeded - Parallel convex mouldings.

Re-entrant - Recessed; opposite of salient.

Refectory - Communal dining hall.

Relieving arch - Arch built up in a wall to relieve thrust on another opening.

Respond - Half-pier bonded into a wall to carry an arch.

Retirata - Improvised fieldwork to counter an imminent breach.

Revetment - Retaining wall to prevent erosion; to face a surface with stone slabs.

Rib - Raised moulding dividing a vault.

Ringwork - Circular earthwork of bank and ditch.

Roll - Moulding of semi-circular section.

Romanesque - The prevailing architectural style, 8-12th cent.; massive masonry, round arches, small windows, groin-and barrel-vault.

Roofridge - Summit line of roof.

Rubble - Fill; unsquared stone not laid in courses.

Rustication - Worked ashlar stone with the faces left rough.

Salient - Wall projection, arrowhead.

Saltire - Diagonal, equal-limbed cross.

Sally-port - Small heavily fortified side door from which the defenders can rush out, strike, and retire.

Scaffolding - The temporary wooden frame work built next to a wall to support both workers and materials.

Scale - Carving resembling overlapping fish scales.

Scallop - Carved in a series of semi-circles.

Scappled - Cut to a smooth face.

Scarp - Slope on inner side of ditch.

Segmental - Less than a semi-circle.

Set back/off - Ledge on wall face.

Shaft - Narrow column.

Shell-keep - Circular or oval wall surrounding inner portion of castle; usually stores and accommodations inside the hollow walls.

Sill - Lower horizontal face of an opening.

Sleeper - Lowest horizontal timber (or low wall).

Soffit - Underside of arch, hung parapet, or opening.

Solar - Upper living room , often over the great hall; the lord's private living room.

Spandrel - Area between top of a column or pier and the apex of the arch springing from it.

Splay - Chamfer, or sloping face.

Spring - Level at which the springers (voussoirs) of an arch rise from their supports.

Squint - Observation hole in wall or room.

Stepped - Recessed in a series of ledges.

Steyned - Lined (like in a well).

Stockade - Solid fence of heavy timbers.

Stringcourse - Continuous horizontal moulding on wallface.

Tau cross - Plain T cross with equal limbs.

Tooth-in - Stones removed (or omitted) to allow another wall to be bonded into it.

Tracery - Intersecting ribwork in upper part of window.

Transom - Horizontal division of window; crossbar.

Trefoil - Three-lobed.

Truss - A timber frame used to support the roof over the great hall.

Tufa - Cellular rock; porous limestone.

Turning bridge - A drawbridge that pivots in the middle.

Turret - Small tower, round or polygonal; usually a lookout.

Tympanum - Space between lintel and arch over doorway.

Vault - Stone roofing.

Vitrified - Material reduced to glass by extreme heat.

Volute - Spiral scroll at angle of a capital.

Voussoir - Wedge-shaped stones in arch.

Wall-plate - Horizontal roof-timber on wall-top.

Wall-stair - Staircase built into the thickness of a wall.

Wall-walk - Passage along castle wall; may be roofed.

Water-leaf - Plain broad leaf moulding.

Wattle - A mat of woven (willow) sticks and weeds; used in wall and dike construction.

Wave - Sinuous moulding.

Weathering - Sloping surface to throw off rainwater.

Wicket - Person-sized door set into the main gate door.

Wing-wall - Wall downslope of motte to protect stairway.

Yett - Iron lattice gate.

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KINGS OF KENT.

I. HENGIST. ANNO 455

ALTHOUGH Hengist had thus established himself in the kingdom of Kent, yet the Britons still kept possession of a considerable part of the three provinces he had so unjustly extorted from Vortigern. The natives every where shewed the greatest detestation of the Saxons, and a resolution not to submit to their government till the last extremity. This exceedingly perplexed Hengist; he plainly saw the Britons would never submit to him, except by force, and he was fearful of using that, lest the country should be dispeopled by it, and the lands lying waste and uncultivated, his new dominions would be of little or no use to him. In this situation he resolved to send into Germany, and invite some more of his countrymen over; and offered, as an inducement, to divide these provinces among them. He was convinced the Saxons already with him in Britain, were not more than sufficient to people Kent, and to supply the forces he was obliged to keep up, to oppose the Britons from time to time, and by thus settling the Saxons in the country around him, which could not otherwise be of any use to him, and must remain in the hands of his inveterate enemies, it would be a kind of barrier against them, and their cause being mutual, the Saxons would always unite to oppose the Britons; by which means he would have no cause to fear any attack they might make upon him, and he should further, by this means, the only one in all probability which he could take, secure the succession of the kingdom of Kent to his posterity.

Hengist's invitation was joyfully accepted of by Ella, a Saxon general, of the posterity of Woden, who, with his three sons, Cymen, Wlencing, and Cissa, and a large company of Saxons, embarked for Britain. They landed in Sussex, at a place, from Ella's eldest son, afterwards called Cymen's Shore, not without great opposition from the Britons. The Saxons, though they were tall, strong, and vigorous, met with a warm reception from the Britons, and after a long contest, at last gained possession of the shore, and drove the Britons as far as the forest of Andredsweald, now the weald or woody part of Sussex and Kent, to the place supposed to be now called Wittering in Sussex. After this retreat of the Britons, the Saxons possessed themselves of all the sea-coast of Sussex, and continued to extend their dominions more and more towards the Thames, though not without frequent battles with the natives, which obliged them to send continually for fresh supplies out of their own country; however, in the end, they maintained their ground, and being possessed of the southern shore, were called from thence Suth, or South Saxons, and their country, Sussex. Hengist, thus powerfully strengthened by the arrival of his countrymen, gave as many of his Saxons, as desired it, leave to return into Germany, as the Britons were so much harassed by continual wars, in which they were for the most part worsted, particularly at Wippedsfleet in 465, and in another battle in 473, (fn. 1) that they were in no condition to make head against him. They were indeed, grieved to see the Saxons so firmly settled in Britain; but their weakness prevented the most distant hopes of dispossessing them. (fn. 2) Hengist died about twelve years after the arrival of Ella, in the year 488, thirtynine years after his first landing in Britain, and thirtythree years since his taking upon himself the title of King of Kent. Though Hengist must have been allowed by every one to have been a brave and gallant soldier, yet his character was sullied by a continual scene of bloodshed, and the most inhuman cruelties, to which, and to his fraud and treachery, he owed most of his success; in particular, the murder of the British lords, mentioned above, will always remain an indelible stain on his memory.

The wapen, or arms of Hengist, according to Verstegan, were a leaping white horse, or hengit, in a red field; similar to which are the present arms of this county, the only difference being the colour of the field; which, in the latter, is blue.

He was succeeded in the kingdom of Kent by his son Escus; or, as some write him, Oisc, who began his reign in the year 488, from whom the inhabitants of Kent were sometimes called Eskins, and Oiscingians. He had likewise a son, named Audoacer, who staid behind in Germany; and a daughter, Rowena, married, as is said, to Vortigern, king of Kent; all of whom were born before Hengist's first landing in Britain; at which time, indeed, Rowena was marriageable, which shews he must have died in a good old age.

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II. ESCUS.—ANNO 488

WHEN his father died, Escus was in the northern parts of Britain, where he had been sent the year before to assist against the Britons; but as soon as he had notice of it, he hastened into Kent, to take possession of the kingdom. As he had not the valour or abilities of his father, he seems rather to have defended than enlarged his kingdom, preferring his ease to the fatigues of war. For the three first years of his reign, there was a general truce between the Saxons and Britons, at the end of which Ella, having received a strong reinforcement out of Germany, went and besieged the ancient station of Anderida, or Andredceaster, situated, as some think, within the bounds of Kent, at Newenden; and others, in the near neighbourhood of it, in Sussex, at Pevensey or Hastings. However this may be, the Britons assembled in multitudes to raise the siege, and harrassed the Saxons in such a manner, that they were forced to break up from before the town, and by skirmishes with the Britons to drive them by battle into the woods. Notwithstanding which, they returned again upon them, which obliged the Saxons to divide their army into two parts, with one of which they kept the Britons off, and, at the same time, with the other they carried on the siege. At length, after a vigorous defence, the city was taken by storm; but the Saxons were so enraged at the losses and fatigues it had occasioned them, that they put all the inhabitants to the sword, burnt the city, and rased all the walls and places of defence to the ground. Immediately after this, Ella assumed the title of King of Sussex, or the South Saxons, which he durst not do whilst Hengist was alive. (fn. 3) This was the second Saxon kingdom, and contained the present counties of Sussex and Surry. Ella was also elected chief or general, of the Saxons in Britain, in the room of Hengist; for they, like the Britons, always chose one of their princes, whom they invested with the supreme power, to conduct their affairs during a war, who was accountable only to the states, and was a kind of monarch, or head, over the other kings.

In the year 495, Cerdic, a noble Saxon general, arrived in Britain with a large body of Saxons; (fn. 4) he was illustrious not only on account of his own conquests, but for his descent, being sprung from Woden, the root of all the principal Saxon families; from him the kings of England, down to king Edward the Confessor, in the male line, were descended; and in the female, down to his present Majesty of Great-Britain. He was also famous as founder of a kingdom, to which all the rest in the end became subject; and, consequently, he must be esteemed as one of the first founders of the English monarchy. This warlike prince, having acquired great reputation in Germany, and finding no farther employment there, resolved, after the example of hie countrymen, to seek his fortune in Britain. Wherefore, embarking with his men in five ships, he landed at a place called, from thence, Cerdic's Ora; but as his encounters with the Britons were in the further parts of Britain, it will not be within the compass of my design to follow him thither. I shall, therefore, return to Escus, king of Kent, of whom nothing remarkable is related by our historians. He died, after a reign of twenty-two years, in 512, leaving the kingdom of Kent to his son Octa, who became third king thereof.

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III. OCTA. ANNO 512

TWO years after king Octa's accession to the throne of Kent, Ella, king of Sussex, died, and the monarchy of the Saxons was conferred on Cerdic above-mentioned, who, after many bloody battles, gaining a signal victory over the Britons in the year 519, took possession of the present counties of Hampshire and Somersetshire, where he founded the kingdom of Wessex, or the West Saxons, so called, because it lay west of Kent and Sussex, this being the third kingdom of the Saxons in Britain. From the time Hengist had peopled Essex and Middlesex with Saxons, those provinces had been governed by a præfect, or deputy, under the king of Kent; but in the year 527, Erchenwin, a descendant of Woden, who then held that post under Octa, taking advantage of that king's weakness, engaged the people to acknowledge him as king, which was the foundation of the kingdom of the East Saxons, being the fourth erected by that nation in Britain.

Octa, third king of Kent, after an inactive reign of twenty-two years, died in the year 534; and was succeeded by his son Hermenric.

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IV. HERMENRIC. ANNO 534

DURING whose reign, that is, in 547, Ida, a famous chief, an Angle by nation, and a descendant of Woden, arrived in Britain with a number of his countrymen. They landed at Flamborough, in Yorkshire, then in the possession of the Northumbrian Saxons, who received them as friends. The Northumbrians, so called from their inhabiting north of the Humber, had maintained themselves in that country ever since the time of Hengist, and had been always in some dependence on the kings of Kent; but being so far from them, the distance prevented their receiving any assistance, or indeed having any intercourse with them, which made them tired of their subjection, and Ida found them ready to receive him, and the numerous company of Angles that he brought with him, and they acknowledged him as king of Northumberland; (fn. 5) which was the foundation of the fifth Saxon kingdom in Britain, which proved a very powerful one, for it comprehended all Yorkshire, Lancashire, Durham, Cumberland, Westmoreland, and Northumberland, with part of Scotland, as far as Edinburgh Frith. At this time, those parts of the country, which remained in the hands of the Britons, were parcelled out into little independent states, who weakened each other by the discord that reigned among their respective princes. The British historians give such a character of these petty sovereigns, that the nation in general could have but small hopes of assistance from any one, or all of them together. They were remarkable for vice and tyranny, rapine and violence; these sovereigns were divided among themselves, and as they had no confidence in each other, they could never agree upon proper measures to free themselves from the impending calamities, so that each pursuing his own separate interest, the Saxons, their common enemy, were left at liberty to establish themselves upon their ruin.

As to Hermenric, king of Kent, we have nothing left relating to him worth mentioning, excepting that in the year 561, he admitted his son Ethelbert partner with him in the kingdom, though the latter was then but a youth. Hermenric died in 564, leaving a daughter, named Rickell, who married Sledda, second king of the East Saxons; and Ethelbert, his son and partner in the kingdom above-mentioned, who succeeded to the entire possession of it on his father's death, and became one of the most celebrated monarchs, not only of Kent, but of the whole heptarchy. (fn. 6)

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V. ETHELBERT. ANNO 564

THOUGH Ethelbert, when he ascended the throne, was but young, yet he had a great and aspi- ring genius, and beheld, with regret, the loss of that superiority which Hengist, as monarch, had over all the Saxons settled in Britain. To regain this, he resolved to revive his pretensions to this dignity by force of arms, and for that purpose declared war against Ceaulin, king of the West Saxons, who then possessed it. This occasioned the first civil war among the Saxons in Britain since their arrival in it. When Ethelbert took this resolution, he did not consider the disproportion between his forces and those of his enemy, which he soon was but too sensible of; for Ceaulin, disdaining to wait to be attacked by so young a prince, and one of no reputation, marched to meet Ethelbert, and meeting him at Wibbandune, now Wimbledon, in Surry, entirely routed him, Oslace and Cnebba, two sons of Ethelbert's chief commanders, being slain; and being defeated again a second time, Ethelbert was forced to sue for peace. His vexation, at so unexpected a disappointment, was increased by the mockery he received from the other princes, for his presumption. Indeed, he had occasion for this mortifying lesson, to teach him, that courage alone is not sufficient for success, unless accompanied with prudence and strength. However, he improved so much by it, that he afterwards became one of the wisest and most illustrious princes of his nation. Not long after this, that is about the year 575, began, as is supposed (for the year is not mentioned in the Saxon Annals, or any other antient history) the kingdom of the East Angles, comprising the counties we now call Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, and the isle of Ely, being the sixth Saxon kingdom in Britain; it was founded by Uffa, the eighth from Woden, from whom the succeeding kings were called Uffingæ. The Saxons were now become so numerous and powerful over the whole country, that they began afresh to harass the Britons, and in a few years drove them out from every part of the island, now known by the name of England. During the time of the war between the two nations, that is, in the year 585, the seventh kingdom of the Saxons in Britain was foudned by Crida, (fn. 7) of the race of Woden, who had landed with a numerous body of Angles, his countrymen, in a fleet the most considerable of any that had come from Germany. This was called the kingdom of the Middle Saxons, and afterwards the kingdom of Mercia. This, though the last erected, was one of the largest of the English Saxon kingdoms, and one of the last that was conquered by the West Saxons. It comprehended seventeen counties; to wit— Gloucestershire Herefordshire Worcestershire Warwickshire Leicestershire Rutlandshire Northamptonshire Lincolnshire Huntingdonshire Bedfordshire Buckinghamshire Oxfordshire Staffordshire Shropshire Nottinghamshire Derbyshire Cheshire, and part of Hertfordshire.

The Britons were now confined within very narrow bounds; for having abandoned their ancient seats, they took shelter amongst the craggy and mountainous places in the west of the island, which the Latins called Cambria; and the English, after the German custom, Wales, whither their merciless enemies could not easily pursue them. This first civil war among the Saxons (fn. 8) was followed by many more, caused by the restlessness and ambition of their princes. As soon as they were out of danger from the Britons, they quarrelled among themselves, with such animosity, that if the Britons had had an able and courageous monarch to have led them forward, they might have recovered all they had lost.

Ceaulin, king of the West Saxons, was so elated with his success against Ethelbert, that he looked upon the neighbouring princes as his subjects and vassals; in all likelihood they would have soon been really so, had not death snatched him away in the midst of his ambitious projects. (fn. 9) After Ceaulin's death, Ethelbert was elected monarch of the Anglo-Saxons; and though in the beginning of his reign his ill success had brought on him the scorn and contempt of the neighbouring princes, insomuch that he could scarce defend his own territories, yet now being of riper years and more experienced, he soon brought under his subjection all the nations of the Anglo-Saxons, except the Northumbrians, who alone found means to keep themselves independent. The rest chose rather to submit than to contend with him.

Ethelbert, besides his being formidable to his neighbours for his personal accomplishments, had, moreover, the advantage of being allied to France. by means of his marriage with Bertha, daughter of Charibert, king of Paris; a circumstance which procured him great respect from all of them. Though the haughtiness with which Ethelbert treated the rest of the princes, made them very uneasy, yet they had still a much greater reason to be alarmed, when, on the death of Crida, king of Mercia, he seized on that kingdom, notwithstanding the deceased king had left a son of fit age to succeed him. In this he exactly imitated Ceaulin, though he had himself stirred up the other kings against that monarch, on account of his ambition. Ethelbert, it seems, pretended that he had a right, as monarch and descendant of Hengift, to succeed to all the vacant thrones in the heptarchy. Alarmed at this, they began to take measures to put a stop to so open an usurpation. But Ethelbert, dreading left they should all join in a league against him, and treat him in the same manner they did Ceaulin, would not expose himself to the same danger. Therefore, to make them easy, he restored the kingdom of Mercia to Wibba, the son of Crida, reserving, however, such an authority over him, that he durst not undertake any thing without his permission. The English princes seemed satisfied with this, and laying aside all thoughts of a war, turned their thoughts to their own domestic concerns. Nothing more remarkable happened during the rest of Ethelbert's reign, except what relates to religion. It was about the year 597, that king Ethelbert embraced the Christian faith, and was baptised by saint Augustine, the first archbishop of Canterbury, to which his queen, Bertha, had prepared the way, which example was followed by great numbers of his subjects; and so great was the respect and esteem which the king entertained for Augustine, and the profession which he had embraced, that he gave him his royal palace at Canterbury, as an habitation for himself and his disciples; and retiring to Reculver, about eight miles distant from thence, built another palace there, out of the ruins of the old Roman buildings at that place. In the year 604, king Ethelbert and his queen kept their Christmas at Canterbury, during which the king endowed the monastery he had erected there, at the request of Augustine, with great revenues and immunities, and dedicated it to the apostles, saint Peter and saint Paul. The laws which the king made with the advice of his Wittenagemot, or Great Council, are still extant in the Saxon language, and are printed, with those of the rest of the Saxon kings, in the edition of the Textus Roffensis, in Dr. Hickes's Thefaurus, in Archaionomia, and in bishop Wilkins's Leges Anglo Saxonicæ; which as they are the most antient of our Saxon laws, so they shew the plainness and simplicity of the times.

Ethelbert had two wives: the first was Bertha, of France, by whom he had Eadbald, his successor, and Ethelburga, married to Edwin, king of Northumberland. The name of his second wife is unknown. He died in 616, having reigned fifty-three years, and was buried in the porch of saint Martin, within the church of the abovementioned abbey, just by his royal consort, queen Bertha, who died some years before.

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VI. EADBALD. ANNO 616

HE was succeeded by his son Eadbald, who became the sixth king of Kent. A man very unlike his father; for as soon as he became his own master, he forsook the Christian religion, and became again a heathen, and is even said to have married the queen, his mother-in-law. (fn. 10)

His vices rendering him slothful and inactive, all the English kings cast off the yoke they had worn during the life of Ethelbert; and among the rest, the king of Mercia freed himself from the servitude Ethelbert had kept him in; and Eadbald had neither courage nor power to maintain what the king his father had, as he thought, so firmly established. However, at last he was brought to a sense of his errors, and again embracing Christianity, he spent the remainder of his days in the practice of its precepts, and dying in the year 640,b was buried, near his father, in the same abbey, in a chapel there, which he himself had built. By Emma, daughter of the king of France, he left two sons, Ermenfride and Ercombert; and a daughter named Eanswith, who became a nun, and was foundress, under his patronage, of the nunnery at Folkestone, in this county. His sister, Ethelburga, called Tate, who had been married to Edwine, king of Northumberland, and baptised by Paulinus, with great numbers of people in those parts, upon her husband's death; and a persecution thereupon arising against the Christians, fled to Eadbald for protection, who received her and her children, and gave her a portion of land at Liminge, where she founded a church, and was afterwards buried. (fn. 11)

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VII. ERCOMBERT

ERCOMBERT, though the younger of king Eadbald's sons, found means to ascend the throne in prejudice of his elder brother, as some say, by the appointment of his father. This prince was a zealous Christian, and ordered the heathen temples to be razed to the ground, and the idols to be broken in pieces, left they should hereafter prove a snare to the people. (fn. 12) On his brother Ermenfride's being seized with a distemper which brought him to the grave, Ercombert promised to leave the crown, which of right belonged to him, to his children, but he was not so good as his word. Ermenfride left issue by his wife Oslava, two sons, Ethelred and Ethelbrit; and two daughters, Ermenburga and Ermengiva; the former of whom, who was also called Domneva, had issue by her husband Merwald, son of Penda, king of Mercia; one son, Merefine; and three daughters, Milburg, Mildred, and Milgith, who were all four sainted. (fn. 13)

Ercombert died in 664, and was buried in saint Augustine's monastery, being much esteemed, as well for his piety as love to his country. By Sexburga, the daughter of Anna, king of the East Saxons, he had two sons, Egbert and Lothair; and two daughters, Ermenilda, wife of Wulpher, king of Mercia: and Ermengotha, a nun.

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VIII. EGBERT

EGBERT succeeded his father in the kingdom of Kent, and became a great encourager of learning and the liberal arts; which then, under the endeavours of archbishop Theodore, began to make their appearance in England. He was a kind patron of the ministers of the gospel, receiving and entertaining them with much generosity. But these actions were much sullied by the murder of his two nephews, Ethelred and Ethelbrit; whom, at the instigation of one Thunor, a flattering sycophant, he caused to be put to death, lest they should disturb him in the possession of the crown. To expiate this guilt, according to the custom of those times, he gave Domneva, their sister, a sufficient quantity of land in the isle of Thanet to found a monastery on. He gave also to one Bassa, in the year 669, the palace and lands of Reculver, in Kent, (where, from the time of king Ethelbert, had been the palace of the kings of Kent) to build another monastery there, as a farther atonement for his crime. He died, according to the best authorities, in the year 673, leaving two sons, Edric and Widred, who were both set aside, to make way for their uncle Lothair, who usurped the throne on his brother Egbert's death. (fn. 14)

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IX. LOTHAIR

LOTHAIR did not reign long unmolested; (fn. 15) his first thoughts were employed in securing the succession of the crown to his posterity; for which purpose he made his son Richard, by his wife, daughter of Sigerus, king of the East Saxons, and sister to king Offa, partner with him in the government. This obliged his nephew, Edric, to withdraw from court, and apply to Adelwalch, king of Sussex, for assistance, who kindly received him, and supplied him with a considerable force. This involved the country in a dreadful scene of war and bloodshed. At length, after several engagements, with various success, Lothair was vanquished, and died of the wounds he received in battle; and was buried in saint Augustine's monastery, near king Ercombert.

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X. EDRIC

AFTER this victory, Edric was crowned without opposition, about the year 68ç. His short reign was a continued scene of warfare with his subjects, by whom he was slain, within the space of two years, leaving the kingdom of Kent so weakened and embroiled, that it became a prey to the several usurpers who attempted the conquest of it.

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XI. WIDRED AND SWABERT

HE was succeeded by his brother Wired, but as he had not the general approbation of the people, he was obliged to admit one Swabert as partner in the kingdom. Soon after which Cedwalla, king of the West Saxons, imagining the intestine divisions of Kent would render the kingdom an easy conquest, sent an army into it, under the command of his brother Mollo, who over-ran and wasted great part of the country, carrying off great quantities of spoil. This roused in the Kentishmen their wonted courage, and uniting together in a considerable body, they put Mollo and his troops to flight. This prince, perceiving he was closely pursued, took shelter, with twelve others, in a house, which they valiantly defended for some time; but the Kentish soldiers setting fire to it, they all miserably perished in the flames. Cedwalla, irritated at the fate of his brother, whom he tenderly loved, resolved to revenge his death. For which purpose he entered Kent with a formidable army, and never quitted it till he had wasted the whole country with fire and sword, which reduced it to such a state, that this kingdom never afterwards made any great figure in the heptarchy.

The two kings, Widred and Swabert, enjoyed no repose till the year 691; when, having got rid of some other petty princes, who pretended a right to part of their territories, they divided the government between them, and the country was again reduced to a state of peace and quietness within itself. Cedwalla was not content with the revenge he had taken, on account of his brother's death; he strongly recommended the pursuit of it to his successor, Ina; who, in 694, made great preparations to invade this kingdom, and having actually marched hither, put the whole country in a consternation. The Kentishmen, after having tried every means to persuade him to relinquish so cruel a design, found money the only prevailing argument; on which they offered him thirty thousand marks of gold, which he accepted, and immediately returned home. Soon after this, Swabert dying, Widred reigned alone in Kent, and continued in peace to the time of his death, which happened in the year 725. (fn. 16) This prince was a great patron of the church, and favourer of the clergy. He called the famous council of Becancelde, in 694, wherein he confirmed several immunities and privileges to them.

He was buried near the body of saint Augustine, in the south part of the porch of our Lady's chapel, built by king Eadbald. He had been twice married; his first wife's name being Werburga, and the other Kynygytha; and he left three sons, Ethelbert, Eadbert, and Aldric; though the Saxon Chronicle names them Eadbert, Ethelbert, and Edmund, and says, they succeeded in turn to the crown.

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XII. ETHELBERT

ETHELBERT succeeded his father Widred in the year 725, taking, according to some writers, his two brothers, Eadbert and Aldric, as partners with him in the government. But as this kingdom now made no great figure, historians have made little or no mention of it, or of the several princes who reigned over it. (fn. 17) In the year 748 Eadbert died; after whose death Ethelbert associated with him Ardulph, his son, as partner in the government; and some letters are still extant, which these princes wrote to Boniface, archbishop of Metz. It appears also, from the evidences of Christ church, Canterbury, in the Decem Scriptores, that this Ardulphus gave some land at Berghamsted, in this county, to Eadbert, abbot of Reculver. King Ethelbert died in the year 760, having survived his brother Eadbert about twelve years. He was buried, as some write, at Reculver; but according to others, with his predecessors in saint Augustine's monastery, in Canterbury.

About this time there was one Sigeward, king of a part of Kent, if any credit is to be given to one of his grants, extant in the Textus Roffensis, in which he stiles himself, Rex dimidiæ partis provinciæ Cantuariorum. It seems highly probable, that this kingdom had, for some time before this, been subdivided into several governments, and this might be one reason that no mention is made of them in our histories, as being too inconsiderable to be noticed, in comparison of the other princes of the heptarchy.

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XIII. ALDRIC

ARDULPH died before his father, king Ethelbert, so that Aldric, the third, and only surviving son of Widred, succeeded to the crown. This prince was frequently attacked by his neighbours, who, perceiving the weak state of the kingdom, thought it a fair opportunity to subdue it. Of these Offa, king of Mercia, was one of the most forward. In the year 774, Offa invaded Kent, and fought a famous battle with Aldric, at Otford in this county, where the former gained the victory, after a great flaughter on both sides. This sunk the affairs of Aldric exceeding low, and had not Offa been diverted from pursuing the fruits of his success, by the invasion of his own kingdom by the Welsh, he would then, in all likelihood, have united Kent to Mercia. Aldric had associated his son Alcmund as partner with him on the throne; but this prince died before his father, and neither leaving any heirs, with them ended the right line of the Saxon kings of Kent, of the race of Hengist. (fn. 18)

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XIV. EADBERT-PREN

AFTER the death of Aldric, Eadbert, or Edilbert, surnamed Pren, took possession of the throne, but Cenulph, king of Mercia, did not suffer him to enjoy it long in peace; for taking advantage of the weak state the kingdom was in, he ravaged it from one end to the other. At last, having defeated Eadbert, he carried him into Mercia, where he ordered his eyes to be put out. and his hands to be cut off.

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XV. CUDRED

AFTER this, Cenulph placed one Cudred on the throne, who was in absolute dependence on him. He began his reign about the year 797, and having reigned obscurely about eight years, died in the year 805. Five of his coins in silver, are described in Hickes's Dissertations and Epistles, p. 168, pl. iv.

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XVI. BALDRED

BALDRED succeeded Cudred in the kingdom of Kent, and after a reign of eighteen years, in which time nothing memorable is recorded of him, was driven out of his kingdom by the victorious Egbert, king of the West Saxons, and the first sole monarch of that nation in Britain; who, sending Ethelwulf his son, Bishop Ealstan, and his præfect, Wulfeard, with a great army, reduced this kingdom to his obedience, and drove Baldred across the Thames into the northern parts; on which the South and East Saxons, and the people of Surry likewise submitted themselves to his government, and owned his sovereignty. And thus, in the year 823, (fn. 19) ended the kingdom of Kent, properly so called, whilst it had a distinct king of its own, after having continued in that state about 368 years.

Egbert, who began his reign over the West Saxons in the year 800, did not finish his conquests till 827, or 828, from which time his title of king of England is to be dated, as well as the dissolution of the Saxon heptarchy. Notwithstanding which, this prince was only in actual possession of the antient kingdoms of Wessex. Sussex, Kent, and Essex, peopled by the Saxons. As for the other three kingdoms, whose inhabitants were Angles, he was contented with reserving to himself the soverignty over them, permitting them to be governed by kings who were his vassals and tributaries, and for several successions held their former usual titles.