Sutton Valence Castle
Following the Medieval Pageant we'd gotten the local history buzz that usually reserves itself for our holidays. Sunday morning we'd planned to go to a local food festival, but as it was only a small community event we spent half an hour there and were free to go about our day. So we decided to head off up to Maidstone in order to go and view some of the history we had vaguely locally.
What started off as a boredom buster turned into a full day of exploration and we visited 4 sites within Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells before going home with a very tired puppy. Our visit to St Augustine's the day before had inspired exploration into local history and while Maidstone isn't quite local, it's within our home County of Kent and so counts as part of our Local Adventure series.
We'd never heard of Sutton Valence before, and yet on the way home from our full day of adventuring, the signs for it were everywhere. We've no idea how we'd missed it, but that was soon made up for.
Sutton Valence Castle isn't a very well recorded site. If you look up the history on English Heritage or indeed read the signs at the site, there are an awful lot of 'probably' words present. Now this indicates that not much is known about the site especially due to its ruinous state and it doesn't look like anyone has bothered to excavate in order to find out more, so this is what we know so far.
The castle was a fortification likely made up of inner and outer baileys, a keep, and a barbican wall to protect the three storey keep. We know it had three storeys as the keep is all that remains of this castle and it's nestled into it's little village to the point you blink and you'll miss it.
It is believed that the castle was possibly built towards the end of the 12th century by the Counts of Aumale, but it is under dispute as to whom. The site was built strategically, having centred so that it viewed the route between Maidstone, Rye, and Old Winchelsea.
Various marriages meant the castle was passed around a little until King Henry III gave the castle to William de Valence, his half brother, due to support given during the Second Barons' War. It was actually Simon de Montfort who owned the castle at this point, but as he was leading the rebellion against the king, when he was killed at the Battle of Evesham the king took the castle. When William took over, the castle and surrounding village took his name and was then passed to his son Aymer. When Aymer died the castle and surrounding area passed to Lord Hastings and the family held it until 1390 when Reginald Lord Grey de Ruthin took over. Sadly it seems that records beyond this point are lost to history as all we know from this time onwards is that the castle was ruined come the 15th century.
When we visited we struggled to park as the road was very narrow and the castle was tucked away within the residential area. Once we'd managed to lose the car we trekked up the road and then into the nook which housed what was left of the keep. We were here half an hour tops as there really isn't much left to see. The steps up to the castle have recently been replaced, but aside from that there hasnt really been much upkeep. This is another property which is a free to enter site as you can't exactly cut it off from the public, but as much as we hate to say it, it seems English Heritage are happy for it to fall down. We are aware that conservation works have taken place in order to preserve what is left of these ruins, but the vegetation here is keen to reclaim the castle.
While the castle seems like it should have seen some bloodshed and therefore had a gruesome past, there is no record to say it was part of the English Civil War, that anyone died here, or that it was slighted for any reason or another. It just seems as though this castle was forgotten and abandoned, much like it is now. There are no ghosties lurking within the open stone walls of the keep, in fact the only ghost here in the vicinity of Sutton Valence Castle seems to be itself. Shrouded in Ivy and other growth, the castle fights to stay present in a modern world that barely acknowledges its existence. Sure, the nearby residents know it exists, but English Heritage don't advertise this site and we only came across it by accident. This is a sad relic of the past, but a lovely hidden gem to immerse yourself in on a Sunday morning. A beautiful site for a picnic for sure!
Would we go back? Absolutely, if anything just to have that picnic and be at peace with history and nature for a while. We'd recommend this one just to keep it in living memory.
DISCLAIMER: Now for the official bit. This blog does not receive any paid promotions from the places mentioned above. We have not been approached to promote or act as spokespersons for any attraction mentioned within this post and this is simply a post intended to act as a day in the life of a couple on a cute date. All photos included are taken by ourselves and as such the rights for these images our ours, no links, brands, or companies mentioned otherwise belong or are associated with Phantom Adventures UK. We are responsible only for this blog. Opinions are our own and not influenced by any third party source..
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