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Monument details

HER Number:TR 35 NW 7
Type of record:Monument
Name:Site of King's Castle, Sandwich

Summary

The first mention of a castle at Sandwich was in c.1327-1377 as a royal castle appointed by the governor of Dover Castle. The dates of the foundation and ruin of the castle are unknown; it is thought that it went into decline around 1464, at the same time as the town. The Castle stood immediately without the town on its south east side, commanding the old harbour and the Deal approach road. The remains of the castle were visible in the late 19th century. A building attached to Sir Roger Manwood's School, now occupies the site, but no foundations of the castle were encountered in the construction of the building in 1910.


Grid Reference:TR 3347 5791
Map Sheet:TR35NW
Parish:SANDWICH, DOVER, KENT

Monument Types

  • CASTLE (Medieval - 1327 AD? to 1464 AD?)

Full description

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[TR 33455798] King's Castle [NR] (Site of) [NAT] (1)

The first mention of a castle at Sandwich was c1327-1377, being a royal castle appointed by the governor of Dover Castle. It stood immediately without the town on its SE side, commanding the old harbour and the Deal approach road. The remains of the castle are shown at TR 33485791 in 1877 (a) and Robertson (e) notes that a crop mark was visible in 1886 after the foundations had been grubbed up. The dates of the foundation and ruin of the castle are unknown, but the latter is assumed to have been coeval with the decay of the town in 1464. A building attached to Sir Roger Manwood's School, now occupies the site, but no foundations of the castle were encountered in the construction of the building in 1910. (2) additional references (3-14)


<1> OS 25" 1956 (OS Card Reference). SKE48271.

<2> F1 FGA 28-MAY-64 (OS Card Reference). SKE42995.

<3> 1st Edition OS 6", 1877 (OS Card Reference). SKE32747.

<4> Hist of Sandwich 1792, 404-5 (W Boys) (OS Card Reference). SKE44027.

<5> Castles of England 1897, 41, (J D Mackenzie) (OS Card Reference). SKE38637.

<6> Memorials of Old Kent 1907, 208 (Ditchfield & Clinch) (OS Card Reference). SKE46886.

<7> Archaeol Cant 16, 1886, liv (W A Scott-Robertson) (OS Card Reference). SKE37211.

<8> Field report for monument TR 35 NW 7 - May, 1964 (Bibliographic reference). SKE6030.

<9> Canterbury Archaeological Trust, 1997, Archaeological Excavations at Sandwich Castle, 1995-6 (Unpublished document). SKE7514.

<10> Stewart, I.J., 2000, Archaeological Investigations at Sandwich Castle, Arch Cant CXX 51-75 (Article in serial). SKE8143.

<11> Ordnance Survey, 1862-1875, Ordnance Survey 1:2500 1st Edition : 1862-1875, 1877/1:2500 (Map). SWX11831.

<12> Ordnance Survey, 1893-7, Ordnance Survey 1:2500 2nd edition : 1893-1898, 1899/1:2500 (Map). SWX11832.

<13> Ordnance Survey, 1905-10, Ordnance Survey 1:2500 3rd edition: 1901-1912, 1908/1:2500 (Map). SWX11833.

<14> Ordnance Survey, 2009, OS MasterMap, MasterMap (Cartographic materials). SWX15710.

Sources and further reading

Cross-ref. Source description
<1>OS Card Reference: OS 25" 1956.
<2>OS Card Reference: F1 FGA 28-MAY-64.
<3>OS Card Reference: 1st Edition OS 6", 1877.
<4>OS Card Reference: Hist of Sandwich 1792, 404-5 (W Boys).
<5>OS Card Reference: Castles of England 1897, 41, (J D Mackenzie).
<6>OS Card Reference: Memorials of Old Kent 1907, 208 (Ditchfield & Clinch).
<7>OS Card Reference: Archaeol Cant 16, 1886, liv (W A Scott-Robertson).
<8>Bibliographic reference: Field report for monument TR 35 NW 7 - May, 1964.
<9>XYUnpublished document: Canterbury Archaeological Trust. 1997. Archaeological Excavations at Sandwich Castle, 1995-6. [Mapped feature: #56916 Sandwich castle, ]
<10>Article in serial: Stewart, I.J.. 2000. Archaeological Investigations at Sandwich Castle. 120 Pages 51 - 75. Arch Cant CXX 51-75.
<11>Map: Ordnance Survey. 1862-1875. Ordnance Survey 1:2500 1st Edition : 1862-1875. 1:2500. 1877/1:2500.
<12>Map: Ordnance Survey. 1893-7. Ordnance Survey 1:2500 2nd edition : 1893-1898. 1:2500. 1899/1:2500.
<13>Map: Ordnance Survey. 1905-10. Ordnance Survey 1:2500 3rd edition: 1901-1912. 1:2500. 1908/1:2500.
<14>Cartographic materials: Ordnance Survey. 2009. OS MasterMap. MasterMap.