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Monument details
| HER Number: | TQ 77 NE 1000 |
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| Type of record: | Listed Building |
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| Name: | Cooling Castle Gatehouse, Cooling |
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Summary
Cooling Castle Gatehouse. Embattled gatehouse. 1381-1385.
Summary from record TQ 77 NE 1080:
Grade I listed building. Main construction periods 1381 to 1385
| Grid Reference: | TQ 75387 75892 |
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| Map Sheet: | TQ77NE |
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| Parish: | COOLING, MEDWAY, KENT |
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Monument Types
- SITE (Unknown date)
- GATEHOUSE (Constructed 1381-1385, Medieval - 1381 AD to 1385 AD)
- SITE (Medieval - 1381 AD to 1385 AD)
| Protected Status: | Listed Building (I) 1085770: COOLING CASTLE GATEHOUSE; Scheduled Monument 1009018: COOLING CASTLE AND ITS ASSOCIATED LANDSCAPED SETTING; Scheduled Monument KENT 80 |
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Full description
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By Thomas Crump, possibly to the designs of Henry Yevele for Sir John de Cobham. Coursed ragstone with some knapped flint. 2 semi-circular towers with boldly projecting rings of machicolations and crenellations. Four centred arch between with crenellations above and moulded round-arched gateway below and behind. Single loopholes on front faces of towers at half height. The gatehouse is open on the inside and originally admitted the extreme south-west corner of the outer ward. Cooling Castle is Scheduled as an Ancient Monument. BOE, Kent, I, 239. (1)
The perfectly preserved outer gatehouse stands at its south-western corner. It consists of two heavily machicolated towers (40' high and advanced c.16' in front of the face of the south wall) flanking an arched gateway, 9' wide and 15' high. On the south face of its eastern tower is the following inscription enamelled on copper plates: 'Knoweth that beth and schul be That I am mad in help of the cuntre In knowing of whyche thyng Thys is chartre and wytnessyng' The towers remain at the outer three corners as do many portions of the curtain wall. Coastal defence was advanced as the reason for licence to crenellate:
For site in context with other Thames fortifications see (2).
Description from record TQ 77 NE 1080:
The following text is from the original listed building designation:
COOLING CP TQ 77 NE 2/9 21.11.66 Cooling Castle Gatehouse.
GV I
Embattled gatehouse. 1381-85. By Thomas Crump, possibly to the designs of Henry Yevele for Sir John de Cobham. Coursed ragstone with some knapped flint. 2 semi-circular towers with boldly projecting rings of machicolations and crenellations. Four-centred arch between with crenellations above and moulded round-arched gateway below and behind. Single loopholes on front faces of towers at half height. The gatehouse is open on the inside and originally admitted to the extreme south-west corner of the outer ward. Cooling Castle is Scheduled as an Ancient Monument. BOE, Kent, I, 239
Listing NGR: TQ7540175958
<1> Department of the Environment, KCC Greenback Index (Index). SWX9400.
<2> Saunders, Andrew, 1995, Thames fortifications during the 16th to 19th centuries (Article in monograph). SWX9358.
Sources and further reading
| Cross-ref.
| Source description | | <1> | Index: Department of the Environment. KCC Greenback Index. |
| <2> | Article in monograph: Saunders, Andrew. 1995. Thames fortifications during the 16th to 19th centuries. 124-134. |
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