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The ruinous walls of Eynsford Castle in parts stand 30ft high, they are a relic of one of the earliest stone enclosure castles in England, and where built in the 1080's and 1090's the mound beneath was artificial. The site is Saxon, it had been put to a variety of uses before the castle was begun by William de Eynsford who inherited the manor from his father.
During the 12th-century the tower and other buildings were added, these included living accommodation, and a large hall was sited on the first floor. A private Solar system was also included. A fire in the 13th-century destroyed much of this and a major redevelopment programme took place soon after, this included raising the floor levels owing to a damaged undercroft. At the same time a gatehouse was added, and today only fragments of this exist.
Strangely, in less than one hundred years the castle was to be left empty and a period of decay set in. The estate was later sold to the owners of Lullingstone Castle - the Hart family in the early part of the 16th-century. In the 18th-century, the heirs of this family used Eynsford as a base for hunting, parts became stables and kennels. When in the 19th-century it was decided to proceed with preservation work, it was found to be all too late, the ravages of time had won and the once proud fortress lay in desolate ruin.
What is left makes a riveting day out, there is sufficient left of the castle to fire the imagination and transverse you back to the days when knights rode across the drawbridge on horse-back to claim the hand of my fair lady. It is a lovely site in the midst of a picturesque Kentish village, which itself is worth more than a second glance.
Eynsford Castle is in the care of English Heritage, it open to public view for most of the year.
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