Today I took the train to Tonbridge, a short 10 minute ride, to visit the Tonbridge Castle. Bob didn’t come with, as there a lot of uneven stairs in the castle and his right hip has been really bothering him.
The castle is conveniently located along the High Street in Tonbridge, a town that’s a good location for a fortified castle as it’s between London and seaports to the south. (Fun fact if AI can be trusted, Tonbridge was originally Tunbridge, but was forced to change its spelling in the 1870s to avoid confusion with Tunbridge Wells, which was faster growing due to its reputation as a spa town.)
The site of the castle was chosen for its views of the town and for its close proximity to the River Medway. It was originally a motte (mound) and bailey (courtyard) design — a fortified tower on a mound, surrounded by a timber wall surrounding a yard.
The old castle was gifted to Richard Fitzgilbert (later to be called de Clare) by William the Conqueror for coming with him from Normandy and fighting with him in the Battle of Hastings, the start of the Norman Conquest. The de Clare family owned the castle, in various iterations, for over 300 years. The castle was ultimately seized by Henry VIII in 1521 and bought by the town in 1897.
The tour cost 10 pound 50 (or 14.45 US dollars), and it included an audio guide for the self-guided tour. This being a slow season and a rainy day, I pretty much had the inside of the castle to myself, which was sometimes a little freaky.
and entrance to the castle
where I entered through the gatehouse
(as opposed to the parking lot side).
This stone gatehouse was probably built between 1260 and 1265.
Once I had purchased the ticket and received the audio guide, I went back out to the parking side of the gatehouse while the audio described the different features of the towers and archway. One of the features noted in the archway were the “murder holes,” square holes in the ceiling which guards inside could fire through to kill raiding armies. These will be seen later on.
I then used a fob provided with the audio set to gain entrance to the gatehouse, where I started the inside portion of the tour in the dark basement— by myself.
and that very real looking person is the bookkeeper.
I had to walk by him to get into the next small, dark room.
and evolving headwear on the wall.
The ones that I have cut off on top
are the most recent versions (relatively speaking).
These are the seldom bathed and lice-covered guards,
or so said the short film that appeared
on the screen behind the table.
From here, I got to peek into a privy, where they had a guy sitting on the loo. Sorry, no photos of that. But then I got to climb all the way to the top and go out a door for some outside photos of the area. It was raining but still impressive.
but also the area above the entry arch
(as guided by instructions on the audio set)
After the tour, I popped into a couple of shops as I made my way back to the station. The train was on time in both directions. There was a fun mural in the Tunbridge Wells train station highlighting significant moments in their history.
but the town is proud of Beau Nash.
Peckish Travels 