ALLINGTON CASTLE, MAIDSTONE KENT

Allington Castle is a medieval stone fortress located on the banks of the River Medway near Maidstone, Kent. Early Origins & 13th-Century Rebuild • 11th–12th Century: A manor house first appeared in the Domesday Book of 1086. Later, an unauthorized motte-and-bailey castle built during the civil war known as The Anarchy was demolished on the orders of King Henry II in 1174. Allington Castle. 1279–1299: Sir Stephen de Penchester (Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports) obtained a royal license to crenellate and built the present stone courtyard castle with six curtain-wall towers.  The Wyatt Era & Royal Visits 1492: Sir Henry Wyatt purchased the estate and converted the fortress into a comfortable Tudor-style mansion, adding one of England’s earliest long galleries. Medium·Patrick Boniface  1503: The famous Tudor court poet and diplomat Sir Thomas Wyatt was born at the castle.  1520s–1530s: King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn famously visited and dined at the castle. 1554: Sir Thomas Wyatt the Younger led a failed Protestant rebellion against Queen Mary I. The Crown seized the castle, and it subsequently fell into a state of severe neglect and ruin after a late 16th-century fire. Wikishire. 20th-Century Restoration & Modern Use 1905: Art critic and mountaineer Sir Martin Conway bought the ruins and began an extensive multi-decade restoration of the medieval structure. 1951–1999: The castle served as a monastery, retreat, and study center for the Carmelite Order. CarneyCastle +1 1999–Present: The castle became the private residence of Sir Robert Worcester (founder of MORI) and is occasionally used as a private venue.