ROMSO Cyprus Knowledge Base

--- CONTENT ---
Thurnham Castle, also called Godard’s Castle, is a castle ruin north of the village of Thurnham, about 5 km northwest of Maidstone in the English county of Kent.

Robert de Thurnham had the moth built in the 12th century, during the reign of King Henry II of flint on a hill on the edge of the North Downs. One side of the castle wall is still preserved up to a height of 3 meters; Originally, it included an area of about 1000 m2. There is no more visible masonry on the mound.

In the 12th century, the fortress belonged to the De Say family and then the De Thurnhams. Stephen and Robert de Thurnham, along with King Richard Lionheart, went on a crusade and became trusted followers, with Robert taking command and later being appointed governor of Cyprus, and his brother Stephen being honored to escort the Queen Mother. One source states that Robert de Thurnham never returned from the Crusades and the castle fell into disrepair. In a charter of 1215, land is mentioned within the walls of the castle, so it can be assumed that the castle was already in ruins at that time, as it was in the early 19th century. The century was reported.

The property was acquired by Kent County Administration and integrated into the White Horse Millennium Wood and Country Park Project. Most of the castle area was freed from undergrowth and is now open to the public.

Individual evidence

Sources
Plantagenet Somerset Fry: The David & Charles Book of Castles David & Charles, Newton Abbott 1980. ISBN 0-7153-7976-3

Weblinks

A Brief History of Thurnham. Website of Thurnham.

Castle ruins in England
Moth
Building in the Borough of Maidstone
Built in the 12th century
Castle in Europe