Cooling Castle, Kent
Cooling Castle is a privately owned castle in North Kent and is not open to the public. Only parts of it are visible from the road leading to Cooling Church but this includes the impressive outer gatehouse and one corner tower of the outer bailey.
www.flickr.com/photos/barryslemmings/sets/72157629732350755/ to see the full set.
The castle was built in the troubled 1380-1385 period by John De Cobham, 3rd Baron Cobham. This period also saw the building of Bodiam Castle and the West Gate of Canterbury. While ostensibly built to protect against French raids these defences also served to overawe the local population who had risen in revolt against Richard II in 1381 - the period known at The Peasants Revolt.
Cooling, Bodiam and the Canterbury gatehouse also share many stylistic features including their 'inverted keyhole' gunloops, the earliest dateable gunloops in England. Some gunloops at an abbey on the Isle of Wight may be earlier (1365) but this cannot be confirmed.
The castle was composed of a western inner bailey with strong Bodiam-style stone walls and round towers and an eastern outer bailey surrounded by an earth embankment and round stone corner towers - the whole site being surrounded by a moat or ditch. The moat at the western end is still flooded but is hidden behind modern trees. It is possible that the earth eastern bailey was only topped with a palisade supported by the stone towers.
A later occupant of the castle was Sir John Oldcastle - who had married a Cobham - and who was a supporter of John Wyciiffe and the Lollards. The Lollards were an early form of Protestantism and were regarded as heretics in Catholic England. He was hanged on Christmas Day 1417 and his body was burned to prevent his resurrection on Judgement Day.
In 1554 Sir Thomas Wyatt revolted against Queen Mary and attacked the castle on his advance to London. The current Lord Cobham surrendered Cooling Castle after a siege of only six hours pleading shortage of cannon and lack of support. Wyatt captured Lord Cobham and his two sons and forced them to march with him to London but they managed to escape and went back to Cooling.
The castle was damaged by cannon fire and was never fully repaired. The present house was built around 1670 and is in private hands.
Cooling Castle, Kent
Cooling Castle is a privately owned castle in North Kent and is not open to the public. Only parts of it are visible from the road leading to Cooling Church but this includes the impressive outer gatehouse and one corner tower of the outer bailey.
www.flickr.com/photos/barryslemmings/sets/72157629732350755/ to see the full set.
The castle was built in the troubled 1380-1385 period by John De Cobham, 3rd Baron Cobham. This period also saw the building of Bodiam Castle and the West Gate of Canterbury. While ostensibly built to protect against French raids these defences also served to overawe the local population who had risen in revolt against Richard II in 1381 - the period known at The Peasants Revolt.
Cooling, Bodiam and the Canterbury gatehouse also share many stylistic features including their 'inverted keyhole' gunloops, the earliest dateable gunloops in England. Some gunloops at an abbey on the Isle of Wight may be earlier (1365) but this cannot be confirmed.
The castle was composed of a western inner bailey with strong Bodiam-style stone walls and round towers and an eastern outer bailey surrounded by an earth embankment and round stone corner towers - the whole site being surrounded by a moat or ditch. The moat at the western end is still flooded but is hidden behind modern trees. It is possible that the earth eastern bailey was only topped with a palisade supported by the stone towers.
A later occupant of the castle was Sir John Oldcastle - who had married a Cobham - and who was a supporter of John Wyciiffe and the Lollards. The Lollards were an early form of Protestantism and were regarded as heretics in Catholic England. He was hanged on Christmas Day 1417 and his body was burned to prevent his resurrection on Judgement Day.
In 1554 Sir Thomas Wyatt revolted against Queen Mary and attacked the castle on his advance to London. The current Lord Cobham surrendered Cooling Castle after a siege of only six hours pleading shortage of cannon and lack of support. Wyatt captured Lord Cobham and his two sons and forced them to march with him to London but they managed to escape and went back to Cooling.
The castle was damaged by cannon fire and was never fully repaired. The present house was built around 1670 and is in private hands.