Lympne Castle is a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

castle located in the village of

Lympne Lympne (), formerly also Lymne, is a village on the former shallow-gradient sea cliffs above the expansive agricultural plain of Romney Marsh in Kent. The settlement forms an L shape stretching from Port Lympne Zoo via Lympne Castle facing Lympne ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, above

Romney Marsh Romney Marsh is a sparsely populated wetland area in the counties of Kent and East Sussex in the south-east of England. It covers about . The Marsh has been in use for centuries, though its inhabitants commonly suffered from malaria until th ...

. After the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

, the castle was sometimes referred to as Court Lodge. Lympne Castle is a Grade I listed property, described as a fortified manor house.

History

The castle was built close to the former Roman fort Stutfall Castle, on the site of Lympne Abbey. The first castle on the site was erected in the 1080's for the Archdeacons of Canterbury. It was rebuilt in the 1360s and expanded. After that work, the structure included a tower at each end. Additions were made in the 15th and 19th centuries. The last addition was by

Robert Lorimer Sir Robert Stodart Lorimer, KBE (4 November 1864 – 13 September 1929) was a prolific Scottish architect and furniture designer noted for his sensitive restorations of historic houses and castles, for new work in Scots Baronial and Got ...

who worked on the property during 1907 and 1911-12. Until 1860, the property was the residence of the Archdeacon of Canterbury. It was then used as a farmhouse and was in disrepair by the early 1900s. The property was purchased by F.J. Tennant in 1906. The restoration of medieval aspects by Lormier was complemented by the addition of the West Wing. The East Wing was added in 1918 for then-owner Henry Beecham. By the end of WW II, the castle was in poor condition because it was used by the army; a series of restorations and modifications were made starting in 1945.

Modern usage

In September 1978, Paul McCartney's

Wings A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expre ...

recorded sessions at the Lympne Castle for their 1979 album '' Back to the Egg''. By the time the property was listed for sale in summer 2021, it was described as containing self-catering accommodations and a restaurant, in addition to the castle. It was also being used for corporate events and weddings. The castle was not generally open to the public.

References

History of Lympne Castle

External links

lympnecastle.co.uk

Lympne Castle Gazette
{{Coord, 51, 4, 19.98, N, 1, 1, 25.04, E, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title Castles in Kent Grade I listed buildings in Kent Grade I listed castles