12th to 15th century The first castle was built by
William de Warenne, 2nd Earl of Surrey during the reign of
King Stephen in the first half of the 12th century. It took the form of a moated mound (possibly a
motte and bailey) built on a site adjoining a bend in the
River Medway about north of Maidstone. The fortification was subsequently expanded but as it was an unauthorised
adulterine castle, Henry II ordered its demolition (
slighting) in 1174. It was replaced with a small unfortified manor house. According to historian
Sidney Painter, it was one of at least 21 castles demolished on
Henry II's instructions. The present castle was built between 1279 and 1299 by
Stephen de Pencester, the
Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, who was granted a
licence to crenellate the existing manor house by
Edward I. It was inherited by Penchester's daughter and passed via marriage to the Cobham family, who owned it until 1492. The building's development was continued in the early 13th century by Sir Henry de Cobham, incorporating the remains of the old manor house into the new castle. Although it was fortified, it was more of a residence than a fortress, as indicated by its extensive – and early – use of brick, which may have reflected Stephen's interests in a brickyard in Essex. It seems to have been neglected subsequently; it is described by documentary sources as being in a very bad condition by 1398–99.
Tenure of the Wyatts Allington Castle was acquired in 1492 by
Sir Henry Wyatt, a prominent supporter of Henry Tudor, who in 1485 had become King
Henry VII. He undertook major alterations, dividing the courtyard into two unequal parts by constructing a two-storeyed building which contained what may have been one of the first
long galleries in England. He also added a half-timbered block adjoining the
curtain wall, which was used as the castle's kitchens and stables. Henry VII visited it during Wyatt's tenure.
Henry VIII also visited in 1527, 1530 and 1536, as did
Cardinal Wolsey in 1527 and
Katherine Parr in 1544.
Fall into ruin . The castle and manor were granted in 1568 to
John Astley,
Queen Elizabeth's Master of the Jewel House, though he did not live there. Around 1600, two farm houses were subsequently built in the grounds of Allington Castle while the rest of the castle gradually fell into ruin. Most of the Great Hall and the north-east wing were destroyed in a disastrous fire in the second half of the 16th century. An early 17th-century lessee named John Best pulled down the battlements and added a half-timbered gabled second storey to the east and west wings as a replacement for the fire-damaged areas of the castle. Allington Castle was bought in 1720 by Sir Robert Marsham, the 2nd Baron Romney and a descendant of the Wyatts, but he did not live there and let it deteriorate. The top of the Long Gallery was destroyed in another fire in the early 19th century and the rest of the castle was nearly demolished a few decades later by Charles Marsham, 5th
Earl of Romney. He was dissuaded by opposition from local residents, notably the Rector of the nearby Church of St. Lawrence, but by this time the castle was totally ruined. There was a certain amount of historical irony in this, as the Wyatts of Allington Castle had obtained Aylesford Priory and dispossessed its occupants during Henry VIII's
Dissolution of the Monasteries; now the tables were turned. It is now the home of Sir Robert Worcester, the founder of the
MORI polling company. It has been a Grade I
listed building since 1951. ==Architecture==