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Leybourne Castle is a Norman motte-and-bailey fortress located near West Malling in Kent, England. The castle was established in the early twelfth century and comprises a substantial earthen mound with surrounding ditches and baileys, representing a characteristic example of early medieval fortification design. The site has been subject to archaeological investigation and is now under the guardianship of English Heritage. Though the timber and stone structures that once stood upon the motte have largely disappeared, the earthwork remains an important testament to Norman military engineering and settlement patterns in medieval Kent.
Leybourne Castle is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1007461. View the official record →
Leybourne Castle is a Norman motte-and-bailey fortress located near West Malling in Kent, England. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1007461.
Leybourne Castle is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic England (NHLE) — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in England. The official designation reference is 1007461.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including St Mary's Abbey: a Benedictine abbey north and east of Water Lane (1.4 km), Tower keep castle at West Malling (2.2 km), Part of an Iron Age enclosure and a minor Roman villa 128m SSE of the Church of St James (2.5 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Leybourne Castle's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Leybourne Castle stands on Lower Greensand Group, bedrock that formed in the Albian. The rock here is sandstone and mudstone.