A HISTORY OF KENT 



When Hasted wrote' much more of the bailey walls were m 

 evidence, though ' honeycombed and almost eaten up by the weather and 

 length of time . . . they are about 14 ft. high and near 3 broad.' 

 Traces of walling remained round the keep mount, and large fragments 

 had been tumbled into the chalk quarry on the southern side. 



The castle commands one of the most extensive views in Kent, 

 overlooking the Pilgrim Way at a short distance below and the wide 

 stretch of the Weald. 



ToNBRiDGE : Castle and Town Wall. — The castle is upon a spur 

 or bank of gravel projecting southward from higher ground, scarped 

 and re-formed in creating this typical mount and court stronghold. It 

 stands amidst the lowlands of the Medway and its tributary streams, 

 which, with the marshes, defended the position on the south and west. 





I 



Castle and Town Wall, Tonbridce. 



Fortunately the most striking feature remains fairly intact, for the 

 mighty mount, standing nearly 60 ft. above its moat and commanding 

 the surrounding country, has been altered only by cutting footpaths for 

 access to the summit ; but its moat has, on the side next the base-court 

 on the south-east, been furnished with a culvert and levelled, whilst it 

 has in some other portions been partially filled with earth. 



The first castle to crown the mount was doubtless of timber, 

 forming such a defensive work as we have had to notice elsewhere (see 

 Saltwood, etc.), but owing to the character of the ground it was 

 possible to build with stone at an early period, and we find the remains 

 of a shell keep of masonry on the summit. A culvert may have been 

 constructed in the position above mentioned when the stone castle was 



> Hist, of Kent (1782), ii. 

 424 



