Scotney Castle
Scotney Castle is a National Trust property situated near Tunbridge Wells, Kent. There are actually two buildings on this site. The image shown here is of the original building, ‘The Old Castle’, construction of which dates back to 1378 – 80. The other building is of much more recent construction and dates to ‘only’ 1835.
Construction of the castle began as a roughly rectangular fortified house with towers in each corner. The original plan may never have been finished, and by 1558 it is likely only the southern tower remained. In 1580 the south wing was rebuilt in Elizabethan architecture style, and around 1630 the eastern range was rebuilt in three-story Inigo Jones style. The Elizabethan wing remained a bailiff’s residence until 1905, but the eastern range was partly dismantled on the completion of the new house in 1843, leaving the ruin as a garden feature.
