- Heritage

Richborough Roman Fort

Rutupiæ was the Roman name for Richborough near Sandwich, Kent, which they founded after they landed in England in AD 43. A major port of Roman Britain (with Dubris, it was one of the start-points for the Roman road of Watling Street, which ran on to Canterbury and London), it has many phases of Roman remains, collectively known as Richborough Fort or Richborough Roman Fort, still visible today and under the care of English Heritage. (A third, local name, Richborough Castle, is used mainly just for the Saxon Shore Fort walls.) Earth fortifications were first dug on the site in the 1st century, probably was as a storage depot and bridgehead for the Roman army. This transformed into a civilian and commercial town, which was later replaced by a Saxon Shore Fort around the year 277. The later fort is believed to have been constructed by Carausius…

Rochester Castle

Rochester Castle stands on the east bank of the River Medway, in Rochester, Kent. It is one of the best-preserved castles of its kind in the UK. There has been a fortification on this site since Roman times (c AD43), though it is the keep of 1127 and the Norman castle which can be seen today. With the invention of gunpowder other types of defence became more appropriate, and the military centre of the Medway Towns moved to Chatham…

St Augustine's Abbey

This great abbey, marking the rebirth of Christianity in southern England, was founded shortly after AD 597 by St Augustine. Originally created as a burial place for the Anglo-Saxon kings of Kent, it is part of the Canterbury World Heritage Site, along with the cathedral and St Martin’s Church.The impressive abbey is situated outside the city walls and is sometimes missed by visitors. At the abbey, you can also enjoy the museum and free audio tour…

St Augustine's Cross

This 19th-century cross of Saxon design marks what is traditionally thought to have been the site of St Augustine’s landing on the shores of England in AD 597. Accompanied by 30 followers, Augustine is said to have held a mass here before moving on…

St John's Commandery

The flint-walled 13th-century chapel and hall of a ‘Commandery’ of Knights Hospitallers, later converted into a farmhouse. It has a remarkable medieval crown post roof and 16th-century ceilings with moulded beams…

St Leonards Tower

An early and well-preserved example of a small free-standing Norman tower keep, surviving almost to its original height. It was probably built c. 1080 by Gundulf, Bishop of Rochester, and takes its name from a chapel of St Leonard which once stood nearby…

Sutton Valence Castle

The ruins of a small 12th-century Norman keep, with panoramic views over the Weald…

Temple Manor

Part of a manor house of the Knights Templar, built in about 1240, with a fine first floor hall displaying traces of wall paintings…

Upnor Castle

Upnor Castle is an Elizabethan artillery fort located in the village of Upnor, Kent, England. Its purpose was to defend ships moored "in ordinary" on the River Medway outside Chatham…

Walmer Castle

Walmer Castle was built by Henry VIII in 1539 – 1540 as an artillery fortress to counter the threat of invasion from Catholic France and Spain. It was part of his programme to create a chain of coastal defences along England’s coast known as the Device Forts or as Henrician Castles. It was one of three forts constructed to defend the Downs, an area of safe anchorage protected by the Goodwin Sands, in Kent, south east England. The other forts were at Deal and Sandown…