Herstmonceux Castle

Summary

A Grade I listed 15th-century brick castle near Herstmonceux in East Sussex, one of the oldest substantial brick buildings in England, constructed from 1441 for Sir Roger Fiennes using bricks made from local clay by Flemish builders; surrounded by a wide moat; the interior was largely demolished in the 18th century and restored by Colonel Claude Lowther from 1911; now owned by Queen’s University at Kingston, Canada, and used as a study-abroad centre; used as a filming location for The Chronicles of Narnia: The Silver Chair (BBC, 1990) and My Lady Jane (Amazon, 2024).

About this location

Herstmonceux Castle stands near the village of Herstmonceux in East Sussex, approximately nine miles north of Eastbourne. The castle is one of the earliest and most substantial brick buildings still standing in England. Construction began in 1441 under Sir Roger Fiennes, who had been appointed Treasurer of the Household to King Henry VI and required a residence appropriate to his position. The bricks were made from local clay and laid by builders brought from Flanders, where brick construction was well established; the resulting large-format brickwork gives the castle a distinctive appearance quite different from the stone castles of the previous century.

The design follows the enclosed quadrangular castle plan, with a large square gatehouse tower at the east end forming the principal entrance, flanked by octagonal turrets. The plan is rectangular with drum towers at the four corners and the wide wet moat surrounding the castle on all sides. The arrangement of the gatehouse with two octagonal towers flanking a gate passage is particularly French in character and relates to Flemish influence on the design. The original construction was completed after Fiennes’s death in 1449 by his son Richard, who became Lord Dacre through marriage.

The estate passed through various owners over the centuries. The second Viscount Dacre pulled down most of the interior buildings in 1777, leaving the outer shell while selling the materials. The castle stood as a romantic ruin for over a century before Colonel Claude Lowther purchased it in 1911 and undertook a restoration of the exterior and reconstruction of the interior apartments.

In 1948, the Royal Observatory, which had been at Greenwich, moved its telescopes and instruments to the Herstmonceux to take advantage of clearer skies away from London; the Science Centre established there remains on the estate and its telescope buildings are separately listed as Grade II*. The castle itself was given to Queen’s University at Kingston, Ontario, in 1993 by businessman Alfred Bader and his wife Isabel, and it now operates as a study-abroad and conference centre.

Productions filmed at Herstmonceux Castle include: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Silver Chair (BBC, 1990, adapted from C.S. Lewis’s novel, in which the castle provided medieval exterior and courtyard sequences); and My Lady Jane (Amazon Prime Video, 2024, a fantasy-historical drama series loosely based on the story of Lady Jane Grey — the castle was used as a principal filming location for the production).