Bayford Castle (The Gatehouse Record)

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
castle ruffe; bavord; Goodmanston; Goodneston; Godewynston

In the civil parish of Sittingbourne.
In the historic county of Kent.
Modern Authority of Kent.
1974 county of Kent.
Medieval County of Kent.

OS Map Grid Reference: TQ91416438
Latitude 51.34702° Longitude 0.74677°

Bayford Castle has been described as a Timber Castle although is doubtful that it was such, and also as a Fortified Manor House although is doubtful that it was such.

There are no visible remains.

Description

Site of Bayford Castle (Erected A.D. 893) (OS maps). Saxton's large scale plan shows the site of Goodmanston manor house, called "castle ruffe", in approximately the same position as the O.S. symbol for Bayford Castle, to the north-east of the moated site of Bayford manor house. Bayford Castle and Goodmanston (Goodneston, Godewynston) were separate manors but appear to have been held by the same persons from c. 1368. The first to hold both manors, Robert de Nottingham, resided at Bayford and dated several of his deeds "apud castellum suum de Bayford, apud Goodneston". From this it may be conjectured that the capital residence was at Bayford manor whilst the Goodmanston Manor House became derelict and the manor itself lost much of its separate identity. The association of Bayford Castle (presumably Goodmanston manor house site) with the date 893 would appear to stem from Camden and to have no basis in fact. There is no trace of this manor-house, the area having been worked for brick-earth and later dumped on. The Danish Castle, called "castle rough", remains at Kemsley downs, just by Milton church. Alfred threw up a fortification on the other side of the water, the ditches and some part of the stone-work of which remained, named Bavord Castle or Bayford, a manor near Sittingburn (Camden). In 893 Hasten came up the Thames to Milton. There he made a stronghold to accommodate at least eighty ships. Castle Rough on Kemsley Downs is too small to have accommodated his men and there is no place for ships. Hasted stated that Castle Rough on the west was built by Hasten, and another Castle Rough on the east of the creek was built by Alfred some time afterwards; for the last there is no evidence, for the first the evidence is contrary. Bayford Castle, Sittingbourne; nothing remains of this "castle", and probably it was mainly a moat-defended enclosure. Bayford Court may have been identical with Bayford Castle, and we cannot but conclude that mystery attaches to the exact spot occupied by the castle (Spurell; Gould). (Kent HER)

Sources of information, references and further reading

Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 420180.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) TQ 96 SW 42.

Books
- King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 1 p. 236
  Gould, I. Chalkley, 1908, in Page, Wm (ed), VCH Kent Vol. 1 p. 433 online copy
  Hasted, Edward, 1798 (2edn), The history and topographical survey of the county of Kent Vol. 6 p. 154- online transcription
Periodical Articles
- Spurrell, F.C.J., 1885, 'Early site and embankments on the margins of the Thames estuary' The Archaeological Journal Vol. 42 p. 293-4 (plan) online copy
  Clark, G.T., 1881, 'The castles of England and Wales at the Latter part of the Twelfth Century' The Archaeological Journal Vol. 38 p. 258-76, 336-35 esp. 260 online copy
Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
- Camden, Wm, 1607, Britannia hypertext critical edition by Dana F. Sutton (2004)
  Saxton, C., 1590, Manors of Bayford and Goodmanston view online

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The bibliography owes much to various bibliographies produced by John Kenyon for the Council for British Archaeology, the Castle Studies Group and others.

Suggestions for finding online and/or hard copies of bibliographical sources can be seen at this link.
Minor archaeological investigations, such as watching brief reports, and some other 'grey' literature is most likely to be held by H.E.R.s but is often poorly referenced and is unlikely to be recorded here, or elsewhere, but some suggestions can be found here.

The possible site or monument is represented on maps as a point location. This is a guide only. It should be noted that OS grid references defines an area, not a point location. In practice this means the actual center of the site or monument may often, but not always, be to the North East of the point shown. Locations derived from OS grid references and from latitude longitiude may differ by a small distance.
Further information on mapping and location can be seen at this link.

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