Herstmonceux Castle

[poliphilo]

Built in the 1440s by Henry VI's treasurer, a man called Fiennes, Herstmonceux Castle is one of the first large scale buildings in the country to be made of brick. It's not really a castle, of course- any more than the chateaux of the Loire Valley are. This was an age of artillery- and a few well-placed cannon balls would have had all that fancywork sliding into the moat. The architect may have been the same chap who designed Eton College for the King. Brick was such a new idea that workmen had to be imported from the Low Countries- and a local brick-making industry created from scratch.

The English Renaissance begins here.

Comments

[veronica-milvus.livejournal.com]

It used to be an astronomical observatory. Back in the late 80s, my then boyfriend had friends who worked there as astronomers and lived in a scruffy little cottage in the grounds. We spent a magical weekend with them. The guy had his own telescope and we set it up in the grounds and got some tremendous views of the moon and several planets. We also got a tour around the castle itself on the Sunday before it was open. Very fond memories. I love that part of Sussex.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Nice!

After the astronomers moved out the castle narrowly escaped being turned into a hotel with golf course attached. It's now a study centre and belongs to a Canadian University.