Lympne Castle Lympne, England

Text courtesy of Historic England. © Crown Copyright, reprinted under the Open Government License.

TR 13 SW LYMPNE CASTLE CLOSE

6/15 Lympne Castle 29.12.66 GV I

Fortified house, now house. Probably C13; mid C14, and C15. Restoration and additions 1907 and 1911-12 by Lorimer. Ragstone, with ashlar dressings and plain tile roofs. Square east tower, probably C13, with C14 stair turret and service rooms to south. C14 hall to west of tower, incorporating solar block within west end and with C14 or C15 north-east: porch. Rectangular C14 west tower, formerly extending further to south, and with semi-circular C15 addition with stair turret, to west side. Further block added to north-west by Lorimer, linked to rectangular west: tower by short, narrow 2-storey range, and by garden wall to gateway and service range to north. North elevation of medieval range: east tower 3 storeys, porch 2 storeys, hall tall single-storey, with lower eaves than porch but incorporating 2-storey solar section to west. West tower 4 storeys. Chamfered stone plinth to east tower and porch, and formerly to hall range. Battered base to west turret. All four sections battlemented above chamfered string. Various stone stacks concealed within battlements of towers. Tall stone ridge stack towards right end of hall range. Irregular fenestration of C15-style stone windows, largely inserted or restored by Lorimer; two cross windows with trefoil-headed top lights, to each of 2 lower floors of east tower. One window of 2 trefoil-headed lights with squared hood-mould to each face of first floor of porch, and narrow rectangular chamfered light to ground floor of west side. 2 tall pointed- arched mullioned and transomed windows to hall, with cusped lights and tracery of vertical bars with quatrefoil. One cusped square-headed 2-light window to each floor of solar section. No visible north windows to west tower. Moulded pointed-arched doorway to porch with squared hoodmould, hollow spandrels and quatrefoils. South elevation of medieval range: irregular elevation to east tower, truncated walls forming buttresses, with fragment of stone south-west door jamb. Buttress beneath hall stack formed from fragment of east wall of a former south extension of solar section, incorporating chamfered, pointed-arched stone doorway. 3 stone corbels under string-course of solar section, with stump of a doubly plain- chamfered stone rib below them. Various 2- and 3-light stone mullion windows. 2 hall windows as on north elevation. Pointed-arched plain- chamfered doorway with broach stops, to east end of hall. Retaining wall running parallel to and about 2 metres south from south elevation, joined by buttress to east end of east tower. East section re-built by Lorimer, West section formerly west wall of south extension of west tower and incorporates 2 blocked pointed-arched garderobe arches on west side. Wall continued to west by Lorimer, curved and branching to form terraced garden. C20 north-west range: east elevation: 1½ and 2 storeys. Irregular facade. 2 gables and dormers to courtyard, with swept eaves. Troll slender stone stacks. Various one, two and three-light stone mullion windows. Panelled door in rectangular moulded stone architrave. North-east corner of range linked to south-east corner of former service range by buttressed stone garden wall. Former service range (now house row): also by Lorimer. Ragstone, with plain tile roof. North (street) elevation: single storey and attics. Canted east stair turret. Stone gable towards centre. 4 stone ridge stacks, and one stack forming straight west side to central gable. 8 hipped dormers. Irregular fenestration of stone mullioned windows, some with idiosyncratically carved architraves and mullions. 4 boarded doors (some later) and 2 blocked doors. Garage and stable block adjoining, but set back, to west, with boundary wall curved round former stable yard. Entrance gates adjoining to east, with tall canted stone flanking walls, and moulded pointed-arched gateway with solid wooden doors. South elevation of service range