St Leonard's Tower, West Malling
| St Leonard's Tower | |
|
Kent | |
|---|---|
 St Leonard's Tower, West Malling | |
| Type: | Tower house |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | TQ67585708 |
| Village: | West Malling |
| History | |
| Built c1090 | |
| Tower house | |
| Norman | |
| Information | |
| Owned by: | English Heritage |
| Website: | St Leonard’s Tower – English Heritage |
St Leonard's Tower is a Norman keep in West Malling, in Kent, which stands beside Manor Park Country Park, along St Leonard's Road.
The tower was built by Bishop Gundulf around 1080.
History
St Leonard's Tower was built between 1077 and 1108 by ishop Gundulf. In 1090, Gundulf also founded St. Mary’s Abbey in West Malling for Benedictine nuns. It probably served as a fortified house (or Castle),[1] although it is also said to be the tower of the church of St Leonard, which was 70 feet long by 32 feet wide. The church is said to have been demolished for the materials it was made from.[2]
Constructed of ragstone, the surviving tower is 32 feet square, and 60 feet to 70 feet tall, being built into a hillside. There were three floors. The tower is a Grade I listed building.[1][3]
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about St Leonard's Tower, West Malling) |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 National Heritage List 11572186: St Leonard's Tower
- ↑ William Coles Finch (1925) p 157
- ↑ St Leonard’s Tower, West Malling - British Listed Buildings
- Coles Finch, William (1925). In Kentish Pilgrim Land. London: C W Daniel.