Following her first outing with the Cantiaci, Alison was really keen to organise another one, and so she, Shaun, Anne, Bob, Mark and Caz, together with attendant children and later joined by Alison’s friend Andrew and his partner Jackie(sp?), foregathered at Eynsford Castle on 10th August.
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The villagers clearly want to keep the castle to themselves, as the entrance is well-hidden down a tiny side street which you’d barely notice, with the tiniest sign you’ve ever seen. Despite being warned about this, I think every one of us missed the turning and had to turn round and come back! Once found, however, the castle was a joy. Built in 1088 over the foundations of what is now believed to be the house of the pre-Conquest lord of the manor, the first thing the visitor sees is the impressive flint outer wall. This was built in two stages and was never battlemented, indicating that this castle was always domestic rather than military. The buildings inside the wall seem to have followed a fairly standard pattern, with an undercroft for storage with a hall, reached by an external staircase, above. The hall, used for eating, meetings and sleeping, led to the solar, the private living quarters for the lord and his family. Unusually, the undercroft beneath the solar formed a self-contained apartment. It had its own entrance, fireplace and well and even its own garderobe (toilet to you and me). Who says granny annexes are a new invention! It is believed to have been used by the bailiff, or some other important member of the household, although most unlikely to have been a member of the family. |
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Originally the kitchen was entirely separate, across the courtyard, but following a disastrous fire in the 1200’s a new one was built adjacent to the hall. The old one continued in use until the castle was abandoned in the 1300’s. The abandonment followed a raid in which the castle was sacked, apparently as part of a dispute over the ownership. Evidence has been found of considerable, systematic destruction. A violent end, but it has left ruins which the Cantiaci children had great fun exploring!
Following lunch at the pub (lovely food, pity about all the wasps wanting to share it!), we adjourned to Lullingstone villa.
Like the castle, the villa lies close to the river Darent. The first villa on the site was built of timber in the first century AD. It was later re-modelled in masonry and a large bath-house added. It fell into disrepair in the third century but was rebuilt in the fourth, with beautiful mosaics and wall-paintings. Some of the symbolism in the mosaics and wall-paintings indicates that the owners in this latter phase were Christians.
In the earliest of the stone built phases, the villa had a block of rooms with a verandah running along the front with smaller projecting rooms at each end forming wings. A further corridor/verandah ran along the back. Towards the end of the 1st century the villa was extended, first with new ranges of rooms to the north and south, linked to the original villa by narrow passages and later with a bath-house to the south. During most of the third century the villa, like many others at a time of economic depression in Britain, was neglected but by 275AD times were looking up. The north end was re-modelled again, with three rooms gaining hypocaust (underfloor) heating systems. The baths were also extended. In the mid fourth century the triclinium (dining room) was extended by a semi-circular apse built into the West (rear) verandah. It is in this room, and its extension, that the superb mosaics for which the villa is most famous were laid.
The mosaic in the main room is in the form of a square. In the middle is a cushion-shaped panel showing Bellerophon, riding Pegasus, killing the Chimaera. The four corners of the square are occupied by circular panels (one missing), which depict the four seasons in female form. One, wearing a cloak, is clearly Winter, but the experts disagree on which the other two represent – personally I reckon the one with the swallow on her shoulder is Summer and the one with the garland of corn is Autumn, meaning that Spring is missing – but hey! You pays your money and takes your choice! In the apse, the mosaic shows the Rape of Europa with the lady sitting on the back of Jupiter (in the guise of a bull), looking remarkably carefree about the whole thing and wearing not a lot more than an enigmatic smile. Alongside this part of the villa is a display about how mosaics were made, complete with small tiles and a large table to have a go. Several of the children (and Caz!) found this irresistible.
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Our final destination for the day, Lullingstone Castle, lay a 10-minute walk away – most walked but we took the car. (Prams don’t go very well on tracks – that’s our excuse anyway, and we’re sticking to it!) This meant that we were in time to see the wedding party have their final photos taken and leave the church within the grounds. A more idyllic setting its hard to imagine, and they were extremely lucky with the weather – just a few minutes later the heavens opened and the rain lashed down for about 15 minutes. “Castle” is rather a grandiose term for this house which, whilst certainly charming and interesting, is really little more than a grand manor house. It was built by Sir John Peche, a prominent member of the court of Henry VII from early on, and continuing to hold office under Henry VIII. The house was built around 1497, originally with two gatehouses – the one we see today (believed to be one of the earliest brick-built gatehouses in Britain), and an inner one straddling the moat. |
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| The latter were both demolished in the mid-18th century to make way for the extensive lawn in front of the house, reputed to be the setting for Sir William Hart Dyke and his friends (including Edward VII when Prince of Wales) devising the rules for lawn tennis which are still followed today.
Substantial parts of the original Tudor house still survive, hidden under the brick façade in which it was clad during the reign of Queen Anne (1702-20 iirc). This façade is beautiful, but the renegade archaeologist in me would love to see it pulled down to reveal the Tudor house inside! |
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| The rain had left the grounds in a state where us boring adults were less than keen to explore them, but we did venture into the herb garden. This shows signs of severe neglect, to the point where the paths were rapidly disappearing in places. A classic answer to those who ask why archaeology is always buried! | |
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Also, as Caz pointed out, a graphic demonstration of how places like Heligan have ‘lost’ gardens. After a final cup of tea at the Visitor centre we dispersed – where next chaps?! |
