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Saltwood Castle is a castle near Hythe, Kent, England, famous as the site where the plot was hatched to assassinate Thomas Becket. It was erected originally in 488, probably on a Roman site. It first appears on a charter in 833 AD. The castle was conveyed to the Roman Catholic Church by a deed dated 1026 and it was replaced by a 12th century Norman structure, with work extending over the next two centuries. It became uninhabitable as the result of the earthquake of 6 April 1580, but was restored in the nineteenth century. The gatehouse has been used as a residence ever since. The castle was purchased in 1955 by Kenneth Clark and remains in the Clark family today. Made a Life Peer, Kenneth Clark took the title Lord Clark of Saltwood. His son Alan Clark is buried in the grounds of the castle.
Saltwood Castle derives its name from the nearby village of Saltwood, 1 mile (2 km) north of Hythe. During the reign of Canute, the manor of Saltwood was granted to the priory of Christ Church in Canterbury, but during the twelfth century it became home for a period to Henry d' Essex, constable of England.
Thomas Becket had asked Henry II on behalf of the Church for the restoration of the castle as an ecclesiastical palace. Henry instead gave it to one of his loyal barons named Ranulf de Broc.
The castle was returned to the control of Becket as archbishop of Canterbury and remained a church property until the reign of Henry VIII when Hythe and Saltwood were to be seized by the Crown. This leads to the implication that some complicity was possible in the murder of Becket by the baron Ranulf de Broc. It was during this time at Saltwood, on December 28 1170, that four knights are presumed to have plotted the death of Becket, which took place the following day at Canterbury Cathedral, about 15 miles (24 km) away. Hugh de Moreville was one of the four knights that committed the assassination, along with Reginald Fitzurse, William de Tracey, and Richard le Breton.
References
- Taylor, Charles. "Saltwood Castle". ecastles.co.uk. Retrieved 2006-06-12.
- "The Real Alan Clark". Real Lives. Channel4.com. Retrieved 2006-06-12.
- ^ "Local History". Saltwood Church of England Primary School. Retrieved 2006-06-12.
- Shirley, Janet (1975). "Vie Saint Thomas Le Martyr De Cantobire". Garnier’s Becket. Scott Ian McLetchie. pp. pp 132-165. Retrieved 2006-06-12.
{{cite web}}:|pages=has extra text (help) - "Castles Mentioned in Pillars of the Earth". Kristin's Medieval Castles of England. Retrieved 2006-06-12.