page_title: Sutton Valence Castle
section_title: 16th – 21st centuries
hierarchical_section_title: Sutton Valence Castle / 16th – 21st centuries
caption_attribution_description: English: Sutton Valence Castle The remains of the keep of Sutton Valence Castle http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/nav.14896 with spectacular views across the Weald, built in the mid-12th century by Baldwin de Bethune, Count of Aumale
context_page_description: Sutton Valence Castle is a ruined medieval fortification in the village of Sutton Valence in Kent, England. Overlooking a strategic route to the coast, the original castle probably comprised an inner and an outer bailey and a protective barbican, with a three-storey high keep on its southern side.
  It was built in the second half of the 12th century, probably by Baldwin of Bethune, the Count of Aumale. It then passed to the families of Marshal and de Montfort, before being given by King Henry III to his half-brother William de Valence in 1265, from whom the castle takes its current name. It was abandoned in the early 14th century and fell into ruin. Today, the castle is managed by English Heritage, and the remains of the keep are open to the public.
context_section_description: The historian Edward Hasted (1732-1812) in his "History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent" described Sutton Valence Castle as being "now almost covered with ivy, and the branches of the trees which sprout out from the walls of it." See the drawing on the right from Halstead's History.
  Archaeological excavations were carried out at the site during the mid-1950s with the assistance of Maidstone Museum and the local Sutton Valence School, concentrating on the area of the castle keep. 
  The castle was placed in the guardianship of the state in 1976 and it is now owned by English Heritage.
  Conservation work was done on the ruins in the 1980s. 
  It is protected under UK law as a Grade II listed building and a Scheduled Monument.
caption: Remains of the ragstone and flint rubble keep today
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