Scotney Castle, Medieval castle and Victorian country house in Lamberhurst, England.
Scotney Castle comprises two contrasting buildings: a medieval moated castle ruin and a Victorian sandstone manor set on higher ground overlooking it. Both structures sit within extensive grounds that combine formal gardens with woodland and pastoral landscape.
Roger Ashburnham built the first fortified structure in 1378 at this strategic crossing where the Rye road traversed the Bewl valley. The later Victorian mansion was added to create a new residence while preserving the earlier ruins, transforming the estate into two-part property.
The Hussey family's personal collections reveal how the household lived over time, from daily objects to art they gathered. Walking through the rooms, you see how the family decorated their home and what they valued across many decades.
The site opens from April through October with limited access to the buildings to protect the fragile structures. Comfortable walking shoes are useful since you move between the ruins, the manor, and the gardens on foot across the terrain.
The property shelters one of Britain's oldest hornbeam trees, a living link to the landscape's ancient past. Remarkably, an active hop farm operates on the grounds today, supplying local breweries with crops harvested from the same fields.
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