Our Blog - August 2025 - England trip - Herstmonceux Castle

We visited Herstmonceux Castle and took a guided tour. Unfortunately for us, there wasn't that much of the castle that we got to visit and I think most people go to see the gardens, that we skipped. It is a 15-century brick castle, and it is one of the oldest significant brick buildings still standing in England. The first mention of the existence of the Herst settlement appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, which lists a manor at Herst. In the end of the 12th century, written accounts mention a lady called Idonea de Herst, who married a Norman nobleman named Ingelram de Monceux. Around this time, the manor began to be called the "Herst of the Monceux", a name that eventually became Herstmonceux. This castle was built by Roger Fiennes, a descendent of the Monceux family, who built the castle on the site where the old manor house was, in 1441. It passed through several families in the 18th century and was dismantled in 1777 leaving the exterior walls standing and remained a ruin until the early 20th century. This is why the outside looks really nice but the interior looks ... well ... new.

Between 1913 and 1933, the castle was restored. It now hosts the Bader College, part of the Queen's University in Canada. During the tour, our guide talked a LOT about the various people who have owned the property, starting with Wilbert in 1086, through sons and sons and sisters and sons until 1708 when it started being purchased by new owners instead of inheriting it. Most of the rooms weren't really worth pictures because they are from the early 1900's and have been modified enough for the university studies that they are just conference rooms and lecture halls. I did grab a couple pictures of note ... a nice fireplace insert and a different fireplace with a really nice carved wooden mantlepiece.

I took a couple pictures of the bridge over what used to be a moat, into a walled garden.