Scheduled monuments in Maidstone
Name Remains Date Location Description
White Horse Stone Megalith Neolithic Aylesford A large standing sarsen ( 3 × 1.6 × 0.7 metres ( 9.8 × 5.2 × 2.3 ft ) ) , reputedly the remains of a neolithic burial chamber , though there is no evidence of this except for its position . Some of the legendary status appears to have been transferred in the 20th century from the Lower White Horse Stone , destroyed in the 19th century
Moat at Coldbridge Farm Earthworks 14th century Boughton Malherbe The remains of Coldbridge Castle , a medieval manor house demolished c. 1559-78 , are incorporated into an 18th or 19th century farmhouse . The manor house may have been demolished to provide stone for the construction of Boughton Place . The house had a pair of concentric moats , remnants of which remain . The site also contains a medieval paddock boundary and fish pond
Boughton Quarry camp Earthworks Iron Age Boughton Monchelsea / Loose Remains of a U-shaped Pre- Roman earthwork enclosing approximately 28 acres ( 11 ha ) on the southern slope of the Loose valley , probably a major Belgic oppidum
Boxley Abbey Standing building and below ground remains 1143 Boxley Remains of a mostly demolished Cistercian Abbey . The Grade I listed Boxley Abbey Barn is the only substantial remaining structure . The barn is on the Heritage at Risk Register due to its poor condition
East Farleigh Bridge Stone bridge 14th century East Farleigh A medieval stone bridge of five spans crossing the River Medway . The bridge has substantial cutwaters on each side and the south approach has a large stone retaining wall across the low ground of the southern river bank . The bridge is also Grade I listed
East Sutton Manor Earthworks Medieval East Sutton A homestead moat in the grounds of East Sutton Park . Probably the site of East Sutton manor house , the moat is partly water filled
Sherway Bridge Stone bridge 17th century Headcorn A brick bridge constructed in the 1680s and rebuilt in 1846
Ripple Manor Earthworks Medieval Hollingbourne The site of the medieval Ripple manor house , the moat and the island at its centre cover an area roughly 50 × 30 metres ( 164 × 98 ft ) with the moat being 7-15 metres ( 23-49 ft ) wide
Leeds Priory Below ground remains and standing buildings 12th century Leeds The buried remains of both the Augstinian priory of St Mary and St Nicholas founded in 1119 and the 17th to 18th century mansion of the same name built on the site following the priory 's demolition . A dovecote and another building are remains from the religious establishment . The site including the dovecote and other remains are on the Heritage at Risk register , due to their risk of collapse
Lock-up or Mortuary Standing building Early 18th century Lenham A small stone building previously used as a mortuary for the local workhouse . Also a Grade II listed building
College of All Saints Standing buildings , ruins and below ground remains 14th century Maidstone The rag-stone buildings of the College were mostly built in the 14th century in the Perpendicular style . The existing buildings served originally as the Master 's house , College Gateway , refectory , dormitory and infirmary and the Master 's Tower . A ruined gateway stands to the south separated from the other structures by 19th century almshouses . Buried remains underlie the modern buildings and car park on the site . The buildings are all listed structures
Gatehouse , Archbishop 's Palace Standing building 13th to 14th century Maidstone A two-storey building built of roughly-coursed rubble and timber framing on the east end . It served as an outbuilding for the adjacent Archbishop 's Palace and is also a Grade II listed building
Len Bridge Stone bridge 14th century Maidstone A stone bridge spanning the River Len close to its confluence with the River Medway . It has two narrow arches built to suit the needs of a watermill served from a mill pond on the upstream side . The span of a modern bridge has been built above , so that the ancient bridge is only visible from the gardens of the Archbishop 's Palace . The bridge is also a Grade II listed building
Tithe Barn Standing building 14th century Maidstone The barn is constructed of roughly coursed rag-stone rubble walls in six buttressed bays . The west façade features a projecting two-storey half-timbered porch with stone ground floor construction and brick infilling at first floor level between the timber framing . The barn served the nearby Archbishop 's Palace and is also a Grade I listed building
Earthworks in Milbay 's Wood Earthworks Medieval Nettlestead Earthwork that once formed the retaining embankments to a mill pond . Previously though to be the embankments of an Iron Age hill fort
Moat at Lovehurst Manor Earthworks Medieval Staplehurst A homestead moat in the grounds of Lovehurst Manor . The site of the original manor house , the circular moat covers an area of approximately 65 × 70 metres ( 213 × 230 ft ) and is water filled
Moot mound near Knox Bridge Earthworks Medieval Staplehurst Remains of a moot and surrounding ditch . Previously thought to be the motte of a Norman castle
Stockbury Castle Earthworks Norman Stockbury The remains of a motte-and-bailey castle . The motte has been flattened and part of its surrounding ditch infilled . The ditch around the bailey remains mostly intact
Sutton Valence Castle Ruins 12th century Sutton Valence The remains of a 12th-century square keep built of rag-stone and standing on an artificial mound . It is about 12 metres ( 39 ft ) square and the remains stand about 7 metres ( 23 ft ) high , although the tower may originally have been almost three times that . A wall once surrounded the mound but disappeared long ago
Teston Bridge Stone bridge 15th century Teston A medieval stone bridge over the River Medway with the centre three spans built in the 15th century or earlier . The rest was rebuilt in the 19th century . The bridge has substantial cutwaters on each side and is also Grade I listed
Monuments
There are 27 scheduled monuments in Maidstone, Kent, England. In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is an archaeological site or historic building of national importance that has been given protection against unauthorised change by being placed on a list (or schedule) by the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport; Historic England takes the leading role in identifying such sites. Scheduled monuments are defined in the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 and the National Heritage Act 1983. They are also referred to as scheduled ancient monuments. There are about 20,000 scheduled monument entries on the list and more than one site can be included in a single entry. While a scheduled monument can also be recognised as a listed building, Historic England considers listed building status as a better way of protecting buildings than scheduled monument status. If a monument is considered by Historic England to no longer merit scheduling it can be removed from the schedule. The borough of Maidstone is a local government district in the English county of Kent. The Maidstone district covers a largely rural area of between the North Downs and the Weald with the town of Maidstone, the county town of Kent, in the north-west. The district had a population of approximately 166,400 in 2016. The monuments range in date from a neolithic standing stone to a tiny 18th-century mortuary, but the majority are medieval. Although mostly reduced to ruins and earthworks, the district contains the remains of four castles and five moated manor houses that are scheduled monuments.