The Gatehouse website record for Mary le Bone Hill, Sandwich

In the civil parish of Sandwich. In the historic county of Kent (Modern Authority of Kent, 1974 county of Kent).

Motte and bailey seen as a cropmark/soilmark seen located to the west of Sandwich on Mary-le-Bone Hill. The site was mapped from aerial photographs as part of the English Heritage: Richborough Environs Project. In 1995 an evaluation by Martin Herdman of single trial trench cut ahead of development on the other side of Manwood Road to the proposed castle site. Three large features were recorded; the earliest was a 3.2m wide ditch dated by ceramics to c.1150-1200, which may suggest an earlier foundation for the castle. The next year Ian Stewart and Keith Parfitt did an excavation comprising twelve trenches and eleven test-pits carried out following an evaluation (Event 1073530) and initial monitoring of topsoil stripping. A major ditch and associated earthen rampart were recorded along with medieval building remains asjacent to Manwood Road and clearly representing a hitherto part of Sandwich Castle. Position close to church suggests, to me, early foundation and probably the original timber castle. The later masonry castle (ibid) was built outside the town wall in a presumably less cramped site.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is TR33245808

Sources of information, references and further reading

This site's English Heritage (PastScape) Defra or Monument number is 468353
This site's County Historic Environment Record (formerly Sites and Monuments Record) number is TR 35 NW 114 'grey' literature, such as watching brief reports, held by H.E.R.s is often poorly referenced and is unlikely to be recorded in this website.

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The bibliography owes much to various bibliographies produced by John Kenyon for the Council for British Archaeology, the Castle Studies Group and others.
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