Allington Castle is a stone-built moated castle

Castle

A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...

 in Allington

Allington, Kent

Allington is an almost entirely modern village situated alongside the sides of the A20 road west of Maidstone in Kent. It is part of the built-up area of Maidstone. It has 2 primary schools; Allington Primary and Palace Wood...

, just north of Maidstone

Maidstone

Maidstone is the county town of Kent, England, south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town linking Maidstone to Rochester and the Thames Estuary. Historically, the river was a source and route for much of the town's trade. Maidstone was the centre of the agricultural...

, Kent

Kent

Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...

 in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

.

History

Allington Castle is a Grade I listed building. Much of the stonework was laid in an intricate herringbone pattern which is still visible today. It was the birthplace in 1503 of the English lyrical poet Sir Thomas Wyatt

Thomas Wyatt (poet)

Sir Thomas Wyatt was a 16th-century English lyrical poet credited with introducing the sonnet into English. He was born at Allington Castle, near Maidstone in Kent – though his family was originally from Yorkshire...

 and in 1521 of his son the rebel leader Thomas Wyatt

Thomas Wyatt the younger

Sir Thomas Wyatt the younger was a rebel leader during the reign of Queen Mary I of England; his rising is traditionally called "Wyatt's rebellion".-Birth and career:...

.

The manor house on the site was fortified by Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports

Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports

The Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports is a ceremonial official in the United Kingdom. The post dates from at least the 12th century but may be older. The Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports was originally in charge of the Cinque Ports, a group of five port towns on the southeast coast of England...

 Stephen de Penchester

Stephen de Pencester

Stephen de Pencester was Warden of the Cinque Ports when the first authoritative list of Cinque Ports Confederation Members was produced in 1293....

 in 1281 after a licence to crenellate was issued by Edward I

Edward I of England

Edward I , also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. The first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his father's reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English barons...

. It was converted to a mansion in 1492 when the Wyatt family acquired the property. Towards the end of the 16th century whilst under the ownership of the Wyatt family the castle was badly damaged by fire, remaining largely derelict until 1905 when it was restored by Sir Martin Conway.

In 1951 the castle became home to a convent of the Order of Carmelites

Carmelites

The Order of the Brothers of Our Lady of Mount Carmel or Carmelites is a Catholic religious order perhaps founded in the 12th century on Mount Carmel, hence its name. However, historical records about its origin remain uncertain...

. It is currently the private residence of the psephologist

Psephology

Psephology is that branch of political science which deals with the study and scientific analysis of elections. Psephology uses historical precinct voting data, public opinion polls, campaign finance information and similar statistical data. The term was coined in the United Kingdom in 1952 by...

 Sir Robert Worcester

Robert Worcester

Sir Robert Milton Worcester, KBE, DL is the founder of MORI and a member and contributor to many voluntary organisations. He is a well known figure in British public opinion research and political circles and as a media commentator, especially about voting intentions in British and American...

 and Lady Worcester. It is not open to the public.

In popular culture

The castle has been used for location filming on several occasions:

• As "Castle De'ath" in episode 5, series 4 of the cult TV series The Avengers
  The Avengers (TV series)
  The Avengers is a spy-fi British television series set in the 1960s Britain. The Avengers initially focused on Dr. David Keel and his assistant John Steed . Hendry left after the first series and Steed became the main character, partnered with a succession of assistants...
  
  .
• For exterior scenes for the 1992 TV series Covington Cross
  Covington Cross
  Covington Cross is a British/American television series that was broadcast on ABC in the United States from August 25 to October 31, 1992. It also aired in the UK, and was dubbed for broadcast in France....
  
  .
• For exterior scenes in the TV series Colditz
  Colditz (TV series)
  Colditz is a British television series co-produced by the BBC and Universal Studios and screened between 1972 and 1974.The series deals with Allied prisoners of war imprisoned at the supposedly escape-proof Colditz Castle when designated Oflag IV-C during World War II, and their many attempts to...
  
  .
• The castle grounds were the location of the strongman
  Strongman
  Strongman or Strong Man can mean:* Strongman * Strongman * Strongman * High striker, a physical strength carnival attraction* Strongman , a Marvel Comics character...
  
   contest Pure Strength
  Pure Strength
  Pure Strength was a strongman competition held from 1987 to 1990 which was created by Tjalling van den Bosch.-Event History:The first year of the event was known as "Pure Strength Challenge" and was a single man competition featuring only Bill Kazmaier, Geoff Capes and Jon Pall Sigmarsson. The...
  
  in 1988.