EPW024915 ENGLAND (1928). Hadleigh Castle, Hadleigh, 1928. This image has been produced from a print.

Hadleigh Castle 1 Castle Lane Benfleet SS7 2AP Grade 1 listed building - English Heritage Building ID: 116824 Open to the public. Built on a geologically unstable hill of London clay, the castle has often been subject to subsidence; this, combined with the sale of its stonework in the 16th century, has led to it now being ruined. The remains are now preserved by English Heritage. The exact date of construction is uncertain, probably circa 1230. In the 13th century, marshlands would have stretched away to the south of the castle, with the tide occasionally reaching up as far as the base of the hill itself, and the area would have been more wooded than today. The first castle built on the site was probably of an octagonal design. By the 1250s, the castle had fallen into neglect and, despite some investment after it was given to Queen Eleanor in 1273, it remained in relatively poor condition. Only the mill, vital for the operation of the wider estate, appears to have been well-maintained. A new 17-metre-wide by 9-metre-long (56 foot by 30 foot) hall and an adjacent solar complex were built at the castle around 1290, but collapsed due to subsidence shortly afterwards. In 1299 the castle was given to Queen Margaret, who complained about the quality of the building. Edward III in the 1360s decided to make much greater use of the property, ordering large parts of it to be rebuilt. Bought by Lord Richard Rich from Edward VI in 1551. Rich dismantled the castle for the value of its stone, primarily between 1551 and 1575, and the castle, now thoroughly ruined, passed through Rich's descendants. William Booth purchased Hadleigh Castle and its surrounding site in 1891 for the use of the Salvation Army, which established a farm to train the English poor prior to them being sent overseas to the British colonies. Considerable subsidence and slippage on the ridge occurred between 1898 and 1923, causing a collapse of the southern curtain wall. The Salvation Army gave the castle to the Ministry of Works in 1948, and it is now owned by English Heritage. The castle is still surrounded by the 19th-century Salvation Army farm, and beyond that by Hadleigh Country Park Subsidence and landslips have continued; the north-east tower largely collapsed in the 1950s, and further major slippages occurred in 1969, 1970, and 2002. One of the three-storey towers at the eastern side stands to nearly full height with narrow rectangular windows in the upper levels. The second tower has only about one-third of its original form. Some sections of the curtain wall have survived, as well as the foundations of the great hall, solars, and the kitchen. Sources: http://www.hadleighcastle.co.uk/ wikipedia: [[Hadleigh Castle]]

The halls were in this area

Landslip

High Tower remains

Barbican ruin

Site of stables