Herstmonceux Castle

HERSTMONCEUX CASTLE – 14 miles (25 minutes by car) Do not use postcode for SatNav

Built in the 1400’s, Herstmonceux (pron: Hurst-mun-zoo) Castle  is one of the oldest brick buildings still standing in England.  Brick was an unusual material for the time, and the builders concentrated more on grandeur and comfort than on defence.

Herstmonceux Castle is home to events throughout the year, including the annual  Medieval Festival on August Bank Holiday weekend.

In 1957 the Herstmonceux Castle grounds became the home of the Royal Greenwich Observatory and remained so until 1988 when the observatory moved to Cambridge.

Several of the telescopes remain but the largest telescope, the Isaac Newton Telescope was moved to the Canary Islands in the 1970s. The estate provides housing to the Equatorial Telescope Buildings, which have been converted to an interactive science centre for schoolchildren. The empty dome for the Newton Telescope remains on this site and is a landmark being visible from afar.

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