Starborough Castle, Surrey, England

Starborough Castle, known historically as Sterborough Castle, is a Neo-Gothic garden house of dressed sandstone near the eastern boundary of Surrey, built in 1754 by Sir James Burrow. It occupies the north-eastern portion of an artificial island south of the River Eden, roughly 3 km to the south-west of Edenbridge. It is a Grade II* listed building and scheduled monument, and was built on the site of the first castle, a medieval fortified house built circa 1341.

History

The first Starborough Castle was the manor house of Reginald de Cobham, 1st Baron Cobham, and 1st Lord Cobham of Sterborough] On 18 October 1341 Cobham was granted licence by Edward III to crenelate the building, and the following year the building was fortified and became Starborough Castle. The castle was of a similar quadrangular style to Bodiam Castle, consisting of four towers and a gate, surrounded on all sides by a moat, with a central bridge crossing at the south. After the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, the Duke of Orleans was for a time held captive in the castle. The castle passed to Edward Burgh through his circa 1476 marriage to Anne Cobham, daughter of Sir Thomas, de jure 5th Baron Cobham of Sterborough.

The medieval castle, circa 1640

On 4 July 1648 the castle was ordered to be destroyed by Order of Parliament under the rule of Oliver Cromwell. It was feared the castle would provide a base for Royalist Rebellion forces.[3] Only the moat survives, although parts of the original castle were used to build the present building on the north-east corner of the site.

In the 1700s the site became part of a country garden, before Sir James Burrow constructed the manor house now known as Starborough Castle in 1754. Although the site fell into ruin for a long period, Ray Edwards, a local farmer and builder, restored the site, before selling it to Warwick Leadlay. Under Leadlay outbuildings were added, with the site being used for an annual jazz festival. Leadlay placed the castle for sale in 2003.

Castle Origins

The name was derived from the family of Richard Sterr in 1312 (the 'burgh' or court of the Sterrs).

Reginald de Cobham (1295-1361) was the first Baron Cobham of Starborough. He had a distinguished career and fought at Crécy and Poitiers alongside the Black Pronce. He was one of the first Knights of the Garter and was allowed to crenellate his manor house, which then became known as Starborough Castle in 1342.

The substancial quadrangular shaped castle was built on a half acre artificial island, situated in a sandstone valley on the southern side of the River Eden. The castle buildings were faced with sandstone ashlar, and arranged around a central courtyard. The defences included a high curtain wall with projecting circular corner towers. During medieval times, Starborough attracted the highest levels of society, as well as being an important administrative centre.

For a short while in the 1400s, it accommodated the Duc d'Orleans - albeit as an unwilling guest after his capture at the Battle of Agincourt in October 1415.

In 1477, when Edward Burgh, eldest son and heir was aged 13, his father arranged an advantageous marriage with the heiress of the Cobham family, Anne - aged 9. Edward was knighted by the king at 23 after the Battle of Stoke Field.

The Cobham estates included the magnificent castle of Sterborough or Starborough, near Lingfield. Starborough Castle provided, not only, excellent hunting for the family and its guests, but a high standard of accommodation, much closer to London and the court, as well as important neighbours, like the Hautes at Igtham Mote, and the Duke of Buckingham at Penshurst.

The Burghs continued to occupy the castle until it was sold to Thomas, Lord Richardson in 1634, by the last remaining heirs, four sisters, who inherited the Castle after the early death of their brother Robert, The 6th Lord Burgh in 1602, at the age of 8.

During the English Civil War, Starborough Castle was garrisoned by Parliamentary forces. In 1648, it suffered the same fate as many castles, when it was ordered by Oliver Cromwell to be dismantled to prevent its possible occupation by Royalists.

Sir James Burrows, a Legal Reporter at the Inner Temple in London, and twice, President of the Royal Society, resurrected the demolished Castle in 1754. Using the original medieval materials, he created the Georgian gothic chapel-like edifice complete with pinnacles and battlements.

The most important part of the original castle which Burrows restored was an inscription carved in stone "OBSCURO POSITUS LOCO LENI PERSIUAR OTIO" which roughly translated means - Built by Reginald de Cobham by license of Edward III dated October 18 in the 15th year of his reign. Placed in this concealed spot, "LENI" retired in peace and quiet.

Sir Thomas Turton purchased Sterborough [sic] Castle in Lingfield in 1793 from the trustees of Robert Burrow, nephew and heir of Sir James Burrow who had also built a new house on the site of the ruined Castle, as well as, the Gothic-style pavilion on the moated island. Sir Thomas was made a Baronet in 1796 and served as a Member of Parliament for Southwark from 1806-1812.

Turton cleaned out the moat, preserving its original lines, supplied by a spring rising in one of the farms, about 2 miles distant and brought the last quarter mile underground by a wide drain. Sir Thomas sold Starborough Castle in 1812 to William Bruce Smith. Finally Sir James Burrows’ house was pulled down and a new mansion erected near the lake by John Tonge in about 1870. It was then sold to James Moore and the Pavillion went into disrepair and ruin. The last owner was R V Toynbee in 1933.