Allington Castle, the Grade I medieval castle on the Medway at Maidstone, is on the market with Knight Frank at a guide price of £5 million, with 42 acres.

Allington Castle, the medieval castle on the River Medway at Allington, is for sale. The estate agent Knight Frank is marketing it at a guide price of £5,000,000.

The sale includes 42 acres of woodland and riverside grounds, according to Knight Frank’s own feature on castles for sale, published on 6 October. The listing is under the agent’s Maidstone ME16 entry.

What is being sold

Knight Frank describes the castle as “beautifully restored” and says the estate “balances modern comforts with its medieval heritage”. Its listing names several parts to the business:

  • a private residence in the castle
  • “an established commercial operation” hosting weddings, corporate events and garden tours
  • filming opportunities
  • “a collection of income-producing properties across the estate”

The agent markets it as “A Legacy Estate of Distinction, Heritage and Opportunity”. It does not give the number of bedrooms in a form we could confirm, and its full property page did not load for us, so we have not reported room counts.

Why the building matters

Allington Castle is listed Grade I, the highest grade, and has been since 30 July 1951. The official list entry sets out a long and unusual history (Historic England list entry 1239149, via Kent HER):

  • the first castle on the site was a moated mound built by William de Warenne
  • the present building was put up by Stephen de Penshurst between 1279 and 1299, and continued by Sir Henry de Cobham in the early 1300s
  • Sir Henry Wyatt altered it after 1492 and added a long gallery, which the entry says was probably one of the first built in England
  • the poet Sir Thomas Wyatt was born there in 1503
  • it was forfeited to the Crown in 1554 after the Wyatt rebellion, became two farmhouses and fell into ruin
  • Lord Conway and his architect W D Caroe restored it between 1905 and 1929

The list entry also records royal visits. Henry VII came in Sir Henry Wyatt’s time, Henry VIII in 1527, 1530 and 1536, and Catherine Parr in 1544.

Knight Frank adds that the site is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086. It also repeats a tradition that Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn dined in the Great Hall, which it presents as “said to” have happened.

Timeline of Allington Castle: Domesday Book 1086, present castle built 1279 to 1299, Wyatt alterations after 1492, poet Sir Thomas Wyatt born 1503, forfeited 1554, restored by Lord Conway 1905 to 1929, listed Grade I on 30 July 1951, on the market in October 2026 at a £5,000,000 guide price
Graphic by Maidstone Live from the Historic England list entry and Knight Frank's sale feature.
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What it means for you

Allington Castle is a private home, and the sale does not change that. You cannot simply turn up.

  • Grade I listing means any buyer needs listed building consent for works that affect its character. That control stays with the building whatever happens to the sale.
  • Knight Frank’s description makes clear the estate already runs weddings, events and garden tours. Whether those continue will be up to the new owner.

The castle is on Castle Road, Allington, about a mile and a half north of Maidstone town centre. For other changes to homes and buildings across the borough, see our Maidstone planning applications page.

Sources