Allington Castle

Allington Castle is a stone-built moated castle in Allington, just north of Maidstone, Kent in England.

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 and in 1521 of his son the rebel leader Thomas Wyatt.

The manor house on the site was fortified by Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports Stephen de Penchester in 1281 after a licence to crenellate was issued by Edward I. 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 the architects W. D. Caroe and Philip Tilden for Sir Martin Conway.

In 1951 the castle became home to a convent of the Order of Carmelites. It is currently the private residence of the psephologist Sir Robert Worcester and Lady Worcester. It is not open to the public.

In popular culture
The castle has been used for location filming on several occasions:
 * In exterior scenes in the film Henry VIII and his Six Wives (1972).
 * As "Castle De'ath" in episode 5, series 4 of the cult TV series The Avengers.
 * For exterior scenes for the 1992 TV series Covington Cross.
 * For exterior scenes in the TV series Colditz.
 * The castle grounds were the location of the strongman contest Pure Strength in 1988.
 * Several areas of the castle have been featured in the CBBC series Horrible Histories.