Starborough Castle Walls And Garden House

TQ 44 SW 10/221 11/6/58

LINGFIELD C.P. MOOR LANE Starborough Castle walls and Garden House

II*

Castle walls to moat and garden house. Walls circa 1431 or earlier, garden house constructed on older foundations and employing old materials in 1754. Converted into a billiard room in late C19. Moat walls of rough dressed stone rising just above ground level and enclosing a square mound 50 metres x 50 metres with round angle tower bases to inner wall. Garden house in north east corner of mound. Dressed ashlar walls with brick and rubblestone patches, part rendered, on inner face. Rectangular with diagonal offset angle buttresses, buttresses to centre of east and west sides and battlemented parapets. Angle spire finials with crockets, missing on south east and north east corners. One storey over older vaulted cellars. Angle bay window to centre of north side with one stone mullioned two-light window below and stone Y tracery in bay windows. Two similar windows to each of the east and west sides under flat hood mouldings. Remains of a door to south. Arched planked door in basement. Keystone stone dressed opening above with inscription above reading:-

"OBSCURO POSITUS LOCO LENI PERFRUAR OTIO" stone panels either side in moulded surrounds with crests to top half. Inscription to left reads "RESTITUIT JACOBUS BARROW, 1754" Inscription to right:- "MUNIVIT REGINALDUS DE COBHAM per LICENUIAM REGIS EDWARDI 3 tij DATE: 18 OCTOBRIS ANNO REG.15. DE MANSO KERNELLANDO 1342" to right. Central stone roundel above. Small steep open pediment with dog tooth band across base over gargoyle head. Remains of castle built by Reginald Lord Cobham, founder of the College in Lingfield, on the site of and incorporating earlier buildings, dismantled 1648. Derelict at time of re-survey.

V.C.H.: Surrey Vol. i) p.417, Vol. iv) pp. 302-6, 398-401. MANNING & BRAY : History of Surrey II p.347

Listing NGR: TQ4260244109