Scotney Castle and Sissinghurst Castle Quiz

Answer: It was turned into a romantic folly in the 19th century

Over the centuries, Scotney Castle lay in a valley near to the village of Lamberhurst. Little is known of its early history but in the late 14th century Roger Ashburnham is said to have constructed the castle on a series of islands in a moat.

Although early depictions of Scotney Castle have been lost, it was developed over the years to become more like a fortified house than an actual castle. In the building itself, there are depictions of what the castle once looked like after modifications had been carried out in Elizabethan and Stuart times.

In the 19th century, the then owner of Scotney Castle (Edward Hussey III) decided to move out of the castle into a new house situated on a hill overlooking Scotney Castle.

Given that Scotney Castle had fallen into disrepair, Hussy ordered that some of the original castle structure be demolished, only leaving a small part as a romantic garden folly and residence for some of his staff.

Answer: Icehouse

In the days before refrigeration, there was a need to preserve food to keep it fresh. One of those ways was by using icehouses, specially constructed to hold ice which was harvested in winter, then kept insulated from melting so the ice could be used when the temperature was warmer.

The icehouse at Scotney Castle was designed with a deep, conical, brick lined pit with a drainage channel leading to the moat. Covering the pit is a timber framed cone, thatched with heather to provide insulation.

Ice was gathered in the winter from the castle moat and placed in the pit, which was lined with straw. Throughout the year ice could then be taken from the icehouse and used when needed. So effective was this design that often some of the ice harvested in winter would last all through the summer without melting.

Answer: True

During the reign of Elizabeth I, there was a fear of Catholic plots to overthrow Elizabeth and install a Catholic monarch to rule over England. As such, Catholicism was banned resulting in many families taking measures which allowed them to still follow the Catholic faith. One such family was the Darrell family which owned Scotney Castle during the 16th century until the 18th century.

Between 1591 and 1598, Thomas Darrell sheltered a priest in the castle named Richard Blount, who gave services for local Catholics. During this time Blount used the priest hole at least twice to hide from authorities. The second time Blount managed to escape across the castle moat, having climbed over a wall.

Answer: The "new" castle and associated buildings

In the early 19th century, Edward Hussey III (the then owner of Scotney Castle) decided to have a new "castle" built on a hill overlooking the castle rather than restore the castle itself. Stone for the new "castle" was quarried on the site. The quarry later became part of the garden that is in the grounds of the old castle and the new "castle".

The stone used for the new "castle" was Tunbridge Wells Sandstone, a type of sandstone that takes its name from the town of Tunbridge Wells on the Kent/Sussex border. A sedimentary rock formed by layers of sediment that became compressed,. Sandstone was easy to carve and form blocks to build the new "castle".

The new "Castle was designed by Anthony Salvin - whom ironically had been involved with restoring castles such Norwich, the Tower of London and Windsor. The new "castle" - like the old castle - is open to the public.

Whilst stone was being quarried for the new "castle" a poorly preserved dinosaur footprint was discovered that is estimated to be 100 million years old.

Answer: To preserve rare plant species

When the new "castle" was built during the 19th century, many grand houses had gardens influenced by the designs of Capability Brown. Brown's style of gardening was for a much simpler garden design using the landscape to become part of the garden surrounding a client's home, rather than formal gardens.

The gardens in front of the new Scotney "Castle" were once likely to have matched the grandeur of the rest of the grounds at one time, harking back to an earlier period of garden landscaping. However, the reason that the National Trust has left the gardens in front of the new castle left to turn into long grass is that there are a number of rare green-winged orchids in that part of the garden. This is due to the National Trust's commitment not only to preserve historic sites but also the countryside and wildlife.

Answer: Elizabethan

Very little remains of the grand Elizabethan mansion built by Sir Richard Baker other than the tower, two cottages and a range that formed the entrance to Sissinghurst Castle. In addition, there is also an Elizabethan barn on the site that once formed part of the farm.

By the 18th century, much of Sissinghurst fell into disrepair, and it was turned over to the government to be used as a prisoner of war camp for French prisoners during the Seven Years War. Because of the poor living conditions whilst being held captive, the prisoners damaged the mansion's interior.

At the turn of the 19th century, much of Sissinghurst had to be demolished, such was the state of the surviving buildings, leaving much of what is seen today.

Answer: Vita Sackville-West

In 1930, Sissinghurst Castle was purchased by the famous British writer Vita Sackville-West and her husband Harold Nicholson - himself an author along with being a diplomat and politician. Between them they set about restoring what remained of Sissinghurst Castle, laying out many of the gardens as they are seen today.

Vita Sackville-West was born the only child of Lionel Sackville-West, 3rd Baron Sackville, and her mother Victoria Sackville-West, Lionel's cousin and an illegitimate daughter of Lionel Sackville-West, 2nd Baron Sackville, Lionel's Uncle.

As the family title and ancestral home of Knole - near Sevenoaks - was passed down to the eldest male heir Vita was excluded from inheriting her father's title. In sense of irony, when Vita's husband Harold investigated Sissinghurst past he found out it had once belonged to a relative of Vita.

In addition to being a renown author and poet, Vita was also well known for her affairs with both men and more commonly women, including fellow author Virginia Woolf. Despite her happy marriage to Harold Nicholson - who also had a number of relationships with men - Vita and Harold had two sons named Nigel and Benedict.

One of Vita's poems entitled "Sissinghurst" is inscribed on a room in the tower, along with a recording of her reciting the poem. In addition, her private writing room is preserved in the tower along with artifacts belonging to her and Harold Nicholson.

Answer: Yellow Garden

When Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicholson took over Sissinghurst Castle, the grounds were overrun by weeds. Despite having no training as gardeners they set about transforming the area when the Elizabethan mansion once stood, creating a number of gardens separated by yew hedges, walls remaining from the mansion, along with smaller hedges.

The gardens were first open to the public by Vita and Harold after World War Two for the price of a shilling. Now the gardens are maintained by a dedicated team of gardeners employed by the National Trust.

Among the gardens are areas which have colours in their name. The White Garden takes its name from the fact the majority of plants are white when in bloom.

Lime Tree Walk - lime being a shade of green - is an avenue of lime trees cut and grafted together to form an avenue of trees on either side of a stone footpath.

The roses in the Rose Garden - rose being a colour shade between red and magenta - was of particular interest to Vita when she was alive. Various varieties of roses can be found in the garden, planted either side of a lawn.

When in bloom, the gardens at Sissinghurst create an impressive display of flowers in various different colours for visitors to enjoy.

Answer: False

There has never been any evidence that Sissinghurst was once a castle. The two remaining arms of the moat are the only real evidence of an earlier medieval moated manor house dating to the 12th century.

Taking their name from the nearby village of Sissinghurst - then known as Saxingherste - the de Saxingherste family built the manor house which survived until 1560 when Sir Richard Baker demolished the manor house to build the Elizabethan mansion.

It is believed that Sissinghurst became known as a castle from the time French prisoners of war were kept into the castle ground during the Seven Years War. They dubbed Sissinghurst "le chateau". Since in French the word chateau covered a wide range of buildings from fortresses to mansions and manors the use of the word chateau when translated into English the term "castle" was taken out of context.

The summerhouse depicted was built by Harold Nicholson's sons Nigel and Benedict in their father's memory, and was used by Nigel, himself an author and biographer.

Although Sissinghurst was handed over to the National Trust to avoid death duties, the Nicholson family still visits and stays at Sissinghurst, using the South and Priest Cottages, as well as private apartments in the main entrance range.

Answer: An oast house for drying hops

Along with the gardens, The National Trust also acts as stewards of some of the surrounding farmland, some of which was donated to the National Trust by the Nicholson family.

When Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicholson brought Sissinghurst Castle it had become a farm, with a Victorian farmhouse close by - now a bed and breakfast. Along with the original Elizabethan barn, a number of other farm buildings had been built on the site. One of these is the Oast House depicted, used for drying hops.

At one time, Kent was a major producer of hops for the brewing industry, only going into decline with cheaper imports during the latter 20th century. With the expansion of the railways during the 19th century, it would not be unusual for large number of people from the East End of London to come down to Kent for the hop picking season as a holiday break.

Now much of the farmland has been turned over to grazing sheep which can be seen when walking around the farmland surrounding Sissinghurst Castle Gardens.

The Oast house is now used as an exhibition area with an exhibit dedicated to Harold Nicholson, Vita Sackville-West and the castle ground and farm. In addition, the is a short video featuring members of the Nicholson family.

Near to the Oast house is a fine example of an Elizabethan barn that can also be visited, whilst other former farm buildings have become the gift shop, restaurant and other facilities for the use of visitors.