Origins and Early History
Leeds Castle is located near the village of Leeds, approximately 6 miles southeast of Maidstone, Kent. The castle’s history begins shortly after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. The Domesday Book of 1086 mentions a manor at “Esledes” which scholars generally agree refers to the site where Leeds Castle now stands.
The castle itself was initially built in 1119 by Robert de Crevecoeur, a Norman nobleman who was granted land in Kent by King William the Conqueror. The original structure was a wooden motte-and-bailey castle, a common Norman fortification type consisting of a wooden keep on a raised earthwork (motte) accompanied by an enclosed courtyard (bailey).
Shortly after its initial construction, the castle was rebuilt in stone. Robert’s descendants, the de Crevecoeur family, fortified the castle with stone walls, a moat, and gatehouses, turning it into a formidable fortress. The location was strategic, surrounded by natural water defenses formed by two rivers, the River Len and the River Grom, which were dammed to create a large, protective moat around the castle. shutdown123