Grade I Heritage Walk: Walking to Chilham Castle Keep And Donkey Wheel from The King’s Head — 4.2-Mile Circular via Chilham
Chilham Castle Keep And Donkey Wheel — a Grade I listed building 4.2 miles from The King's Head, Wye.
Chilham Castle Keep And Donkey Wheel is a flint in Chilham, 4.2 miles from The King’s Head. Historic England listed it in 1952.
Walking to Chilham Castle Keep And Donkey Wheel — 4.2 miles from Wye
Rated Moderate at 4.2 miles with about 40m of ascent. Allow around 167 minutes at a steady 3 mph pace; add 15–20 minutes for photographs at the building and a pause at a viewpoint.
Why Chilham Castle Keep And Donkey Wheel is Grade I listed — the 1952 designation
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- Grade:
- I
- Listed:
- 1952
- Parish:
- Chilham
- District:
- Ashford
- Statutory address:
- Chilham Castle Keep And Donkey Wheel, Chilham Castle, Chilham
- NHLE entry:
- 1185170 ↗
TR 0653-0753 7/44 CHILHAM Chilham Castle Keep and Donkey Wheel 13.10.52 GV I Castle keep and curtain walls. C11 and 1171-1174 by Ralph, master mason, for Henry II; restored early C20. Flint with Caen stone dressings. Octagonal (the earlier of only two in the country) with square stair turret to east, with garderobes to exterior, three storeys. Remnants of forebuilding on south west wall of C11, an unfortified stone hall. Only one original opening survives, a window facing south east. Flint and buttressed curtain wall about 15 feet high, attached to the east side of the keep. Restored early C20, now domestic accommodation and for a time tenanted by artists Charles Ricketts and Charles Shannon. Donkey wheel, C18, timber framed shelter with plain tile roof. Horizontal wheel in poor condition. Listing NGR: TR0662853467
Listing metadata — from the National Heritage List for England
- NHLE entry number:
- 1185170
- Heritage Category / Grade:
- Listed Building, Grade I
- First listed:
- 1952
- Capture scale:
- 1:2500
- Grid reference (NGR):
- TR 06635 53463
- BNG Easting / Northing:
- 606,635 E / 153,464 N
- Coordinates (WGS84):
- 51.242910°N, 0.959120°E
- Parish:
- Chilham
- District:
- Ashford
- Kent Downs landscape zone:
- The Stour Valley Floor
- Distance to North Downs Way:
- 3.42 miles
- Distance from The King's Head:
- 4.16 miles
- Walk duration (round trip):
- 167 minutes
- Elevation gain:
- 40 m
- Difficulty rating:
- Moderate
Architectural features at Chilham Castle Keep And Donkey Wheel
Keywords extracted from Historic England’s Official List Entry — each one is genuinely in the designation prose, not inferred.
Other Grade I walks in Chilham
| Listing | Grade | Parish | Distance from Wye |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grade I Heritage Walk: Walking to Hurst Farmhouse from The King’s Head — 3.2-Mile Circular via Chilham | Grade | — | 3.2 miles |
| Grade I Heritage Walk: Walking to Chilham Castle from The King’s Head — 4.2-Mile Circular via Chilham | Grade | — | 4.2 miles |
| Grade I Heritage Walk: Walking to Church Of St Mary from The King’s Head — 4.3-Mile Circular via Chilham | Grade | — | 4.3 miles |
Buildings listed in the 1950s near Wye
| Listing | Grade | Parish | Distance from Wye | Listed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walking to Wye Bridge from The King’s Head — 0.4-Mile Easy Stroll via North Downs Way | Grade II* | Wye with Hinxhill | 0.4 miles | 1952 |
| Walking to Spring Grove And Walled Garden Attached from The King’s Head — 0.8-Mile Easy Stroll via North Downs Way | Grade II* | Wye with Hinxhill | 0.8 miles | 1952 |
| Grade I Heritage Walk: Walking to Church Of All Saints from The King’s Head — 1.6-Mile Easy Stroll via North Downs Way | Grade I | Boughton Aluph | 1.6 miles | 1957 |
| Walking to Boughton Court from The King’s Head — 1.6-Mile Easy Stroll via North Downs Way | Grade II* | Boughton Aluph | 1.6 miles | 1952 |
| Grade I Heritage Walk: Walking to Church Of St Mary from The King’s Head — 1.7-Mile Easy Stroll via Brook | Grade I | Brook | 1.7 miles | 1957 |
The landscape around Chilham Castle Keep And Donkey Wheel — The Stour Valley Floor
The Great Stour winds east through a broad, flat-bottomed valley of alluvium and river terrace gravels. Meadows close to the river are traditionally managed as damp grazing; in summer the banks are hung with willow and the still pools hold mayfly and brown trout. Historic watermills and gauged river stretches survive along the reach — material reminders of the valley’s medieval milling economy. The valley edges rise sharply into the flanking downs on both sides: looking east from Wye, one is reading a landscape section in real time, from chalk-grassland rim to river-meadow floor and up again.
Pubs within 3 miles of Chilham Castle Keep And Donkey Wheel
| Pub | Distance from route | Address | Postcode | Authority |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Compasses open_in_new | 3.0 miles | Sole Street, Crundale, CT4 7ES | CT4 7ES | Canterbury |
Plan your visit
Every walk on this site starts and finishes at The King’s Head — Bridge Street, Wye, TN25 5EA.
Frequently asked about Chilham Castle Keep And Donkey Wheel
How far is Chilham Castle Keep And Donkey Wheel from The King's Head?
Which other Grade I walks are in Chilham?
Heritage data © Historic England NHLE · Trail & landscape data © Natural England (Open Government Licence) · Pub locations published under the Open Government Licence.