Kingsgate Castle

Kingsgate Castle
Aerial photograph of Kingsgate Castle
Interactive map of Kingsgate Castle
General information
Year built	1760s
Client	Henry Fox, 1st Baron Holland
Listed Building – Grade II
Official name	Kingsgate Castle
Designated	20 September 1974
Reference no.	1239636

Kingsgate Castle is a mock castle on the cliffs above Kingsgate Bay, Broadstairs, Kent, England.

History

Kingsgate Castle looking across Kingsgate Bay. The North Foreland lighthouse is just visible on the right of the photo.

Kingsgate Castle was built for Lord Holland (Henry Fox, 1st Baron Holland) in the 1760s as the stable block of his nearby country residence Holland House. His main residence was Holland House in Kensington, near London. The name Kingsgate is related to an incidental landing of Charles II on 30 June 1683 (‘gate’ referring to a cliff gap) though other English monarchs have also used this cove, such as George II in 1748. The building soon fell in to ruin after construction and the large round tower is the only remaining original structure.^[1] The building was later the residence of John Lubbock, 1st Baron Avebury. It was sold by Lady Avebury in 1922,^[2] the castle became a fashionable hotel,^[3] and was then converted into 32 private flats in 1954.^[4]

Gallery

• 
  Kingsgate Castle and bay, 18th century
• 
  A Benjamin Thomas Pouncy engraving of Kinsgate with the castle in the background, dated 1793
• 
  A painting of Kingsgate Castle and the bay, dated between 1890 and 1900
• 
  Entrance to the grounds

References

1. "KINGSGATE CASTLE, Broadstairs and St. Peters - 1239636". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 22 October 2025.
2. "Kingsgate Castle". Whitstable Times and Herne Bay Herald. Kent. 14 October 1922. p. 2. Retrieved 12 January 2025. 'Kingsgate Castle, Thanet, which was not sold at the recent auction, has since been purchased privately from Lady Avebury by Mr. R. F. Pearce, of Palm Bay, Cliftonville, Margate.'
3. "Good news for golfers". Daily Mirror. London (published 7 October 1922). 1922. p. 1. Retrieved 12 January 2025. 'Kingsgate Castle, a landmark on the Thanet coast, which has been bought from Lady Avebury for conversion into a golfers' hotel.'
4. "Kingsgate Castle: Remaining freehold flats for sale". East Kent Times and Mail. Kent. 24 July 1954. p. 8. Retrieved 12 January 2025.

External links

• Media related to Kingsgate Castle at Wikimedia Commons
• Letter from (T. Pelham-Holles) 4th Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne (later 1st Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne), Kingsgate, near Margate, Kent, to Henry Pelham, 22 November 1748
• English Heritage photograph of castle
• Postcard of Kingsgate Castle

51°22′59″N 1°26′36″E / 51.38306°N 1.44333°E / 51.38306; 1.44333