Remnants of King Henry VIII's Sandown Castle, a coastal fortress built in the 16th century, have been found integrated into other structures in England, according to researcher Christopher Moore.
Moore, who specializes in hidden and lost heritage, announced his findings through the University of Kent. His research traced stone from Sandown Castle to a Victorian extension at Constable's Gate in Dover Castle. Evidence suggests the stone was systematically repurposed after Sandown Castle was abandoned and dismantled.
Sandown Castle was constructed between 1539 and 1540 as part of England's coastal defense system. Over time, it fell into disuse and was dismantled, with its materials reused elsewhere. Moore identified at least five standing sites where stone from Sandown Castle has been repurposed, with Eastry Union Chapel in Kent being a particularly notable example.
"It was built for a smaller budget than most of the other examples that I have found that were robbed from Sandown Castle," Moore told Fox News Digital. "Due to this, it contained the greatest variety of stonework, which is mainly 'freestones,' [or] stone that can be easily cut."
Moore's methodology involved examining historical records, including an 1883 report detailing materials transferred from Sandown Castle to Dover. He also conducted chemical analysis of stone samples from Eastry Union Chapel and compared them with other sites to determine their origins. This process helped map the likely routes and destinations of stone taken from the dismantled fortress.
Moore believes that many more instances of Sandown Castle's reused masonry exist, stating, "I know of at least five sites where stones were taken from Sandown for use elsewhere and [are] still standing today. However, there will be vastly more."
He added that the notion of Sandown Castle simply falling into the sea is a myth, emphasizing that it was "systematically robbed through the centuries for a number of uses." Moore contributed a chapter on Sandown Castle's history to the book "Revivalism in Architecture: Referencing and Reworking the Past."