Castle House Papers

This is a collection of papers relating to the transfer of Otford Palace site and buildings to the Sevenoaks Rural District Council (now Sevenoaks District Council), and to St Thomas a Becket’s Well which is located in the grounds of Castle House. Some of these have been assembled and made available by kind permission of Irene Roy, the current owner of Castle House.

The Otford Palace Site

• Amhursts of Brooks Place
• Agreements relating to transfer of land 1934-5
• Site plan 1934
• Pearce (1930)
• The Roman Site at Otford
• Otford Palace survey of water course and Castle House grounds March 1978
• Old Otford maps
• Ministry of Works listing 1952
• Kellys Directory 1882
• From Public Records Office
• Elizabeth and William Collier
• Desmond Welband memories
• Correspondence relating to purchase of Palace Estate 1934-35
• Clarke (1967) An outline history of Otford
• Castle House old drawings
• Transfer of land in 1973

St Thomas Becket’s Well

• Beckets Well photographs undated
• Beckets Well – proposals for repair
• Ancient Monuments Society to McDowell 1969
• Various letters concerning Beckets Well 1954
• Thomas a Beckets Well
• Stoyel to McDowell 831230
• Report upon the water from Beckets Well 520319
• Recovery of Grants on disposal of property
• Pilgrim routes and wells dedicated to St Thomas Becket
• Philp – McDowell June 1974
• Owen Fleming to McDowell 341120
• ODHS Interim report upon excavations at Beckets Well 1951-2
• Ministry of Public Buildings and Works to McDowell 681219
• McDowell to English Heritage 890718
• McDowell and CIB Archeological Rescue 1982
• Maps of Otford Palace undated
• Godwin – McDowell October 1934
• From an unpublished article on Kent wells April 1997
• Filed plan of title K336687 1970
• Department of the Environment to McDowell 831108
• Deller to McDowell 730302
• Beckets Well sketches by R Watt 1931
• Thomas a Beckets Well