Another bit of a tired old building on the once thriving(ish) bit of Folkestone known as the Rotunda. I am sure this would have suited medium format a lot better – there is something oh so lush about a square shot.

The historical bit:

There have been three main periods in the construction of this historic castle. The oldest part of the castle dates to 1270 and consisted of the gatehouse and a walled bailey. In the early 1500s the Bullen family bought the castle and added a Tudor dwelling within the walls and so it became the childhood home of its most famous inhabitant, Anne Boleyn. It later passed into the ownership of Henry\’s fourth wife, Anne of Cleves. From 1557 onwards the Castle was owned by a number of families including the Waldegraves, the Humfreys and the Meade Waldos. Finally, in 1903, William Waldorf Astor invested time, money and imagination in restoring the Castle, building the \’Tudor Village\’ and creating the gardens and lake.

The less historical bit:

They did some lovely Carrot cake in the restaurant. A photo of this may appear soon.

The stag, created by sculptor Edward Bainbridge Copnall who died in 1973, was donated to Sevenoaks council by his daughter Jill Neff in 2000. When Sevenoaks was unable to find a suitable site for the sculpture, which is the height of a two-storey house, it was sold to Maidstone. The statue has been included in Maidstone council\’s River Art project.

A nasty part of Folkestone, Kent. Unfortunately there are too many nasty bits for my liking, though it is undergoing some of re-generation…. in theory.