The ruined remains of a moated, semi-fortified manor house adjacent to the parish church. Pottery discovered during excavation work dates from 1150-75. The upper floor of the former first floor hall house is now fragmentary, but the two undercrofts below survive. The building is roughly square in plan with corner turrets, three of which survive. An external stair led up the west side of the house into a forebuilding at first floor level. The inner hall or chamber is narrower than the outer hall and may have been divided into two rooms, as was the corresponding undercroft below. A moat originally enclosed both the manor house and the nearby church. (PastScape)
The remains comprise a roofless rectangular structure, 16.5 m by 15 m standing two storeys to a maximum height of 8 m. The walling of flint rubble is 1.2 - 1.4 m thick. The building is sub-divided into three unequal compartments; the entrance being at the NW corner. There are no surviving architectural features, but the walling is identical to that of the nearby St Mary's church, which has been dated to c1120 with EE additions (PastScape?Field Investigators Comments?F1 ASP 21-JUL-64)
This is a thin walled 'proto-keep' with turret on each corner. There is evidence that a banding of finer stone (presumable Caen) has been robbed from the structure. When the original flint work was harled and limewashed this band of golden stone would have been striking. A fine and important building rather overlooked because of the nearby Walmer Castle artillery fort of Henry VIII, home of the Wardens of the Cinque Ports. Sometimes dated as C13 but does seem to be early C12.

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Books

• Philp, Brian, 2011, The Norman Fortified Manor-house at Walme (Kent Archaeological Rescue Unit: Kent Minor Site Series 21)
• Newman, John, 1983, Buildings of England: North east and east Ken (Harmondsworth) p. 489
• Guy, John, 1980, Kent Castle (Meresborough Books) p. 243
• Renn, D.F., 1973 (2edn), Norman Castles of Britai (John Baker) p. 338
• Page, Wm (ed), 1908, VCH Ken Vol. 1 p. 435
• Elvin, C.R., 1890, Records of Walme
• Elvin, C.R., 1864, History of Walmer and Walmer Castl p. 15-16, 41
• Hasted, Edward, 1800 (2edn), The history and topographical survey of the county of Ken Vol. 10 p. 23-29 view online copy

Journals

• Tatton-Brown, T., 1977, Archaeologia Cantian Vol. 93 p. 222
• Webster and Cherry, 1975, Medieval Archaeolog Vol. 19 p. 251
• Mynott, E., 1974, Kent Archaeological revie Vol. 38 p. 226
• Rigold, Archaeological Journa Vol. 126 p. 215-7