A view of the Archbishops’ residence

Readers of this blog over the summer will recall how we unexpectedly uncovered the remains of substantial walls due east of the War Memorial.  At the time, these were interpreted as the remains of the Archbishops’ residence or Aula, which was built in the 11th Century and at least partially demolished in the 14th Century.

Part of this structure seems to have survived into the 18th Century as Court Lodge (hence the name ‘Court Lodge Green’ for what is popularly known as the Bumpy Field, up the hill south of the Village Hall).  How extensive this range of buildings was remains an open question.  Did it extend all the way from Court Lodge Green to beyond the War Memorial?  We don’t know for sure, at least not yet.  But in viewing Thomas Hill’s wonderful map of Lyminge dating to 1685, it is nice to see a representation of Court Lodge.  How accurate a picture this is is difficult to say for sure, but we can be reasonably certain that Thomas Hill did see the structure he illustrated on his map, and it would most likely have been reasonably recognisable to residents of Lyminge at that time.