King Henry II - dramatic royal adventures in Kent
On the trail of castles and curses, murder and martyrdom

Henry II, one of England's most powerful kings, reigned (1154-89) over truly dramatic episodes in the country's history. Come to Kent and visit the evocative locations where crucial scenes played out - from the newly transformed Great Tower at Dover Castle to magnificent Canterbury Cathedral, as well as towns and villages waiting for you to unlock their royal secrets.

   
Henry inherited a country torn by civil war. He ruthlessly set about destroying the illegal castles of the rebel barons and systematically built or strengthened his own. Through his Angevin birth, as well as family marriages and conquest he became western Europe's most influential leader, with an empire that stretched from Scotland to the Pyrenees. His Plantagenet dynasty spanned the Middle Ages.

His power struggles with the Church led to the notorious murder of Thomas Becket. He fell out with his hot-tempered wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine, and his sons rebelled against him - including the subsequent kings, Richard the Lionheart and, his favourite, John.

 
We invite you to follow in the footsteps of princes and pilgrims, saint and sinners...
 

Make your first stop Dover, known as the ‘Key to England' for its historic role as guardian of the coast. When Henry II came to power he lavished money building or improving no less than 90 fortifications in England - and his grandest, most expensive project was at Dover Castle.
 

Step into the thick of royal family and court life in the castle's Great Tower. Re-opened following its £2 million-plus transformation by English Heritage, it bristles with atmosphere: wander rooms presented in authentic period style where king and guests stayed, meet costumed characters and experience the latest film technology.

At Canterbury Cathedral the site of Becket's brutal murder on 29 December 1170 is marked by a simple altar below a sculpture of jagged metal shards. The crime sent shockwaves through Christendom. Within days, tales of miracles began to circulate - view some of them depicted in the cathedral's glorious medieval stained glass - and in 1173 Becket was made a saint. Pilgrims still flock to Becket's shrine today.

Take a break from architecture and tour the orchards of Brogdale Farm, home of the National Fruit Collection. Among nearly 4,000 varieties of luscious apples, pears, plums and other fruit, you can taste the type of pear that Henry II is known to have enjoyed - the original warden pear. Kent, the Garden of England, has been renowned for centuries for its fruit and in Henry's time the county was noted for its strong, spiced cider.

The mighty Rochester Castle was yet another point for dispute between Henry and Thomas Becket, the latter arguing that it belonged to the Church not the Crown. Across the river from the castle, at Strood, is the secret gem of Temple Manor. Henry gave the lodging house over to the Knights Templar, and it provided them with food and fresh horses on their crusades to the Holy Land. Today's 13th-century house with 17th-century brick extensions provides a fascinating clue to the original complex that included kitchens, stables and barns.

Tonbridge Castle dominates the market town on the River Medway. Becket claimed the noble de Clare family held castle and lands from the Archbishops of Canterbury, not from the king, and therefore owed homage to him not Henry. In 1163 Roger de Clare rejected the claim and forced the messenger to eat the demand ‘parchment, seals and all'!

Round off your tour in rather more peaceful style at the lovely village of Penshurst. A few steps away from the beautiful medieval manor house of Penshurst Place, half-timbered Leicester Square leads to St John the Baptist Church. This dates from the 12th century and in 1170 Thomas Becket granted the licence for the first rector. Shortly afterwards, following Henry II's fateful explosion of temper, the archbishop lay dead in Canterbury Cathedral. It's thought provoking to wander this quiet corner of Kent and turn the clock back to a time just moments before Henry's rash words unleashed mayhem.

Download a full self-guided tour to Henry II's Kent.