The land was held over 700 years ago by a knight, William de Tangreton and later in the reign of Edward III.
The castle lies on the borders of Whitstable and Tankerton in Kent, UK, looking over the town and harbor.
Many private people have owned the castle. In the 15th century Queen Elizabeth I gave a license to Stephenson to search for deposits. “Copperas” (pyritic shale) found a few feet down, or as nodules of iron pyrites on the beach.
After the death of Stephenson in 1594 (the founder of “Copperas) Queen Elizabeth intervened again. The Mayor of Faversham gained control and built a copperas house on the almshouse site. Others followed and works were built where the Bowling Green at the castle is today and the Tower tea gardens.
The castle passed into many further hands during its history and in 1935, The Whitstable Urban District Council purchased the castle for the town for £10,000.
The bowling green was opened in 1936 and the gardens in 1948. After government reorganization in 1972, the castle remained empty until 1975 where the Whitstable Society used it for the town’s people.