Things to do in Castle Point

Hadleigh Castle is a ruined thirteenth and fourteenth-century royal castle near Hadleigh in Essex, occupying a prominent ridge above the Thames estuary with commanding views over the Leigh-on-Sea marshes, the estuary and the distant Kent coast. The castle was built by Hubert de Burgh in the 1230s and subsequently rebuilt by Edward III in the 1360s as part of his coastal defence programme against French naval raids during the Hundred Years' War. The castle was immortalised by John Constable in his celebrated painting of 1829 which shows the ruined towers against a stormy sky, one of the most famous images of an English ruin. The site is managed by English Heritage and freely accessible, with the remaining towers of the curtain wall providing extensive views over the estuary landscape. The artist's connection and the estuary setting make Hadleigh one of the more evocative and culturally significant castle sites in southeast England.