The castle of Chilham stands immediately to the west of the Jacobean mansion built by Sir Dudley Digges in 1616. Traditions of remote antiquity have long been associated with the site, but the record of discoveries of Roman remains during the building of the mansion is not circumstantial, and a tunnel driven through the mound under the ancient keep by a recent owner failed to reveal any trace of Roman age. Chilham was held under Edward the Confessor by Sired and was granted by the Conqueror to Odo bishop of Bayeux. It was held, under him, by Fulbert de Dover, and on Odo's disgrace in 1084 it was granted to Fulbert in chief and became the head of his barony. The subsequent descent of the property need not detain us, as it has no bearing on the architectural history of the castle.