Kingston Castle
Centre of the De Lisle Lordship

The old manor house that preceded the present Kingston Lisle Park is occasionally referred to as 'Kingston Castle'. There does not appear to be any evidence of the manor having been crenellated, but the occupants were certainly of a status which would have warranted such a stronghold, so perhaps this was done without Royal permission. In the 1250s, the Manor had passed into the hands of the De L'Isle (or De Lisle) family who, as their name implies, originally came from the Isle of Wight. In 1357, Gerard De Lisle II was summoned to parliament as Lord Lisle and the title continued through his descendants, the Berkeleys, Beauchamps, Talbots and Greys. These later families mostly lived elsewhere but, in the late 15th century, Kingston became the residence of Sir Humphrey Talbot, the Marshal of Calais. He was an important figure at the Royal court who had been a military commander in France and an ambassador throughout Europe. He was leased the property by his niece and her husband, Edward and Elizabeth Grey, the Viscount & Viscountess Lisle. It was later favoured by their son, John Grey, Viscount Lisle, who died there on 9th September 1504 and was buried in Abingdon Abbey. In the 15th century, it was believed that the right to the Lisle title was dependant on holding the manor of Kingston, but this has been shown to be untrue.