Bodiam Castle was built in the one year of 1385 by Sir Edward Dalyngrigge, ostensibly as a protection from French raiders who could sail upriver from the south coast during Europe's Hundred Years War. Bodiam was a busy trading centre at the time so it made sense to try and protect it. Nobody knows for sure whether any raiders came or not, but there you go. Over time the river became less and less navigable by ships, so trade and the threat of military attack dwindled along with the river. This made the castle redundant and it was left to crumble in it's own sweet way. Currently, the interior of the castle is a ruin but the outer structure has refused to bow to the passage of time and stands as proud as ever.
I bought the kit in the gift shop when my better half (she prefers that to "other half") and I visited many years ago. It consisted of five separate sheets of A4 paper: 3 sheets of parts, 1 of instructions and a cover sheet which doubled as the model's base. It was issued by Peter W Attwood under the "1066 Models" marque in 1982. It was an interesting build.
Some bits and bobs about the castle:
History of Bodiam Castle in East Sussex, England