Dover Castle, Kent (Dept. of the Environment. Historic buildings and ancient monuments) by R. Allen Brown

Dover Castle, Kent (Dept. of the Environment. Historic buildings and ancient monuments) Reviews

• 
  Christine

  This is a short but good little history of Dover Castle. Good introduction, and it also has quite a bit of information about the history of the various towers.
• 
  Gerry

  There were fortifications roughly on the site of Dover Castle on Castle Hill in Roman times and part of it still stands within the castle. That is the Pharos (a lighthouse, originally one of a pair) that is adjacent to the castle's church, Church of St Mary-in-Castro; the church dates to around 1000AD. Since those early days, the castle has undergone many facelifts and it was occupied until as late as 1958 when the Army finally vacated it.
  
  In the later Anglo-Saxon period the already ancient earthworks were redeveloped to make them a fortified township; the castle vies with Windsor Castle to be the largest castle in existence. Then the Normans arrived immediately after the Battle of Hastings but there are no surviving remains of their occupation, despite that edifice being recognised as the first true castle of Dover.
  
  A great rebuilding took place under Henry II in the decade 1179-1189 when he spent lavishly, reputedly £7,000 that far exceeded the cost of any other English castle of the period, and created the most advanced castle design in Europe. The inner bailey and towers, part of the outer bailey and a huge centrepiece – the immense great tower, a sophisticated building that combined defence with a palatial residence were all added. Interestingly, Master Maurice the Mason was the king's chief architect and, bearing in mind the overall cost, he was paid the princely sum of eight pence per day for his efforts; this was subsequently raised to one shilling per day! The tower was indeed both a residence and a stronghold. It could be held even if the rest of the castle fell and it contained some very fine residential accommodation. The builders certainly combined the two functions of fighting and living within a confined space most ingeniously. Richard I then spent a further £600 between 1189 and 1190 in finishing off his father's work. Later, King John spent more money when he added the outer wall and towers, and provided royal accommodation in the inner bailey.
  
  The castle resisted siege in 1216 and 1217 and again in 1265 when Eleanor de Montfort was in residence and during those years a further £7,000 was spent on the castle, particularly in strengthening the northern defensive arrangements and completing the outer curtain walls and towers. And it was around this time that Dover Castle was deemed to have attained its maximum strength and size and it was, in appearance, very much as it is seen in modern times.
  
  In Tudor and Stuart times the castle suffered a decline and it played no part in the Civil Wars and the medieval castle stagnated to a degree. But then in the Georgian period there was a revival of interest and the greatest modifications since Henry II's time took place. Under military engineers Major William Twiss and Captain William Ford the defences were comprehensively altered, most dramatically where the entire eastern outer wall was cut down and backed by an earth rampart for cannon. The outer ditch there was also enlarged and lined in near-vertical brick walls.
  
  Various other improvements were made over the years and the Army used it to a greater and lesser degree in times of war; there is even a great warren of underground barracks beneath the castle.
  
  The author provides a fascinating insight into the castle and its role in the protection of the English coast in this fascinating book and he even finds time in his final paragraph of this 1967 issue to mention 'Lastly it will not perhaps be out of place to mention that there will be found within the inner bailey a bookshop, a restaurant and toilet facilities' ... so, who's for a cup of coffee?
  
  Footnote: Remarkably the next book I began to read, 'The Spanish Match' by William Harrison Ainsworth, had Chapter VII entitled 'How Jack and Tom were lodged for the night at Dover Castle'. So, suddenly I was back among the Roman Pharos, Constable's Tower and the rest that I had just read about!