Regency House (listed, Grade II), Royal Road, Ramsgate

Deal Castle

Deal Castle was built by Henry VIII in 1539-40 as an artillery fortress to counter the threat of invasion from Catholic France and Spain. It was the largest of three forts constructed to defend the area of safe anchorage known as the Downs. The other forts were at Walmer, now the official residence of the Lords Warden of the Cinque Ports, and Sandown, which was largely demolished in the middle of the 19th century.

At the centre of Deal Castle is a round tower, strongly constructed to carry guns on its roof. Around its base are six small semi-circular bastions that overlook the outer wall. This has six more massive rounded bastions, one of which forms the gatehouse. These outer bastions originally had space for four guns on their flat roofs and a further three guns in rooms below. The design of the castle meant that a total of 66 guns could be mounted, and a further 53 handguns could be fired through firing-loops at basement level. Around 1570 the six outer bastions were filled with earth, probably to strengthen the gun mounts on the roof.

The defences were never put to the test during the Tudor period and it wasn't until 1648, during the Civil War, that the castle finally came under siege. The three 'castles of the Downs' were initially held for Parliament, but the forces switched allegiance to support the Royalist cause. It took Parliamentary forces, led by Colonel Rich, nearly three months to defeat the three castles, during which time they suffered great damage. Repairs were made to the castles and in the late 1720's more alterations were made to Deal Castle to provide more comfortable accommodation. The castle ceased to have a defensive role by the end of the Napoleonic wars in 1815, but it remained the home of the Captain of the Castle until the Second World War.

Walmer Castle

Walmer Castle was built by Henry VIII in 1539-40 as an artillery fortress to counter the threat of invasion from Catholic France and Spain. It was one of three forts constructed to defend the Downs, an area of safe anchorage protected by the Goodwin Sands. The other forts were at Deal and Sandown.

At the centre of Walmer Castle is a circular keep, surrounded by an open courtyard and protected by a concentric wall, from which four, squat, semi-circular bastions project. The northern bastion forms the gatehouse and would have had a gun on its roof; the other bastions would have had guns mounted inside them and on the roof. The central keep would also have had guns mounted on its roof giving the castle the capacity to mount 39 guns. A gallery running around the castle at basement level has 32 loops for hand-guns covering the moat.

The defences were never put to the test during the Tudor period and it wasn't until 1648, during the Civil War, that the castle finally came under siege. The three 'castles of the Downs' were initially held for Parliament, but the forces switched allegiance to support the Royalist cause. It took Parliamentary forces, led by Colonel Rich, nearly three months to defeat the three castles, with Walmer surrendering first after a three week siege.

In 1708 Walmer Castle took on a new role as the residence of the Lords Warden of the Cinque Ports. The Cinque Ports Confederation originated in the 11th century when the five ports of Hastings, Romney, Hythe, Dover and Sandwich joined forces to provide ships and men for the defence of the coast and protection of cross-channel trade. In return for these services they received substantial local privileges including immunity from all external courts of justice and from national taxation. In the 13th century the office of Warden was instituted to oversee and regulate the affairs of the Confederation. Initially this position carried real power, but with the forming of a Royal Navy and the decline of the Cinque Ports, the role of Warden became more of an honorary position bestowed to those who had given distinguished service to the state.

Over the years successive Wardens converted the fort and its grounds into a comfortable country house and gardens. Resident Wardens included William Pitt the Younger, the Duke of Wellington, Sir Winston Churchill and Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. Memorabilia from these past Wardens, including two rooms dedicated to the Duke of Wellington, can be viewed at the castle.

Dover Castle

One of the largest castles in the country, strategically located at the shortest crossing point to continental Europe, Dover Castle has played a prominent part in national history. Its origins lie in the Iron Age, and a Roman Lighthouse and Anglo-Saxon church can still be seen within the grounds.

William of Normandy strengthened existing Anglo-Saxon fortifications here in 1066, but it was Henry II who set the blueprint for today's castle when he had the fortifications rebuilt in the 1180's, adding the massive keep and a series of concentric defences. Over the centuries, the defences were continually enlarged and improved, with the castle retaining a military role into the mid twentieth century. An underground hospital and the command centre used for the Dunkirk evacuation are a legacy from the Second World War.

Reproduced with kind permission of Castle Explorer, for full details please visit their website at www.castlexplorer.co.uk

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