{{Short description|Medieval castle in Dover, Kent, England}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2015}} {{Use British English|date=June 2015}} {{Infobox military installation |name=Dover Castle |partof= |location=Dover, Kent, England |map_type=Kent |map_alt= |coordinates = {{coord|51.1297|1.3214|type:landmark|display=inline,title}} |image=1 dover castle aerial panorama 2017.jpg |caption=Aerial panorama of the castle |type=Norman castle |built=12th century |builder=Henry II |materials= |height= |used= |demolished= |condition=Intact |ownership=English Heritage |controlledby= |garrison= |commanders= |occupants= |battles= |events=First Barons' War }} {{Campaignbox First Barons' War}} '''Dover Castle''' is a medieval castle in Dover, Kent, England and is Grade I listed.<ref>{{NHLE|desc=Dover Castle|num=1070326|access-date=9 June 2025}}</ref> It was founded in the 11th century and has been described as the "Key to England" due to its defensive significance throughout history.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kerr |first=Nigel |title=A Guide to Norman Sites in Britain |publisher=Granada |year=1984 |page=44 |isbn=0-586-08445-2}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Broughton |first=Bradford B. |title=Dictionary of Medieval Knighthood and Chivalry |publisher=Greenwood Press |year=1988 |page=102 |isbn=0-313-25347-1}}</ref> Some sources say it is the largest castle in England,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Cathcart King |first=David J. |title=Catellarium Anglicanum: An Index and Bibliography of the Castles in England, Wales and the Islands. Volume I: Anglesey–Montgomery |publisher=Kraus International Publications |year=1983 |page=230}}</ref> a title also claimed by Windsor Castle.<ref>{{cite web|title=10 Largest Castles in the World|url=https://www.touropia.com/largest-castles-in-the-world|access-date=2019-03-03|df=dmy }}</ref>
==History== ===Iron age=== This site may have been fortified with earthworks in the Iron Age or earlier, before the Romans invaded in AD 43. This is suggested on the basis of the unusual pattern of the earthworks which does not seem to be a perfect fit for the medieval castle. Excavations have provided evidence of Iron Age occupation within the locality of the castle, but it is not certain whether this is associated with the hillfort.<ref>{{cite web|last=National Monuments Record |title=MONUMENT NO. 468006 |url=http://pastscape.org/hob.aspx?hob_id=468006 |publisher=English Heritage |access-date=2012-04-23 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140227211933/http://pastscape.org/hob.aspx?hob_id=468006 |archive-date=27 February 2014 |df=dmy }}</ref>
=== Roman era === [[File:DoverCastle-lighthouse-2004-10-03.jpg|thumb|upright|left|The Roman lighthouse, later converted into a bell tower for the adjacent church]]
The site also contains one of Dover's two Roman lighthouses, one of only three surviving Roman-era lighthouses in the world, and the tallest and most complete standing Roman structure in England.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://artsandculture.google.com/exhibit/egIS8Lcnz98KIg|title=The Roman Pharos at Dover Castle|website=Google Arts & Culture|access-date=2019-04-08}}</ref> It is also claimed to be Britain's oldest standing building.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.lonelyplanet.com/england/southeast-england/dover/attractions/roman-lighthouse/a/poi-sig/1285074/358962|title=Roman Lighthouse, Dover |website=Lonely Planet |access-date=2 March 2020}}</ref> Built in the early 2nd century, the 5-level 8-sided tower was made of layers of tufa, Kentish ragstone, and red bricks.<ref name=":0" /> The castle lighthouse survived after being converted into a belfry in the Saxon era ({{Circa|1000}}), having a new upper layer added ({{Circa|1430}}), and was partially renovated in 1913–1915. The scant remains of the other Roman lighthouse, known as the Bredenstone or the Devil's Drop of Mortar, are located on the opposing Western Heights, across the town of Dover.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://thejournalofantiquities.com/2013/05/12/the-roman-lighthouse-dover-kent/|title=The Roman Lighthouse, Dover, Kent|publisher=The Journal of Antiquities|date=12 May 2013|access-date=5 June 2018}}</ref> thumb|upright|The Tour d'Ordre in 1550 The Roman lighthouse at Boulogne-sur-Mer across the Channel, known as the Tour d'Ordre, survived for many centuries, and its light should have been visible from Dover. It was built circa AD 39 by order of the Emperor Caligula, possibly in preparation for an invasion of Britain. Suetonius refers to Caligula's "erection of a tall lighthouse, not unlike the one at Pharos, in which fires were to be kept going all night as a guide to ships".<ref>Suetonius, ''The Twelve Caesars'', Gaius (Caligula), chapter 46.</ref> Coastal erosion led to it toppling into the sea in 1644. Engravings of its height may show how the Dover Roman lighthouse once looked.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lighthousedigest.com/Digest/database/uniquelighthouse.cfm?value=5319|title= Boulogne Tour d'Ordre Light|publisher=Lighthouse Explorer|access-date=20 January 2021}}</ref>
===Saxon and early Norman=== thumb|upright=1.2|The view down from the (possibly Saxon) burgh, and Harbour beyond. [[Image:A Lidar View of Dover Castle.jpg|right|thumb|A lidar view of the castle.]] After the Battle of Hastings in October 1066, William the Conqueror and his forces marched to Westminster Abbey for his coronation. They took a roundabout route via Romney, Dover and Canterbury. From the Cinque Ports foundation in 1050, Dover has always been a chief member—it may also have been this that first attracted William's attention, and got Kent the motto of Invicta. In the words of William of Poitiers: {{Blockquote|Then he marched to Dover, which had been reported impregnable and held by a large force. The English, stricken with fear at his approach had confidence neither in their ramparts nor in the numbers of their troops ... While the inhabitants were preparing to surrender unconditionally, [the Normans], greedy for money, set the castle on fire and the great part of it was soon enveloped in flames...[William then paid for the repair and] having taken possession of the castle, the Duke spent eight days adding new fortifications to it'. The Castle was first built, entirely out of clay. It collapsed to the ground and the clay was then used as the flooring for many of the ground-floor rooms.<ref>William of Poitiers, ''Gesta Guillelmi'', ed. and tr. {{Cite book |title=The Gesta Guillelmi of William of Poitiers |author=R. H. C. Davis and Marjorie Chibnall |publisher=Clarendon |location=Oxford and New York |year=1998 |series=OMT |isbn=0-19-820553-8}}</ref>}} In 1088, eight knights were appointed under tenures to guard Dover Castle. Their names were William d'Albrincis, Fulberl (or Fulbert) de Dover, William d'Arsic, Geoffrey Peverell, William Maminot, Robert du Port, Hugh Crevecoeur, and Adam Fitzwilliam.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=kaI0AQAAMAAJ&q=William+d%27Albrincis+Fulbert+de+Dover&pg=PA61 |title= The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent|volume=4|first=Edward |last=Hasted|page=61|publisher=Simmons and Kirkby|year=1799}}</ref>
===Henry II to early modern times=== thumb|upright=1.2|Henry II's Great Tower (the keep) [[File:Henry Hulsbergh - Dover Castle - B1977.14.13006 - Yale Center for British Art.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Dover Castle, by Henry Hulsbergh, early 18th century]] thumb|upright=1.2|The castle from the north It was during the reign of Henry II that the castle began to take recognisable shape. The inner and outer baileys and the great keep belong to this time. Maurice the Engineer was responsible for building the keep.<ref>{{cite book |last=Prestwich |first=Michael |author-link=Michael Prestwich |title=Armies and Warfare in the Middle Ages |publisher=Yale University Press |year=1999 |page=285 |isbn=0-300-07663-0}}</ref> From 1179 to 1188, the king spent over £6,500 on the castle, an enormous sum considering that his annual revenue was likely around £10,000.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Dr |first1=Jeffrey L. Forgeng |last2=Forgeng |first2=Jeffrey L. |last3=Singman |first3=Jeffrey L. |title=Daily Life in Medieval Europe |date=1999 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |isbn=9780313302732 |page=109 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SOdNT0xFnJsC }}</ref>
In 1216, during the First Barons' War, a group of rebel barons invited the future Louis VIII of France to come and take the English crown. He twice besieged Dover, and had some success breaching the walls, but was ultimately unable to take the castle.<ref name=dere>{{cite web|url= http://deremilitari.org/2014/04/dover-castle-and-the-great-siege-of-1216/|title= Dover Castle and the Great Siege of 1216|date=28 April 2014|publisher=De Re Militari|access-date=5 June 2018}}</ref> The vulnerable north gate that had been breached in the siege was converted into an underground forward-defence complex (including St John's Tower), and new gates built into the outer curtain wall on the western (Fitzwilliam's Gate) and eastern (Constable's Gate) sides. During the siege, the English defenders tunnelled outwards and attacked the French.<ref name=dere/> During the time of Stephen de Pencester, a windmill was erected on Tower 22, which was later known as the Mill Tower.<ref name=WCF>{{cite book | first = William| last = Coles Finch| author-link=William Coles Finch| year = 1933| title = Watermills and Windmills| publisher=C W Daniel Company| location = London |page=196}}</ref> By the Tudor age, the defences themselves had been superseded by gunpowder. They were improved by Henry VIII, who made a personal visit and added to it with the Moat Bulwark.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.dover-kent.co.uk/castle_bulwark.htm|title= Dover Castle - Moat's Bulwark|publisher=Dover – Kent|access-date=5 June 2018}}</ref> During the English Civil War, it was held for the king but then taken by supporters of the Parliamentarians in 1642 without a shot being fired.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bcw-project.org/military/english-civil-war/southern-england/south-east-1642|title=Civil War in the South-East 1642|publisher=British Cilil War Project|access-date=5 June 2018}}</ref> Knowing the castle was lightly guarded, a local merchant Richard Dawkes accompanied by 10 men scaled the cliffs and attacked the porter's lodge, obtaining the keys and entering the castle before the garrison was summoned.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UtEHAAAAQAAJ&pg=RA1-PA128 |title=The land we live in, a pictorial and literary sketch-book of the British empire|publisher=Charles Knight|year=1849|location=London|pages=128}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://doverhistorian.com/2013/12/18/richard-dawkes-and-john-reading-the-civil-wars-and-interregnum/|title=Richard Dawkes and John Reading – the Civil Wars and Interregnum|date=2013-12-18|website=The Dover Historian|access-date=2019-04-18}}</ref> Dover Castle was a crucial observation point for the cross-channel sightings of the Anglo-French Survey undertaken between 1784 and 1790, which used trigonometric calculations to link the Royal Greenwich Observatory with the Paris Observatory. This work was overseen by General William Roy.<ref>{{cite journal|year = 1785|last = Roy|first =William|title =An Account of the Measurement of a Base on Hounslow-Heath|journal = Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London|volume =75 |pages =385–480|url =https://archive.org/details/philtrans01222507|doi=10.1098/rstl.1785.0024|doi-access =free}}</ref>
===19th century=== Massive rebuilding took place at the end of the 18th century during the Napoleonic Wars. William Twiss, the Commanding Engineer of the Southern District, as part of his brief to improve the town's defences, completed the remodelling of the outer defences of Dover Castle by adding the huge Horseshoe, Hudson's, East Arrow and East Demi-Bastions to provide extra gun positions on the eastern side, and constructing the Constable's Bastion for additional protection on the west. Twiss further strengthened the Spur at the northern end of the castle, adding a redan, or raised the gun platform. By taking the roof off the keep and replacing it with massive brick vaults, he was able to mount heavy artillery on the top. Twiss also constructed Canon's Gateway to link the defences of the castle with those of the town.<ref name=past>{{cite web|url= http://www.kentpast.co.uk/dover_castle.html|title=Dover Castle|publisher=Kent Past|access-date=5 June 2018}}</ref> thumb|upright=1.2|The castle from south-east With Dover becoming a garrison town, there was a need for barracks and storerooms for the additional troops and their equipment. The solution adopted by Twiss and the Royal Engineers was to create a complex of barracks tunnels about 15 metres below the cliff-top, and the first troops were accommodated in 1803.<ref name=past/> The windmill on the Mill Tower was demolished during the Anglo-American War on the orders of the Ordnance Board. It was said that the sale of materials from the demolished mill did not cover the cost of the demolition.<ref name=WCF/> At the end of the Napoleonic Wars, the tunnels were partly converted and used by the Coast Blockade Service to combat smuggling. This was a short-term endeavour, though, and in 1827 the headquarters were moved closer to shore. The tunnels then remained abandoned for more than a century.<ref name=point>{{cite web|url= http://www.beyondthepoint.co.uk/property/dover-castle-secret-wartime-tunnels/|title=Dover Castle: Secret Wartime Tunnels|publisher=Beyond the Point|access-date=5 June 2018}}</ref>
Between 1856 and 1858, Anthony Salvin constructed a new officer's barracks to the south of the castle. Salvin was responsible for the exterior, which he designed in a Tudor Revival style, while the castle's Clerk of the Works, G. Arnold, was responsible for the interior.<ref>{{NHLE|num=1375601|desc=Officers’ Barracks, Queen Elizabeth Road|grade=II|access-date=8 May 2021}}</ref>
===Second World War=== thumb|right|upright|The Second World War Coastal Artillery Operations Room in the Secret Wartime Tunnels The outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 saw the tunnels converted first into an air-raid shelter and then later into a military command centre and underground hospital. In May 1940, Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsay directed the evacuation of French and British soldiers from Dunkirk, code-named Operation Dynamo, from his headquarters in the cliff tunnels.<ref name=point/> A military telephone exchange was installed in 1941 and served the underground headquarters. The switchboards were constantly in use and had to have a new tunnel created alongside it to house the batteries and chargers necessary to keep them functioning.<ref name=point/> A statue of Admiral Ramsay stands outside the tunnels in honour of his work on the Dunkirk evacuation and protecting Dover during the Second World War.<ref>[http://www.dover-kent.co.uk/people/ramsay.htm Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsay] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150325205121/http://www.dover-kent.co.uk/people/ramsay.htm |date=25 March 2015 }} at www.dover-kent.co.uk</ref>
===Post-war=== After the war the tunnels were to be used as a shelter for the Regional Seats of Government in the event of a nuclear attack.<ref name=point/> This plan was abandoned for various reasons, including the realisation that the chalk of the cliffs would not provide significant protection from radiation, and because of the inconvenient form of the tunnels and their generally poor condition.<ref name=point/> Tunnel levels are denoted as A - Annexe, B - Bastion, C - Casemate, D - Dumpy and E - Esplanade. Annexe and Casemate levels are open to the public, Bastion is 'lost', but investigations continue to locate it and gain access. Dumpy (converted from Second World War use, to serve as a Regional Seat of Government in the event of an atomic war) is closed, together with its esplanade (last used as an air raid shelter in the Second World War).<ref name=DUMPY>{{cite web|title=Dover Castle |url=http://www.dovertowncouncil.gov.uk/article/dover_castle.aspx |publisher=www.dovertowncouncil.co.uk |access-date=25 July 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130402184638/http://www.dovertowncouncil.gov.uk/article/dover_castle.aspx |archive-date=2 April 2013 }}</ref> thumb|upright=1.2|The renovated and redecorated great hall Between 2007 and 2009, English Heritage spent £2.45 million on recreating the castle's interior.<ref>{{citation |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8177876.stm |title=King's lavish castle is brought to life |work=BBC News |date=31 July 2009 |access-date=2011-03-07}}</ref> According to figures released by the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions, 368,243 people visited Dover Castle in 2019.<ref name="ALVA 2019 visitor numbers">{{cite web |title=ALVA - Association of Leading Visitor Attractions |url=https://www.alva.org.uk/details.cfm?p=423 |website=www.alva.org.uk |access-date=28 October 2020}}</ref> The Queen's & Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment Regimental Museum is located in the castle.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.1queens.co.uk/museum.html |title= Queen's & PWRR Regiment Museum |publisher= 1st Battalion the Queen’s Regiment |access-date= 5 June 2018}}</ref> Dover Castle remains a Scheduled Monument,<ref>{{citation |url= http://www.pastscape.org.uk/hob.aspx?hob_id=467778 |title=Dover Castle |work= Pastscape |publisher=English Heritage |access-date= 2011-03-07 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121007040042/http://www.pastscape.org.uk/hob.aspx?hob_id=467778 |archive-date=7 October 2012 |df=dmy }}</ref> which means it is a "nationally important" historic building and archaeological site that has been given protection against unauthorised change.<ref>{{cite web|title=Scheduled Monuments|url=https://historicengland.org.uk/advice/hpg/has/scheduledmonuments/|website=Historic England|access-date=29 March 2017}}</ref> It is also a Grade I listed building,<ref>{{cite web|title=Dover Castle|url=http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/101070326-dover-castle-dover#.WNxFEPnythE|website=British Listed Buildings|access-date=29 March 2017}}</ref> and recognised as an internationally important structure.<ref>{{citation|url=http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/Faqs/default.aspx?topic=4#25 |title=Frequently asked questions |work=Images of England |publisher=English Heritage |access-date=2011-03-07 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100220031505/http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/faqs/default.aspx?topic=4 |archive-date=20 February 2010 |df=dmy }}</ref> The Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports is officially head of the castle, in his conjoint position of Constable of Dover Castle, and the Deputy Constable has his residence in Constable's Gate.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://cinqueports.org/lord-warden-officials/list-of-lord-wardens/|title=List of Lord Wardens|publisher=Cinque Ports|access-date=5 June 2018}}</ref>
In October 2021, the castle was one of 142 sites across England to receive part of a £35 million grant from the government's Culture Recovery Fund.<ref>[https://historicengland.org.uk/whats-new/news/heritage-and-craft-workers-across-england-given-a-helping-hand/ "Heritage and Craft Workers Across England Given a Helping Hand"] – Historic England, 22 October 2021</ref>
==Churches and chapels== [[File:St Mary in Castro, Dover.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|The church of St Mary in Castro, built next to the Roman lighthouse (left)]] There are two sacred places within the grounds of the castle: * Royal chapel - Located within the keep, dedicated to St Thomas Becket.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/dover-castle/history-and-stories/history/|title=History of Dover Castle|publisher=English Heritage|access-date=8 April 2019}}</ref> * St Mary in Castro - A Saxon church, rebuilt in the Victorian era.<ref name="NHLE">{{National Heritage List for England| num=1070328 |desc=Church of St Mary Sub-Castro |grade=I |access-date=17 September 2016}}</ref>
==Filming location== The castle has been used by productions in TV series such as the ''Doctor Who'' serial ''The Mind of Evil'',<ref>{{cite web|author=Kent Film Office|url=http://kentfilmoffice.co.uk/1970/01/doctor-who-mind-of-evil-1971/|title=Kent Film Office The Mind of Evil Article}}</ref> ''Wolf Hall'',<ref>{{cite web|author=Kent Film Office|url=http://kentfilmoffice.co.uk/2015/01/wolf-hall-2015/|title=Kent Film Office Wolf Hall Article|date = 9 January 2015|access-date = 7 October 2019}}</ref> ''The Hollow Crown,''<ref>{{cite web|author=Kent Film Office|url=http://kentfilmoffice.co.uk/2016/04/the-hollow-crown-the-wars-of-the-roses-2016/|title=Kent Film Office The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses Article}}</ref> ''The Amazing Race 31'',<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://ew.com/recap/the-amazing-race-season-31-finale/|title=The Amazing Race finale recap: The sacred feminine for the win|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|last=Walker|first=Jodi|date=27 June 2019|access-date=10 December 2020}}</ref> and ''Renegade Nell''.<ref>{{Cite web |date=5 April 2024 |title=New Disney series 'Renegade Nell' uses Kent film locations |url=https://cenemagazine.co.uk/news/new-disney-series-renegade-nell-uses-kent-film-locations |access-date=23 July 2025 |website='cene Magazine }}</ref> The medieval setting has also been used in films such as ''Lady Jane'' (1986), ''Hamlet'' (1990), ''To Kill a King'' (2003), ''The Other Boleyn Girl'' (2007), ''Into the Woods'' (2014), and ''Avengers: Age of Ultron'' (2015).<ref>{{Cite web|date=11 May 2021|title=Dover Castle|url=https://kentfilmoffice.co.uk/filmed-in-kent/tag/dover-castle/|website=Kent Film Office}}</ref>
==Gallery== <gallery> File:Richard Wilson (1713-1714-1782) - Dover Castle - NMW A 66 - National Museum Cardiff.jpg|''Dover Castle'' by Richard Wilson, 1747 File:DoverCastle.jpg|The interior earthen ramparts of Dover Castle File:Dover Castle aerial view.jpg|Dover Castle in 2011 </gallery>
==See also== *Castles in Great Britain and Ireland *Dover Castle Clock *Eastbourne Redoubt *Governor of Dover Castle *List of castles in England *Pevensey Castle
==Notes== {{Reflist}}
==Further reading== *{{cite book |last=Coad |first=Jonathan |title=Book of Dover Castle and the Defences of Dover |publisher=B. T. Batsford |year=1995 |isbn=0-7134-7289-8}} *{{cite book|last=Jeffrey|first= Kate|title=Dover castle|publisher=English Heritage|year=1997}}
==External links== {{Commons category}} {{scholia|topic}} * [https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/dover-castle/ Dover Castle page] at the English Heritage website. * [http://www.dover-castle-friends.org/ Friends of Dover Castle] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150120113348/http://www.dover-castle-friends.org/ |date=20 January 2015 }}
===Images=== * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1VyfFQCmSo A series of aerial photos of Dover Castle] * [http://viewfinder.english-heritage.org.uk/search/reference.aspx?uid=77239&index=0&mainQuery=dover%20castle%20&searchType=all&form=home Images of World War II tunnels] * [http://viewfinder.english-heritage.org.uk/search/reference.aspx?uid=77411&index=0&mainQuery=dover%20castle%20&searchType=all&form=home Dover Castle images from English Heritage]
{{Museums in Kent}} {{Roman visitor sites in the UK}} {{Authority control}}
Category:Tourist attractions in Kent Category:Castles in Kent Category:Scheduled monuments in Kent Category:Forts in Dover, Kent Category:English Heritage sites in Kent Category:Invasions of England Category:Napoleon's planned invasion of the United Kingdom Category:Norman conquest of England Category:Military history of Dover, Kent Category:Napoleonic war forts in England Category:Grade I listed buildings in Kent Category:Grade I listed castles Category:Anthony Salvin buildings Category:History museums in Kent Category:Military and war museums in England Category:World War II museums in the United Kingdom Category:Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment