Panorama of Dover Castle from the French Army Siege Positions of 1216, Kent, UK

This post-sunrise view from the north-east of Dover Castle, the fortress Matthew Paris, a Benedictine monk and English chronicler, once famously described as the "Lock and Key to the Kingdom of England", shows the Keep (or "Great Tower"), the Forebuilding, the Inner Curtain Wall, and the whole of the northern section of the Eastern Outer Curtain Wall.

The shot, best viewed in a larger size, was taken at 6.33 am on Monday, 27th of June, 2011, from 400 yards away (from the Keep) in a field adjacent to the hidden East Wing Battery of the Victorian Fort Burgoyne (originally known as Castle Hill Fort). The field (definitely no access without permission) is where part of the French army were arrayed during the Great Siege of 1216 (also see the St John Round Tower).

As before, the sheep have been included at no extra charge.

This is the fourth of four different photos that show the same general view but with progressively less zoom. The first three are:

Rare view of the Great Tower and Forebuilding at Sunrise

Rare view of the Keep and Inner Curtain Wall at Sunrise

Dover Castle, the Golden Lock and Key to the Kingdom of England

The following caption has been amended to include: St Mary-in-Castro (far left)

The Great Tower and Forebuilding

The sun-lit north-eastern side of what was once called Palace Tower has the Keep's East Tower on the left and the North Tower to its right, with the Union Jack flying from the South Tower (Flag Tower) behind and between the two; the West Tower is on the far right of the unlit north-western face.

The North and South Towers have spiral staicases going down to ground level, the East and West Towers do not.

The 12th Century Norman Keep was built in the 1180s with AD 1180-1185 often being the range quoted.

The length of the sides and height of the corner towers vary, but the Keep is approximately 100 feet square, over 80 feet high, and has walls up to 21 feet thick. It was designed by Henry II’s architect, ‘Maurice the Engineer’ (mason), based on designs used by Gundulf, Bishop of Rochester (alt. Gundulph).

In 2010, English Heritage created a re-presentation of a medieval Royal Palace, or Royal Court, occupying the upper two floors of the Keep:

The King’s Hall (Great Hall or Throne Room; second floor)

The King’s Chamber (Solar, second floor)

The Guest Hall (or Lower Hall; first floor)

The Guest Chamber (first floor)

Half-way down and projecting outwards from its left-hand side is the Forebuilding entrance to the Keep. The Forebuilding is three storeys high and has a small chapel on the corner of the middle floor with the larger Thomas a Becket chapel directly above it on the top floor (Thomas Becket was murdered by Henry II's knights at Canterbury Cathedral on 29 December 1170).

The Inner Bailey

The red-tiled roofs and chimney stacks of the buildings set against the inside of the Inner Curtain Wall range in age from the 13th Century to the 18th Century:

Along the north-east side of the Inner Bailey is a suite of buildings created in the mid-13th century as the King’s Lodgings. Arthur’s Hall, a 14th-century name given to the hall built during Henry III’s reign (1216-72), is the centrepiece of this range. (1)

Other buildings house the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment and Queen's Regiment Museum:

The collection traces the history of the Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment (PWRR), direct successor of twelve forbear regiments through four and a quarter centuries of service to the Crown. (2)

The Inner Curtain Wall

On the far right of the Inner Curtain Wall are the two flanking towers of the King’s Gate, or King's Gateway, below which are the ruins of the King’s Gate Barbican, or North Barbican.

Abridged excerpt from the 1899 book, "The History of the Castle, Town and Port of Dover" (3):

The inner curtain wall forms an irregular polygon about 120 yards each way, supported by fourteen rectangular towers with no inward projection. These towers are nearly of the same height as the curtain, which is a very lofty wall. It is built of flint rubble quoined with ashlar, and battered (splayed, sloping) on the outside at the base. The wall was surrounded by a broad and deep ditch, which is now filled in on the south front. Two gates led in to the inner ward, the one on the north, called the King’s Gate; that on the south being named the Palace Gate, or the Duke of Suffolk's Gate. They are vaulted passages between two flanking square towers, and are early English in character. Both were fitted with a portcullis.

An outwork (barbican), consisting of a wall with towers, was thrown out in front of each of these gates, and the entry to these works was placed obliquely to the main gate so as to allow the approach to be commanded. That at the King's Gateway remains much as it was first built, but the one at the Palace Gate has been entirely destroyed (see Palace Gateway and Inner Curtain Wall).

In contrast to the Union Jack on the Keep, the English Heritage flag above Palace Gate is only visible on the very highest resolutions (to the left of the Forebuilding).

The Eastern Outer Curtain Wall (North)

Right-of-centre on the outer curtain wall is the Fitzwilliam’s Gate ( c. 1227; once a BBC Television, Doctor Who "Strangmoor Prison" set location) that lies 45 yards from the Norfolk Towers (far right) and 120 yards from Avranches Tower (with "triple-loop" windows made for crossbows, far left).

The two flanking towers either side of the column above the gateway are en bec (ie "beaked" in outline when viewed from above, indicated by the vertical centre line). This design was fashionable in France in the early 13th Century and apparently strengthened the base of a tower, especially against mining.

Between Avranches Tower and Fitzwilliam's Gateway are two small watchtowers, each about 23 feet wide and projecting from the outer curtain wall by 10 feet or so. The ivy-clad one casting a shadow in the centre of the outer wall is the North Watchtower, 15 yards from Fitzwilliam's Gate, and to the left, 44 yards from the South Watchtower.

The South Watchtower is 45 yards from Avranches Tower, below it is a line marking the top of the counterscarp (4).

The North Watchtower and South Watchtower have "triple-loop" windows for crossbows and are also referred to on this website as Fitzwilliam's Watchtower and Avranches Watchtower, respectively.

The medieval Avranches Tower (late 12th Century, c. 1185 -1190) is a very early example of a purpose built crossbow tower and was probably built by King Henry II's architect, Maurice the Engineer.

The Outer Curtain Wall of Dover Castle is built above the ditches (moats) of a much earlier Iron Age hillfort. The curtain wall does a 90 degree turn at Avranches Tower for 30 yards, covering the point where the main entrance to the hill fort was believed to be, before continuing on to the cliff-edge: this is the Avranches Gap.

The main entrance to Dover Castle prior to the 1216 Siege of Dover Castle (First Barons War) was the Northern Entrance (North Entrance, or Northgate).

During the siege, which broke off and then resumed briefly in 1217 when a trebuchet catapult was used (Malvoisin, or "Bad Neighbour"), the engineers of the Dauphin (Prince Louis, later Louis VIII of France) so damaged the eastern gate tower of the North Entrance by mining that Hubert de Burgh (Constable of Dover Castle under King John and Henry III) subsequently sealed the gateway.

The Norfolk Towers replaced the Northern Entrance and new gateways were made at Fitzwilliam's Gate (here, in the east) and at Constable’s Tower (in the west). Part of Constable’s Gate can be seen above the Norfolk Towers (the English Channel is to the right of the towers).

Hubert de Burgh also constructed the Spur earthwork (originally a tear-drop shaped affair, now arrow-shaped) and St John’s Tower, a round tower located in the moat in front of the Norfolk Towers.

In 1755-1756, the military engineer, John Peter Desmaretz (J P Desmaretz, c. 1686-1768) remodelled the whole of the Eastern Outer Curtain Wall all the way from Avranches Tower (Averanches Tower) to the Norfolk Towers, thus giving clear fields of fire to the two Royal Artillery positions of Four Gun Battery (near the Saxon church of St Mary-in-Castro and the Roman Pharos) and Bell Battery (between the Inner Curtain Wall and Pencester Tower).

On the skyline to the left of the Inner Curtain Wall is the part-Saxon and part-Norman Colton Gate, or Colton Tower. This is an entrance through which the Romans and Saxons once entered their respective fortifications.

Next to the Colton Gateway is the Victorian Garrison School. Below the gateway and school are the four side-lit inverted v-shaped apertures of Bell Battery.

Alternative names: Avranche's Tower, Averanches Tower, Averenches Tower, Averanche's Tower, Averenche's Tower, Maunsell's Tower, Maunsel's Tower, Albrincis Tower.

East Roman Pharos

To the left of the Garrison School, after the trees near Four Gun Battery, is the East Roman Pharos, a watchtower or lighthouse standing on top of Harold’s Earthwork (the Bredenstone is the West Roman Pharos, located in the Drop Redoubt on the Western Heights).

The Pharos was built during the reign of Emperor Claudius in AD 46 on the headland flanking either side of the major Roman port of Dubris.

Aulus Plautius led the Roman conquest of Britain in 43 AD, and became the first governor of the new province, serving from 43 to 47 AD.

The lighthouse survives within Dover Castle and comprises an octagonal stepped tower approximately 19 metres and four storeys high. The fourth storey was reconstructed between 1415 and 1437.

St Mary-in-Castro

The final building on the left is St Mary-in-Castro (5):

A late Saxon church situated within the defences of Dover Castle. A minster was founded at St Mary-in-Castro by 640 AD but in 696 was transferred to St Martin's Church (St Martin-le-Grand) in the town. The church is thought to have been built before 1020 AD and reuses Roman building material within it fabric and at some point used the Roman lighthouse as its belfry.

The ruins of St Mary-in-Castro were restored by Sir George Gilbert Scott in 1862. An additional restoration was undertaken by William Butterfield in 1888. Church now has a Victorian roof.

Abridged extract from a magazine published in September, 1773 (6):

In the year 180 AD, King Lucius, being converted by Pope Eleutherius (Eleutheros, or Eleuterus), built here (ie grounds of Dover Castle) a church, wherein were afterwards placed by Eadbald, son of Ethelbert (Aethelbert), twenty-four secular Canons, who remained here 105 years (subsequently removed to the church of St Martin, in the town of Dover).

Alternative names for this ex-British Army Garrison Church: Church of St Mary, St Mary-sub-Castro, St Mary de Castro, King Lucius Church.

Standard entry for Dover Castle photos (May, 2011)

Dover Castle is a Grade I Listed Building (7).

The following is © Crown Copyright. Reproduced under the terms of the Click-Use Licence (PSI licence number C2010002016):

Building Details:

Building Name: DOVER CASTLE

Parish: DOVER

District: DOVER

County: KENT

Postcode:

Details:

LBS Number: 177823

Grade: I

Date Listed: 07/03/1974

Date Delisted:

NGR: TR3249141696

Listing Text:

1050 DOVER CASTLE

TR 3241 1/47

TR 34 SW 7/47

I

2.

Norman keep C.1155 of rag-stone ashlar blooks picked out flints with Caen stone dressings. Around the keep are ranges of C18 (=18th Century) houses of 2 to 3 storeys ashlar with a flint galleting. Round headed windows. Surrounding these ranges are 2 concentric rings of walls and towers dating from Mediaeval times. Beneath the castle are a whole series of subterranean passages dating from the C13 (13th Century) and improved for defence during the Napoleonic period. Ancient Monument. (Abridged).

Listing NGR: TR3249141696

Source: English Heritage.

The English Heritage Pastscape entry for Dover Castle (8):

Medieval castle possibly originating as a pre-1066 motte and bailey castle, remodelled during the reign of Henry II (Curtmantle), to became a castle with concentric defences, one of the first examples of its kind in western Europe.

Much of this work was supervised by Maurice the Ingeniator (Maurice the Engineer, Architect, or Mason) and started with piecemeal additions to the defences during the 1160s and 1170s and major construction work, including the Keep (or Great Tower), walls of the Inner Bailey (Inner Curtain Wall) and parts of the Outer Curtain Wall between 1179 and 1188.

Work during the reign of Henry III included strengthening of the defences and the modernising of the castle's accomodation. Much of this took place between 1217-57 and was supervised by Hubert de Burgh (first Earl of Kent). Additions included construction of St John’s Tower outside the northern defences which was linked to the castle by a tunnel. Limited work on the castle and its defences took place during the 14th and 15th century and by the 17th century it was in neglect.

The castle was in use as a prison for prisoners of war from 1690 and until the 1740s when a programme of modernisation was started. This included the updating of the defences and construction of barracks, supervised by John Peter Desmaretz (military engineer, c. 1686-1768). Further changes took place in response to the Napoleonic Wars. Much of this took place between 1794 and 1805 and was implemented by Lieutenant Colonel William Twiss, and included bombproofing of the keep, installation of additional gun batteries and outworks and the excavation of underground tunnels for communication and additional accomodation (see Casemates Balcony, Entrance to the Secret Wartime Tunnels of Dover Castle).

The castle was also adapted to protect itself from new explosive shells in 1853 and new barrack were constructed. The castle was used during World War I and World War II when features including anti aircraft and search light batteries were constructed. (Abridged)

Dover Castle is located upon the famous White Cliffs overlooking the town and port below. The Normans, beginning with William the Conqueror, built upon earlier Roman and Saxon fortifications on a site first selected by their Iron Age predecessors.

See wikipedia entries for Portus Dubris and Anglo-Saxons

(1) English Heritage Research News, August 2009

(2) The Army Museums Ogilby Trust

(3) "The History of the Castle, Town and Port of Dover" by Reverend S. P. H. Statham, Rector of St Mary-in-the-Castle (ie St Mary-in-Castro) (Longmans, Green, and Co., 1899).

(4) Outer moat embankment, or earthwork: A scarp and a counterscarp are the inner and outer sides of a ditch used in fortifications. In permanent fortifications the scarp and counterscarp may be encased in stone. In less permanent fortifications, the counterscarp may be lined with paling fence set at an angle so as to give no cover to the attackers but to make advancing and retreating more difficult. See Profile of the European fortress wall from the 16th century.

(5) English Heritage Pastscape entry

(6) The Universal magazine, Volumes 52-53: "Antiquities of Dover Castle" (September, 1773). Published for J. Hinton.

(7) Grade I: buildings "of exceptional interest, sometimes considered to be internationally important".

(8) Pastscape: Dover Castle (Pastscape Homepage).

Dover Castle appears in the video, "Dover in World War Two: 1942", a ten minute British Ministry of Information film, released by the US Office of War Information, and narrated by the American journalist, Edward R. Murrow.

Click to see all photos of Dover Castle, a Dover English Heritage site and a Grade I Dover Listed Building.

A Dover Panorama, Middle Ages (5th century to the 15th century), and British Army Royal Artillery history photo.

John Latter / Jorolat

Dover Blog: The Psychology of a Small Town

This is the Images of Dover website: click on any blue "John Latter" link to access the Entry Page.

This photo also appears on the Pinterest Dover Castle board at:

Dover Castle from 1216 French Army Siege Positions, Kent, England, UK

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Dover Castle at Sunset, Prince of Wales Pier, Dover, United Kingdom

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Sunrise from Fitzwilliam Gate to the Ravelin, Dover Castle, United Kingdom

This photo shows the archway and drawbridge of:

The King’s Gate, Inner Curtain Wall, Dover Castle, United Kingdom

Also see:

The Twin Towers of King’s Gate, Inner Curtain Wall, Dover Castle, United Kingdom

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Victorian Colour Photo of Dover Castle from Connaught Park, United Kingdom