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DEAL CASTLE

Kent

Deal Castle, Kent

Deal Castle is the largest of King Henry VIII chain of coastal forts which stretch from here to the west of Cornwall.  It is also one of the best preserved and the one which best conforms to the "Tudor Rose" shape.

This stretch of coast, with its shallow sloping beach, was always prone to foreign incursion - it was on Deal beach that Julius Caesar "came, saw and 'conquered'" (even if he didn't!).

Henry saw this importance and three forts were built - Sandown a mile north of Deal, Deal, and Walmer a mile south.  Sandown almost entirely disappeared into the sea 1894 after a century of abuse, the final ignominity was when the last little bits were encased in concrete recently to 'protect them'.

All of the Three Castles of the Downs, as they became known, were built in the space of about 18 months.  Like most of Henry's Castles the only real action these Castles saw was in the Civil War when first Sandown and then the other two declared for the King.  Shortly afterwards the rebellion was quashed, and after three very brief sieges the Castles surrendered.

A house was constructed in Deal Castle in the 1700s, but a particularly tasteful bomb in the Second World War destroyed the addition and left the rest of the Castle almost untouched!

Of the three Castles, Deal is the one with the most 'Castle-like' feel and is probably the most satisfying to visit.  But it is strongly recommended that a visitor go first to the site of Sandown, then to Deal and then to Walmer - just to see how small quirks of history can alter the fates of three almost identical buildings.  Deal and Walmer are owned by English Heritage and open all year.

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2018


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