FORT CHARLES

Devon

Despite its name, Fort Charles is nothing of the sort.  It is quite certainly a Castle...it only got the name 'Fort Charles' after the Civil War...before it was known as Salcombe Castle.

It's origins are a little hazy.  It seems to have been built during the Tudor period; possibly by Henry VIII, but it seems more likely that it was a local addition to his fortification programme instigated by the townsfolk of Salcombe.  The plan is not like the other Henrican Castles; no single central tower here, but rather the remains of an almost figure of eight-pattern tower, plus some walling.

It stands dramatically on a rock on the beach, often inaccessible at high tide.  Unfortunately the sea has not left the masonry in particularly good condition.

It might have survived a little better had it not been for the arrival of the English Civil War.  The Castle was garrisoned, as was usual in staunchly Royalist Devon, by the King's Men.  The Roundheads arrived in 1646 and laid siege for four months, after which time the Castle surrendered and the men were allowed to leave the Castle on honourable terms.  The Castle was nicknamed 'Fort Charles' and the name stuck.  However, its strategic position didn't stop the Parliamentarians from slighting the Castle, leaving us with the crumbling ruin we have today.

The Castle is owned by the local authority and although there is a "Don't Climb the Walls" notice it is freely accessible at all times, save for when the high tides cut it off from the beach.

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2001