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Dover Castle

(vero;2022-Jan-23)

We visited Dover Castle on a bleak winter day and enjoyed every minute of it: there is a lot to see, from a Roman lighthouse to a Saxon church, a Norman keep and palace and an impressive network of tunnels hewn into the cliffs.

The castle itself was built in the 11th century but the site has a much older history: there are traces of human occupation from the Iron Age and the Roman lighthouse on the cliff was built in the early 2nd century, one of only three still surviving in the world from this era. Then came 1066 and William the Conqueror stopped in Dover on his way to his coronation in Westminster: after seizing the port, he established a fort near the existing Saxon church (built around 1000 AD). Henry II (r.1154-1189) was the king to develop the place into a mighty castle and built the Norman keep and medieval palace in the years 1179-89: first English stop on the new pilgrimage route to Thomas Becket’s shrine in Canterbury, it was designed to receive important visitors and show-off the greatness of England. Due to its strategic position overlooking the English Channel, the castle has played an important role in the history of England, up to WWII when the extraordinary evacuation of the British Army from Dunkirk was masterminded from there in May and June 1940.

The inner bailey with the Norman keep and royal palace in its centre.

Constable's gate, the main entrance to the castle and the outside walls on the southern side. This picture is a panorama. Press F to expand the picture to its real size and use the bottom scroll bar to navigate through it.

Back view of the Roman lighthouse and the Anglo-Saxon church of St Mary in Castro with the Norman keep in the background.

View of the Roman lighthouse and the church from the roof of the keep. Note the ferry approaching Dover's port.

Front view of the Roman lighthouse and the church of St Mary in the Castro.

Inside the church. Its construction dates to around 1000 AD and its exceptional size for the time hints that it might have had a royal patron, possibly Godwin, Earl of Wessex (r.1020—53), father of King Harold who was defeated by William the Conqueror at the battle of Hastings in 1066.

The Norman keep and medieval palace within the inner bailey.

Inside the keep, re-creation of the King's Chamber decorated using materials and patterns from the time.

Inside the keep, re-creation of the King's Hall.

Inscriptions left by French prisoners of war on the mantle piece of the King's Chamber. Check the feminine figure and the elaborated hearts chiselled on the left: memories of love-starved men?

Inscriptions left by French prisoners of war on the mantle piece of the King's Chamber. The inscription in the left square reads: Pierre Lebrun entre le 1 de May 1711 est sorti le 30 d'aoust >> Pierre Lebrun arrives on May 1st 1711 and leaves 30th August.

Re-creation of the kitchen and store-room in the basement of the keep.

The outside walls of the castle with the remnants of the moat.

View on Dover's port from the top of the cliff: no need for defensive walls on this side!

View to the north in the direction of St Margaret's at Cliffe. The French aviator Louis Blériot crash-landed somewhere in the woods right of the parking lot after he accomplished the first flight across the English Channel in 1909. A memorial in the form of the silhouette of his plane has been set into the ground at the place where he landed.

View on Dover from the castle with a cruise ship docked in the cruise terminal. Dover in itself is not a beauty, but the castle and the white cliffs are definitely worth the visit. We wish we would have stopped earlier: it took us 24 years of channel-crossing before we finally made it!

We enjoyed Dover castle so much that we came back in October for a second visit. This panorama with a view of the castle has been taken from the Western Heights. Press F to expand the picture to its real size and use the bottom scroll bar to navigate through it.

Inside the church of St Mary in the Castro.

One of Vero's favourite feature in Dover castle is the Roman lighthouse next to the church of St Mary in the Castro. Check this link for some views and explanations.

The Norman keep seen from the lighthouse.

Close-up of the Norman keep behind the walls enclosing the inner bailey.

The outside walls of the inner bailey enclosing the Norman keep seen from the outer bailey.

Go back to Kent, go on to Rochester Castle or up to South East England