Dover Castle

• 22 miles from France
• Good route to trade + communicate with mainland Europe
• Defence of port + England (Military purpose)
• Status purpose
• On cliffs of Dover
• First began as moat that was dug out
• Built to act as penance for the death of Thomas Beckett (1170)
• Display Henry II's wealth after embarrasing visit from Louis VII in 1179

Iron Age

• Britain named 'land of the dead'- few people came over
• Previous town that traded- across sea
• Parapet- low protective wall
• Rampart- defensive wall ditches

Roman

• Roman pharos (lighthouse)
• Guided traders + Roman Navy across English channel
• Originally two present
• 2,000 years old
• Altered over time- Acted as ammuntition storage during Napoleonic Era
• Port named Portus Dubris

Anglo-Saxon

• St. Mary of Castro originally built in 1000AD but restored since then
• Importance of religion
• Saxon burgh used to exist there- evidence of large Anglo-Saxon cemetry + Church replaces earlier building

William's Norman Conquest

• Burnt down previous fortifications at site
• Motte + Bailey built in 8 days
• No visible remains
• Built out of clay- used to make floor of current castle after it collapsed
• Other Motte + Bailey castles at Romney, Dover, Canterbury, Pevensey + Berkshire
• Close to France + on path to London

TURNING POINT: 29TH DECMEBER 1170, DEATH OF THOMAS BECKETT- MURDERED IN CANTERBURY CATHEDRAL

Henry II's Reign (1179-1188)

• Keep, outer + inner bailey being built
• 1179-1188, castle rebuilt by Maurice the Engineer
• Modern design- 1st concentric castle in Europe
• Most expensive build
• Completed by King John
• Cost nearly £6,000
• Keep, walls + towers built out of Caen stone (from Normandy)
• Lack of lighting + cold

1204, King John gives money to complete the castle

1215, Magna Carta battles

1216-1217, siege exposed Northern vulnerable defences but castle prevailed

Henry III's Improvements

• Tunnels built by Hubert-de-Burgh
• Curtain wall made- 5 conjoined towers to maximize for flanking fire over widest area w/ arrow slits + crenallations
• St John's Tower constructed
• 1220s, northern gateway blocked + replaced by constable gateway (most elaborate castle gateway in country)
• Defences improved- Entrance had drawbridge + portcullis (grooves still remain)
• 1240, Arthur's hall + King chambers built
• 1250s, earth bank around church + lighthouse topped with stones
• Fitzwilliam gateway built on eastern side
• Round towers to prevent undermining as harder to collapse

Napoleonic Era

• 1803, underground barracks opened- housed at peak, 2000 soldiers + officers
• 7 tunnels dug into cliffs
• 1702-1713

World War I

• Anti-aircraft guns + search lights on keep roof
• Lookout station over harbour

World War II

• Operation Dynamo planned in tunnels
• Tunnels used as HQ
• 500 bed hospital built into tunnels

The Cold War

• Secret location of nuclear bunker

English Heritage

• Took over from 1984-present
• Used as tourist attraction + educational site

• Henry II, King of England + controlled land in France as well as England
• Married Eleanor of Aquitane (1152)
• Conquerered land in Ireland + Europe
• His sons mistrusted each other + hated idea of Henry dividing land amongst them (Henry,Geoffrey, Richard +John)
• Disputes 1173,1181 + 1184
• Attempt for inheritance for John led to protest from Richard + Phillip II of France
• Eleanor sided with children
• King of France supposed to marry Eleanor, but 8 weeks before marriage, Henry married her
• Son, John, went against him + hastened his death on 6th July 1189

• King Louis VII (France), King William (Scotland) + Count Phillip of Flanders were powerful neighbours
• They launched invasions in his lands from South + North
• Sons + Eleanor rose in rebellion
• Had conflict w/ church + TABOC

Napoleonic Era Continued...

• Castle turned into a prison- 1,500 kept here + evidence of their capture on the walls (graffiti)
• 1799 flat roof constructed to hold heavy guns

• 1170 Thomas Beckett murdered in Canterbury Cathedral
• Canonised in 1173
• 1189 Prince Louis visited Dover + Henry was embarrassed
• Henry richest ruler in Western Europe
• Built Dover to show wealth in England + act as penance to repair relationship w/ church
• 1172 miracles happening where Beckett died
• Attracted Kings + Princes (1180s)
• 1179 King Louis' son became ill + travelled to Canterbury to pray
• Castle built at Dover as Saint's death overshadowed royal authority
• Shrines made at Canterbury
• Henry not against the "cult"/ church- Gillingham's imterpretation + made to impress visitors
• Cost 40% of King's annual income - most ever spent on one castle

• Dover was the "key of England"
• Modern gatehouses
• Unique by whole century + replicated in other castles e.g. Rochester Castle

Keep

• Acess to arrow slits + roofing area
• Surrounded by ring of walls
• Three floors + walls 17-21 feet thick
• Three staircases, well that descends to bottom of cliffs
• Drawbridge in forebuilding- shows control

Inner Bailey

• 14 spaced flanking towers along inner curtain- enables cross-fire
• Buildings in inner bailey would have been wooden
• Old holes + indentations in walls show fortifications previously there

Ground Floor

• Bread oven + slanted windows to help smoke ventilation
• Kitchen + storeroom
• Wide stairs for servants to carry large platters of food up stairs easily

First Floor

• Lower Chambers set up as communal living area for nobility + guests
• Few beds + furniture
• Latrines on every floor (modern design), built into walls
• Lower hall set as banqueting hall
• Knights serve food + drink
• Lower chapel for pilgrims + less worthy visitors
• Open fires/ braziers in rooms

• King John lost majority of inheritance after Philip Augustus stole it
• English Civil War- Group of Barons rose against the King and set up in London + invited Prince Louis of France to assume the crown (eldest son of Philip)
• 21st May 1216, Louis lands +  King John flees
• Takes Rochester, Canterbury, Winchester + London 2nd June
• Dover damaged already: Old gateway + parts of wall destroyed
• De Burgh defended castle with large tree trunks to barricade French out
• French left cold, tired + hungry

Improvements after the Siege

• 1220s, Constables Gate w/ moat, drawbridge + 5 protective flanking towers
• Concentric walls (castle within a castle)
• Medieval Tunnels: Link to outer Spur to delay attacks so people could get to St. John's Tower for high ground control
• 1250s, stone wall around St Mary of Castro and Roman Pharos + earth bank
• Outer wall completed
• Block Northern gateway solid
• Round towers after square towers were undermined by French

Second Floor

• Connecting rooms thought to be King's chambers
• Large room for bed chambers + seperate room for business and scribing
• King's Hall where court would be held- throne, benches + tapestries show lavish lifestyle
• Deep well at entrance
• Greet visitors at top of stairs (hierarchy)
• Chapel of Saint Thomas Beckett- for special guests

General

• Rochester + Newcastle, narrow staircases to stop attackers from fighting down the stairs + defenders at the top as an advantage
• Dover has wide staircases
• 4 white stripes on outisde of keep
• 3 floors in keep
• Different types of stone used
• 25 metres tall- keep

• Good friends w/ Henry +  Thomas rode together often
• Notorious for luxurious lifestyle + Banquets
• Not pious, so shocked when became TABOC
• Different prosectuion methods for Church + normal people
• Henry wanted all people punished if they broke the law + not protected by Church if religous
• Became pious + helped the poor
• Sided w/ Pope over Henry who hoped that Thomas would put Royal Authority over the Church
• 1164 fled in exile to France through fear
• Henry says "won't someone rid me of this troublesome Priest!"- four knights killed in Canterbury Cathedral (1170)
• Henry guilty + whips himself and walks barefoot to Canterbury after Pope tells him to pay penance
• Canonised 1173
• Cult developed around Saint's death + risk of anti-monarch
• Religion overshadowed royal authority at Canterbury

Second Floor

• Henry not religious but had small window where he could look upon the services + conduct business above
• Chapel of Thomas Beckett on same floor as King's quarters so could keep control over pilgrims
• Idea of castle construction for purpose of passing pilgrims on way to Dover
• Two chapels
• Private room next to chapel

First Floor

• Pilgrims pay homage to shrine of Thomas Beckett by leaving money or candle
• Walk only to bottom of stairs
• Drawbridge stopped unwanted visitors
• Could monitor passing pilgrims

• Henry III's royal residence at Tower of London, which has similiar style + shape of keep at Dover
• Henry I built previous keeps at Rochester + Norwhich (1110-35)
• Henry II built castle at Orford, Sussex w/ all french fashions as from France
• Design of Dover repeated in other castles later on

• Outer walls- 9 towers but may have been 20
• Forebuilding had open roof + drawbridge to keep- allowed archers to fire down directly onto invaders
• Keep had turrets where archers perched
• Rounded towers harder to undermine + deflect arrows
• Avranch Tower- 3 corssbow slits that covered large area of 20 yields
• Keep 6.5 metres thick
• Many guard rooms
• Well descends below sea level in case of sieges (400ft)

• Attracts 400,000 visitors a year
• Troubadour music in guest hall
• 140 people worked on the recreation
• £2.45 million spent
• 2 years of research
• Hard to interpret feel + quality of items
• Furniture: King's bed, benches, lanterns  + tables
• 'Mappa Mundi' (12th Century) recreated by using gold and lapis lazuli
• Only surviving map of the world in the 12th century and based on Sawley map
• Used artwork from Durham Cathedral as influence for art in Dover
• Lion symbol of Henry in courtroom
• Norman shield/trophy above fireplace
• Close copy of King's wardrobe + calligraphy
• Paintings of various things made as accurately as possible