 After Henry VIII divorced his Catholic wife,
Catherine of Aragon, in 1533 England was threatened by attack by France and Spain.
To protect the
southern coast Henry immediately set about building a series
of forts using the proceeds from the dissolved monasteries.
Deal
and Walmer,
just to the south, are two of these forts. Both castles
are plain, functional constructions whose only purpose was
defence.
Deal Castle consists of six semi-circular bastions in the form of a
tower with an outer wall of the same shape to protect it. The walls had a series of
gun loops so arranged that any attacker faced five tiers of canons. Walmer was built to a simpler plan with a circular tower protected by a quatrefoil
outer wall. It also was well supplied with artillery to face an enemy at any
angle.
However, neither castle was attacked from
the seas and Deal was not threatened until 1648. The castle was a Royalist
stronghold during the Civil War and when it was attacked by Parliamentarians suffered
extensive damage.
The castle was not attacked again until
World War II when it was bombed. |
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Deal
& Walmer Castle
