Long before the Romans
Of course, the castle was built on the shore of the strait for a reason, namely in order to know in advance about the arrival of uninvited guests and to successfully defend against them. Moreover, fortifications in these places were erected long before the appearance of the Romans (43 BC). However, it is unknown by whom, perhaps the Celts - archaeologists have not yet found out any details. But the fact remains: the place turned out to be very advantageous from a defensive point of view, and therefore the Romans, and those who lived here before them, and all subsequent conquerors, as soon as they managed to grab a piece of England, immediately erected a fortification in this place. So, with the most conservative estimates, the existence of Dover Castle dates back about two thousand years - now it is one of the largest and most ancient defensive fortifications in Great Britain.
Having landed on the island, the Romans not only built a fortress here and created a cargo and passenger port, but also erected two lighthouses, one of which has survived to this day. After more than 600 years, the conquerors went back to their Rome, abandoning the port, fortifications, lighthouses, the city of Dover that had formed around them and its inhabitants, who were not too sad about the departure of foreign guests.
Around the year 1000, the site came to the attention of King Harold II. He ordered to build a church on the remains of Roman fortifications and surround it with a moat. But very soon William the Conqueror came here, for whom the pitiful ditch was not a hindrance. He drove out Harold II, captured Dover, burned it, then changed his mind, restored everything at his own expense and also added several serious fortifications to the church - the beginning of the future castle.
However, historians claim that Wilhelm either deceived everyone, or tried in vain, or his contractors, unlike the Roman ones, turned out to be swindlers. Traces of Roman fortifications are still visible - historians say - but not a board or a stone remains from the buildings allegedly erected by William the Conqueror.
"Short Cloak"
For the next 100 years everything went quiet. None of the chronicles mentioned Dover Castle until Henry II Plantagenet, nicknamed “Shortcoat,” sat on the English throne. It soon became clear that Henry did not like to sit on the throne, but preferred to travel through those territories of England that he considered his own and build castles there. During his reign, he managed to build about 90 fortifications, and his favorite creation (where the king invested the most money) was Dover Castle.
Henry II built and rebuilt his favorite until his death, but as a result he never finished it. His follower, John the Landless, had to bring everything to fruition. John set to work with enthusiasm, strengthened the walls, added towers, completed all the work and... just in time! In 1216, the French, summoned by the rebel barons, landed in England and began to capture castles one after another. All but two fortification posts surrendered - Windsor and Dover.
Dover turned out to be too tough for the French. They dug under it, blew up towers, broke walls, but the defenders held strong, and after three months of siege, the castle never surrendered. In 1217, the French again besieged Dover Castle, again without success. Then the invaders began to have problems in their own country, and they left the fortress alone, and Henry III, who came to power, appreciating the strength and usefulness of the castle, began to painstakingly restore it, strengthening its already impenetrable walls. As a result, the Northern Gate, which had succumbed to the French, was walled up, and a new gate appeared on the western side, protected by six towers. Additionally, an unusually high St. John's Tower was erected, from which not only its fortifications, but also the surrounding area for many miles around were clearly visible. To achieve maximum autonomy in the event of a siege, grain warehouses and its own windmill were additionally built in the castle. The garrison grew and was ordered to guard almost the entire southwestern coast of England, for which the royal treasury allocated significant money. So Dover Castle became the main outpost on the way of almost all guests from the “mainland” without exception.
Waiting for Napoleon
The castle successfully withstood the siege of strangers, but fell, as usual, from its own. In 1642, the Civil War between Parliament and the monarchy began in England, and it so happened that the city of Dover found itself on one side of the barricades, and the garrison guarding the castle on the other. Local townspeople who knew all the passages and exits - supporters of the parliament - made their way inside the castle and the soldiers and officers defending it had to surrender.
After the restoration of the monarchy, Dover Castle regained its power. In the 18th century, it was equipped with modern artillery, additional barracks for infantry were built inside, and when there was no more space left, they began constructing additional rooms deep underground. By the time Napoleon began to threaten Foggy Albion, Dover Castle was already reliably protected not only from the sea, but also from land, and was a truly impregnable fortress.
During the First World War, to combat German planes, the castle was equipped with anti-aircraft batteries and powerful searchlights. By the beginning of World War II, the latest radars were located on the towers of Dover Castle, and the underground tunnels built in Napoleonic times were expanded, further strengthened and turned into bomb shelters. Now they housed the command of all anti-aircraft and coastal artillery on the southwest coast of England.
The castle served as a headquarters and military base until May 1945. In 1958, part of its garrison was disbanded, but four years later, due to the Cuban missile crisis, the tunnels of Dover Castle again acquired military significance - they were now considered as bomb shelters in case of nuclear war and were included in the top secret lists. The secrecy regime was lifted only in 1984, and now these tunnels, like almost all the chambers of the castle, are open to visitors. By the way, the underground shelters are designed in the spirit of World War II. There you can hear the roar of German bombers and the groans of the wounded (there was also a hospital in the tunnels), smell antiseptics and strong tobacco. Previously, to enhance the effect, the smell of blood was mixed into these “military aromas,” but some visitors could not stand such a maximum approach to reality and fainted, and therefore the smell of blood was removed.
Castles of England: Dover Castle February 3rd, 2013
“He then marched towards Dover, where a large army was reported to have assembled. The English, gripped by horror at his approach, had no confidence either in the power of the walls or in the number of soldiers... While the inhabitants were preparing to unconditionally surrender to the mercy of the winner, the Normans, greedy for profit, set fire to the city and soon most of it was on fire. [William then paid for the repairs and] took the castle and spent eight days adding new fortifications to the castle."
William of Poitiers, Norman historian, on the capture of Dover by William the Conqueror.
It's been a long time since we've traveled , and they haven’t been to England for twice as long. Let's fix...
Dover Castle is one of the most powerful historical fortresses in Western Europe. For many centuries it has stood guard over the shortest sea route from England to the continent. Its location on the shores of the Pas de Calais, called the Straits of Dover in England, gave Dover Castle great strategic importance, resulting in the castle playing an important role in English history. Its form was largely determined by the pre-existing Iron Age fortification, within the walls of which there was a Roman lighthouse and an Anglo-Saxon church. Perhaps they later became part of the Saxon burg, which stood here until September 1066.
In the same month, William the Conqueror, Count of Normandy, builds the first castle of earth and wood to consolidate his success at the Battle of Hastings before continuing his march on London. From that moment until October 1958, the castle was always guarded by an armed garrison - i.e. for 892 years.
During the Middle Ages, the castle served as a border fortress facing the lands of the hostile counts of Flanders and kings of France. Under Henry II, the castle was given a concentric defensive shape, which included successive walls with towers. This was a novelty in fortification that had no analogues in Europe. In 1216, Dover successfully withstood a long siege. By 1250, its defensive structures had acquired the scale and shape that shape the current appearance of Dover Castle, which has always been one of the symbols of royal power.
In the 16th century, with the development of artillery, the defensive importance of castles began to decrease and Dover was modernized. The castle was then renovated again in the 1750s and during the Napoleonic Wars. The last significant strengthening of the castle's defenses and the installation of new artillery batteries was carried out in the 1870s, which allowed Dover to maintain its status as a first-class fortress almost until the end of the 19th century.
During both world wars, the castle's firepower was improved. In May 1940, the rock below the castle was the headquarters of the British Navy, from where Vice Admiral Bertram Ramsay successfully led the evacuation of the British army from Dunkirk. In the 1960s, the castle tunnels became a regional government seat in case of nuclear war, and only in 1984 their use was finally abandoned.
Let's learn more about the history of this castle...
In November 1066, after the conqueror William landed at Pivensey Bay, his victorious army marched along the coast to Dover. The local population quickly surrendered to the mercy of the conquerors, and William set up a fortified camp here for eight days before marching on Canterbury. These early Norman fortifications disappeared without a trace, but archaeological excavations indicate that they were most likely centered around a Roman lighthouse and a Saxon church, surrounded by a wooden palisade and ditch. Over the next year, the new fortress proved its worth by repelling an attack by the troops of Count Eustace II of Boulogne, who came to the aid of the Kent rebels.
Almost nothing is known about the life of the castle between 1067 and 1160. In 1154, Henry II became king of England, famous as one of the greatest medieval castle builders. The Chronicles of Henry II's royal accounts show that in England alone, changes affected more than 90 fortifications, of which the largest item of expenditure was at Dover Castle. In the 1160s and 1170s, small sums were spent on updating the castle's defences, but between 1179 and 1188 costs increased sharply. It was during this period that most of the current castle was created, which we can still admire today. Much of the work was carried out under the direction of Maurice the Engeniator, one of Europe's master medieval military engineers. Under his leadership, the main donjon, walls and towers of the courtyard were erected. He also began the construction of part of the walls of the outer courtyard and, therefore, can rightfully bear the title of the first designer of a concentric-type castle.
After the death of Henry II in 1189, Dover Castle was still a huge building site. In 1204, King John allocated significant funds to completely complete the reconstruction of the castle. Work was focused on improving the outer defensive perimeter. Massive D-shaped towers appear along the walls. By 1215, all the fortifications of the castle were so fortified that they could withstand any, even the most powerful, enemy attack.
During the war of King John the Landless against the union of barons, Dover Castle wrote perhaps the brightest page in its history. In May 1216, a French army under the command of Prince Louis (the future King Louis VIII) landed in Thanet to support the revolt of the rebel barons. King John had enough time to retaliate. Before retreating to Winchester, he replenished the supplies of Dover Castle and left there a detachment of 140 knights and a large number of well-armed infantry under the command of Hubert de Burgh, the justiciar of England. He was an experienced warrior and became famous during the heroic defense of the castle of Chinon in 1205. By the autumn of 1216, only two castles, Windsor and Dover, remained in the hands of the crown in southern England.
The active siege began in mid-July. Louis divided his forces. One part of the French army remained in the city, while the other set up camp on a hill opposite the castle. He also ordered his fleet to blockade the castle from the sea. Catapults and mangonels were installed to shell the walls and gates, and a huge siege tower was made for the assault. From the historical chronicles that have reached us describing these events, we can confidently assume that the French positioned themselves opposite the northern gate. From here they began shelling the outer wall, while the sappers slowly began to dig a tunnel under the northern barbican (the fortification located in front of the main gate). The castle's defenders successfully resisted French attacks, but the bombing of the barbican forced them to retreat beyond the northern gate.
After this, French sappers began to dig a tunnel under the eastern tower of the northern gate. The defenders were aware of the French intentions, since small tunnels still exist in the castle, apparently dug to intercept enemy sappers. When the tower collapsed, the French rushed into the breach, but Hubert de Burgh and his knights were ready for this. The defenders of Dover fought very desperately and did not allow the enemy to pass through the breach.
This was the climax of the siege. Louis was increasingly dissatisfied with his fruitless attempts to take possession of the castle and, in the end, he was forced to agree to a truce in early autumn. In October, King John the Landless dies, and his son Henry III is proclaimed the new monarch of England. For Dover, the truce lasted until spring. In May 1217, Louis returned to England and resumed the siege. However, after 3 days, the French troops were defeated near Lincoln, which effectively meant the end of hostilities. During the year of war and truce, Dover remained impregnable, although it suffered significant damage.
The siege of 1216-17 caused considerable damage to the defenses of Dover. The northern line of the castle's defense was especially damaged. With the accession of Henry III to the throne of England, large restoration work began in Dover in 1220, and Hubert de Burgh was appointed royal executor. The northern gate, the capture of which almost led to the loss of the castle, was tightly sealed. On the other side of the moat, St. John's Tower was being built, from which a clear view of all the northern fortifications opened up. This allowed for more skillful leadership of the defense. The northern gate was moved to the Constable's Gate on the west side of the castle. The steep earthen slopes approaching the wall, as well as the concentration of six towers here, made this new gate almost impregnable for attackers. A second entrance, FitzWilliam's Gate, was built on the east side of the castle.
In addition to work on these three gates, the construction of an outer wall running from the Peverel Tower to the edge of the cliff was completed, and a powerful earthen rampart was built around the church and lighthouse. Originally there was a wooden palisade on top of this rampart, which was later replaced by a stone wall in the 1250s. The supports of this wall are still visible. With all these large-scale works completed, Dover reached the peak of its defensive power. These huge concentric defensive lines of walls and towers, as well as its exceptional strategic location, so delighted the chronicler of the period, Matthew Paris, that in his chronicles he called Dover Castle the "Key to England".
In historical documents you can also find information about the expenditure of funds to improve the economic and residential parts of the castle. Examples of such evidence include the construction of a bakery in 1221 in addition to a new granary, and the construction of a windmill in 1234 to supply the garrison with flour. In 1240, new buildings were erected on the south-eastern side of the courtyard: a large royal hall, later called Arthur's Hall, and the royal chambers.
Before the famous siege of 1216, the castle garrison consisted of approximately a dozen knights and a detachment of foot soldiers, as well as, of course, household servants. The supply of the garrison, according to feudal duties, was entrusted to the local barons, which could not but cause their discontent. After the war with the French, the castle's guards began to receive constant salaries from the royal treasury, which allowed them to improve their professional level.
During the reign of King Stephen (1135-54), the post of constable was introduced to manage the castle. A century later, to avoid administrative disputes, the office of constable was combined with the office of Lord Lieutenant of the Cinque Ports Confederacy. This placed double responsibility on the constable. He had to not only look after the castle and ensure that important officials, ambassadors and royalty were received hospitably on their way to and from the continent, but also ensure that the coastline of south-east England was securely guarded. His responsibilities included ensuring the safety of commercial shipping through the strait, as well as providing a fleet of five ports for military needs at the request of the king. Later, in order to facilitate the work of the constable, part of the responsibilities directly related to the care of the castle was assigned to his deputy. At the beginning of the eighteenth century, the constable, whose role had by this time become largely ceremonial, moved his official residence to Walmer Castle.
By 1500, the main bastions of the castle could no longer successfully withstand the increasingly new types of weapons that were emerging. To avoid losing a stronghold in such an important strategic area, Dover's first line of defense was now located at harbor level. The castle continues to be visited by royalty. Thus, in 1539, King Henry VIII lived there, and in 1573, Queen Elizabeth I resided. In 1624, careful preparations were made in the main tower of Dover Castle for the noble reception of Henrietta Maria of France, during her journey to England for her marriage to Charles I. in 1642, the Civil War divided the city and castle into two camps. The city of Dover supported Parliament, while the castle garrison remained loyal to the king. In the autumn of the same year, a small group of townspeople entered the castle from the side of the cliff, thereby catching the unsuspecting guards by surprise. Literally after the very first shots, the castle fell.
After the restoration of the monarchy in 1660, grandiose plans to install a powerful garrison in the castle were limited to placing an artillery battery of 17 guns at the foot of the cliff. At the end of the 17th century, Dover Castle remained largely uninhabited, with the exception of the main keep, which was used as a prison for prisoners of war.
This state of affairs remained until 1740, when a new series of events began in the life of the castle related to the European wars in which Great Britain participated. And each time, Dover’s defenses were forced to improve and modernize. If in 1066 the army of William the Conqueror was able to freely land on the coast near Pivensey, then by the 18th century, when heavy artillery became a key component of any army, the use of a convenient harbor was required for its landing. Dover Harbor, the closest to mainland Europe, naturally became the primary target of any enemy planning an invasion of the island.
Since 1740, additional artillery forts have been installed to protect Dover harbor from direct attack from the sea. Dover Castle was assigned the role of guarding the city and port from land, in case the enemy landed his forces in the Valmer area and tried to capture the harbor from the rear.
In 1745, additional barracks were built in the castle courtyard to accommodate more troops. In addition, in the 1750s, additional living quarters for personnel were equipped in the main donjon. In 1755, the section of the wall from the Tower of Avranches to the Norfrle Towers was rebuilt to accommodate two batteries of heavy artillery and infantry with small arms. All these improvements were made with the aim of protecting the castle from attack from a higher point in the northeast. This was the first significant change to Dover's defenses in 500 years.
A new reconstruction took place at the end of the 18th century during the wars with Napoleonic France. Under the leadership of Colonel William Twiss, the castle's outer defenses were completely rebuilt. It included new powerful bastions equipped with artillery positions: Horseshoe, Hudson’s, East Arrow and East Demi. They were supposed to increase firepower when attacking from the eastern side. For additional protection from the west, the Constable's Bastion was built. At the northern end of the castle, a redan and a high artillery platform were installed, and in the main donjon, the roof was replaced with a massive brick ceiling, which made it possible to place artillery at the highest point. To facilitate the movement of troops between the city and the castle, Twiss built the Gun Gate. According to his instructions, the entire internal space of the castle was filled with barracks and warehouses, and when it was exhausted, the barracks began to be placed underground. In addition to these works, Twiss built a series of fortifications on the Western Heights on the opposite side of the city. These large-scale changes meant that Dover was now perfectly protected not only from attack from the sea, but also from attack from land. During the entire period of this reconstruction, 1803-05, the city and castle were filled with troops, as England lived in anticipation of the Napoleonic invasion.
The defeat of Napoleonic France leads to a noticeable reduction in the size of the garrison at Dover Castle. But in the 1850s, due to the advent of steam-powered military and transport ships, and improved weapons, the issue of re-equipping the castle again became relevant. Inside the castle, the Royal Gate and the inner wall were reconstructed. The main keep has returned to its medieval use as a last stronghold. However, all this implied only minor superficial improvements. Compared to new weapons, the castle looked outdated as a military fortress, and in 1860, construction began on a new fort, Burgoyne, to the north-east of the castle, which was supposed to be entrusted with the functions of its medieval predecessor. The castle of Dover itself continued to be used as a garrison headquarters. In 1862, Sir George Gilbert Scott restored the ruined chapel of St. Mary de Castro for use as a garrison church. The latest rearmament takes place in the 1870s, by placing a series of batteries along the edge of the cliff to protect the harbour. Ammunition for them was stored in a large underground storage facility built to the west of the New Officers' Barracks.
New pages were written in the history of the castle in connection with the development of aviation. In 1909, Louis Blairiot, the first pilot to fly the Strait of Dover, landed his plane on the hillside at FitzWilliam Gate. At the end of the First World War, German bombers could already cross the strait, so the castle was equipped with its own anti-aircraft guns and powerful searchlights. In 1938, with the threat of another war growing, the old barracks tunnels, used as armories, were converted into an air raid shelter to house coastal and anti-aircraft artillery command, as well as Royal Navy headquarters. To the north-east of the castle were the towers of the new UK radar circuit.
With the beginning of active hostilities in Western Europe, the castle became the focal point of the British Navy. In May 1940, during an offensive operation against France, Hitler's armored forces were able to split the integrity of the British and French armies within three weeks. The British expeditionary force and part of the French troops were locked in a bridgehead near the city of Dunkirk. On May 25, the port of Boulogne fell, and the next day the port of Calais was captured. That evening, the British government decides to evacuate its troops from the mainland from the only surviving port of Dunkirk. The commander-in-chief of the fleet, Vice Admiral Bertram Ramsey, was given less than a week to prepare the rescue operation, which went down in history under the code name Operation DYNAMO. The operational headquarters for the operation was located in Ramsay's office in the Admiralty casemate. Operation Dynamo lasted from May 26 to June 3. During it, 228 thousand British, as well as 139 thousand French soldiers, were returned to their homeland from the mainland under the incessant attacks of German aviation and navy.
In 1940, after the fall of France, royal engineers began construction beneath the castle, a remarkable complex of tunnels connected to the old Napoleonic ones. They remained safe even during powerful massive air raids. The first series of tunnels, which housed the underground hospital, was completed in 1941, the second, running below the Napoleonic ones, in 1942. It was supposed to serve as the location of the Joint Headquarters of all branches of the military, in case the Pas-de-de was chosen as the site for the opening of the 2nd Front in 1944 -Calais, not Normandy. The castle was in use until the end of the war in May 1945.
Garinison stayed in the castle until 1958. In 1962, most of the fortress was transferred to the Ministry of Works in order to preserve it. However, that same year, due to the outbreak of the Cuban Missile Crisis, Dover Castle was given a new role. For 22 years, the castle tunnels were considered a regional government nuclear bomb shelter and were on the list of secret special purpose facilities. In 1984, the tunnels were no longer used in this capacity, having removed most of the special equipment from them.
Very few medieval castles have such a long and eventful history. None of them have undergone such a series of modernizations and improvements to be ready each time for new forms of warfare. The history of Dover Castle is very closely intertwined with the history of Britain, through which it quite deservedly carried its medieval name “The Key to England”.
On the hill, at the highest point in the vicinity of Dover Castle, there are two interesting historical buildings - the remains of a Roman lighthouse and a Saxon church. The mound surrounding them officially dates back to the 13th century, but archaeologists dated the foundations of this mound as early as the 11th century, believing that it bounded the territory of the first small castle built by William the Conqueror.
In the second half of the 1st century AD, the Romans began to develop Dover as a port settlement. To make it safer to guide ships through the strait, they built three lighthouses. One, the Tour d'Audre, was at Boulogne, the other two were at Dover on the high ground on either side of the harbour. Only barely noticeable traces of the foundation remain from the western lighthouse. The eastern lighthouse has survived to this day, being one of the remarkable monuments of Roman Great Britain.
This Roman lighthouse was originally an octagonal tower eight tiers high, of which only four remain today. The total height of the tower was about 24 meters. Each level had wooden floors, and the topmost apparently contained a platform for lighting a fire. After the Romans left, the lighthouse gradually began to turn into ruins. The last time its appearance was changed was between 1415 and 1437, when it was used as a bell tower for a nearby church.
The church of St. Maria de Castro is adjacent to the lighthouse. Despite extensive reconstruction in the 19th century, it still retains some of its original historical character, remaining a fine Saxon monument in Kent dating from around 1000 AD. Its location and numerous finds of Saxon burials to the south of the church suggest that this place was a fairly busy settlement before the Norman Conquest. It was probably originally part of an Anglo-Saxon burgh, a fortified settlement from the Iron Age. Its builders widely used Roman tiles. Some interior details, such as the vault, above the altar and windows, indicate that the church was reconstructed around 1200. Most likely, the same masons who worked on the chapels of the main donjon of Dover Castle worked on it. In plan, the church retained the cruciform shape inherent in the Saxon style.
By the beginning of the 18th century, the church had become very dilapidated. During the Napoleonic Wars (1803-15) it was used as an exercise hall and later as a garrison coal depot. In 1862 the church was restored by the architect Sir George Gilbert Scott, and in 1888 William Butterfield completely restored the tower and added mosaic decorations to the vault.
These are stories that, like most legends, of course, contain a certain amount of truth, while the fiction and fantasy present in them allows us to get a closer look at how our ancestors thought and lived.
Human sacrifice to protect against evil spirits
While Dover Castle was being built, masons were amazed at how quickly one of its towers (Peverell Tower) was collapsing. They continued to build it, but it stubbornly fell apart, and no one could understand why. The builders were not inclined to blame themselves, so they decided that all the destruction was the result of the malicious actions of spirits who longed for peace. An elderly woman with a dog walked past the castle walls, the men grabbed them both and walled them up alive as a sacrifice to angry spirits. The old woman’s curse, which she called upon their heads, did not frighten the builders. And after the construction was completed, the foreman fell to his death from the tower. According to rumors, the same curse worked. It should be noted that in the Middle Ages people were often laid in the foundation as a sacrifice to evil spirits.
The stick has taken root
One soldier from Dover Castle killed a man with a stick. Donald, that was his name, was confident that he would escape punishment, since there was not a single witness to the crime. After which, the soldier made a strange deal with himself. Sticking a stick into the ground near the road, he wished that he would be safe until the stick took root. Later his regiment was sent abroad. When he returned almost 20 years later and Donald arrived in Dover, he was surprised to find that the stick had turned into a beautiful elm.
Overwhelmed with guilt for what he had done many years ago, he confessed to his crime. He was tried, found guilty and hanged next to his tree.
Headless Ghost drummer boy at Dover Castle
A drummer boy died at Dover Castle. It is believed that it is his headless ghost that wanders around the castle. The boy was carrying out an assignment from his commander that involved a large sum of money, but in the process he was attacked by thugs. He bravely defended himself and tried to keep the money that was entrusted to him. However, there were more opponents, and he was beheaded.
A medium named David Akora conducted an investigation on the spot and concluded that the boy was attacked by his colleagues in the regiment. He suggested that the boy's headless body was found in 1802, while the head itself, oddly enough, was never found. Akora was convinced that the boy was from Cork, Ireland, and that his mother's name was Mary. He also added that he would try to free the boy's spirit. 
Odo, Bishop of Bayeux - the storm of ships
Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, was the half-brother of King William the Conqueror. He was jealous of his brother and wanted to take the royal throne himself. The thirst for power and the terror to which he called, which soon spread throughout the country, made him an object of universal hatred.
Odo was ambitious, in addition, greedy for gold and wealth at the time he took his brother’s place. He planned to ruin the Saxon landowners by dispossessing them and appropriating them for himself. As he became richer, he transferred the property he had taken to his friends and family. His impudence and arrogance knew no bounds: he even confiscated the town hall from the king himself.
Because of his stupidity, many ships were lost. In the mid-11th century, Dover was a busy port from which ships regularly sailed to France. This did not bother Odo at all, who allowed his tenant to build a mill at the entrance to Dover harbor. This structure caused disturbances at sea, which in turn complicated the control of ships. As a result, many of them sank.
In addition to all of the above, Odo asked the English knights for assistance in his plan to overthrow the Pope in order to subsequently take his place. An army was assembled for a campaign in Italy, but Odo was arrested, tried and sentenced as a secular person under the title of Earl of Kent. He was imprisoned and remained there until 1087, when William released him and even generously returned his earldom.
Dover Castle is one of the largest English castles in terms of area. Located in Dover, Kent, on the shores of the Pas de Calais between the UK and France. Since ancient times it has been considered the “Key to England” due to its strategically important position on the island.
In 1066, William I the Conqueror captured the castle during his invasion of England. On May 22, 1216, the castle was besieged by Louis VIII. The siege lasts 3 months, but the castle receives only minor damage, and on October 14, 1216, Louis VIII signs a truce and returns to London.
During the English Revolution of the 17th century in 1642, the castle was in the hands of the king's supporters, but was captured by parliamentarians by deception without firing a shot. Mainly thanks to this, the castle has survived virtually intact to this day.
In the 18th century, during the Napoleonic Wars, serious reconstruction of the castle began. Under the leadership of William Twiss, a system of external fortifications of Dover Castle was created. Also, at a depth of 15 meters, inside the rock, special tunnels were cut down in which soldiers' barracks were located. At the peak of the Napoleonic Wars, more than 2,000 soldiers lived in the tunnels. French prisoners of war were also held there.
In 1939, during World War II, the tunnels were converted first into an air-raid shelter, then into a command center and an underground hospital. In 1940, Admiral Bertram Ramsay directed the evacuation of British and French troops from Dunkirk (Operation Dynamo) from the underground tunnels of Dover Castle.
Currently, the castle has been turned into a museum.
Dover Castle is located on the shores of the Pas de Calais, between Great Britain and France, in Dover (Kent). Dover Castle is one of the oldest and largest English castles in area. Since ancient times it has been considered the “Key to England” due to its strategically important position on the island.
The castle owes its appearance to the Romans, who came to the islands and founded it in the 1st century. AD fortress and installed two lighthouses, one of which has survived to this day. The basis for the fortress was the white cliffs, which also entered the history of Great Britain and gave it the name Albion, from the Roman “albus”, which means white.
By 600 AD, when the power of the Roman Empire was lost, the city and fortifications began to fall into disrepair. For more than 400 years, Dover continued to exist, but nothing significant, from a historical point of view, happened here until the area was noticed by Harold II, the last Anglo-Saxon king of England.
By his order, new fortifications of the castle were built within a week, and the Church of St. Mary of Castro was built, which has survived to this day. In 1066, during the invasion of England, William I the Conqueror captured the castle. Between 1179 and 1188, Dover Castle was completely rebuilt by order of Henry II. The extensive reconstruction and rebuilding of the castle cost the king 6,300 pounds sterling, a colossal amount of money at that time, almost equal to his annual income.
At the same time, the castle was equipped like a king. The architect placed fourteen towers around the castle, two of which were intended to protect the palace gates or, as they were also called, the King’s Gate. Henry II did not survive to see the completion of the construction work, and his work was continued by his sons - Richard (known as Richard the Lionheart) and John Lackland (known as Prince John), who became one of the heroes of the legend of Robin Hood.
Most of the construction work was carried out during John's reign, as evidenced by government expense reports. Although in the first years John was indifferent to Dover Castle and remembered it only in 1204, when, as a result of constant wars, he lost most of his possessions in continental Europe.
From Normandy, John moved to Dover and, on his orders, additional defensive and utility structures were erected inside the castle. During the reign of Henry III, a fortification wall was erected around the castle, church and surviving Roman lighthouse. On May 22, 1216, the castle was besieged by Louis VIII. The siege lasted several months, but the castle received only minor damage. October 14, 1216 Louis VIII signs a truce and returns to London.
During the reign of Henry VIII, when the strength of the fortress walls was threatened by the increased power of the cannons by that time, Henry VIII ordered the fortifications of Dover Castle to be strengthened. During the English Revolution, in 1642, the castle was in the hands of supporters of the king, but was captured by parliamentarians by deception, without firing a single shot. Thanks to this circumstance, the castle was not damaged.
In the 18th century, during the Napoleonic Wars, the castle underwent major reconstruction; a system of external fortifications of Dover Castle was created, which was carried out under the leadership of William Twiss. Also, at a depth of 15 meters, inside the rock, special tunnels were cut down in which soldiers' barracks were located.
In 1803, at the height of the war, more than 2,000 soldiers were held in the tunnels, and French prisoners of war were also held there. After the end of the war, the tunnels were used less and less, and by 1826 they were practically abandoned.
More than a century has passed and the tunnels have become in demand again. In 1939, the tunnels were converted first into a bomb shelter and an underground hospital, and in 1940, the underground tunnel also became the headquarters of Admiral Ramsey, from which he controlled the evacuation of a 300,000-strong army of British and French troops from Duncker (Operation Dynamo).
Currently, the castle has been turned into a museum. Inside the castle, many rooms recreate the atmosphere of that time. Wherever you find yourself - in the Great Tower, which is a real palace in which kings once lived, in the tunnels, in the underground hospital, or among the stained glass windows of the restored 11th century church of St. Mary in Castro - a meeting awaits you everywhere with history. If you are lucky with the weather, you can also see the coast of France from the castle walls.
The castle has also been used several times for filming, for example in the fantasy film Avengers: Age of Ultron or the drama film The Other Boleyn Girl, about the time of Henry XVIII.
View across the Pas de Calais from France to Albion and Dover Castle
Dover is called "the key to England". For more than two thousand years, this fortress, crowning the white limestone cliffs above the English Channel, protected the island from all invasions from the continent. The French coast is only twenty miles from here - this is the narrowest point of the strait. And it is not surprising that Dover Castle has always been the most important strategic point, a real gateway to England. And at all times, the defenders of the island sought to strengthen this point in every possible way, for whoever owned Dover eventually owned all of England.
No other castle in England has such a long history. Dover retained its military importance from the early Iron Age until the Second World War. And evidence of this today are numerous historical relics of the Celtic era, found by archaeologists on the territory of the castle, a lighthouse built by the ancient Romans, walls and towers of the Middle Ages, gray from antiquity, gun platforms built during the Napoleonic wars, tunnels punched in the rocks, where during the Second World War II there were hospitals and air-raid shelters...
People lived in these places back in the Stone Age. Rising sea levels have virtually destroyed traces of the ancient inhabitants of Dover, and only a small number of stone tools have fallen into the hands of archaeologists. The age of these objects exceeds 6 thousand years. Later the Celts came here. It was probably they who erected the first fortification at the top of the White Cliffs. And the well-trained and armed Roman legions, led by Julius Caesar, who landed in 55 BC, unsuccessfully tried to take possession of it. on the coast of England - they managed to do this only a century later, in 43, under Emperor Claudius.
From the Roman Dubris - as Dover was then called - a 24-meter high stone lighthouse, the light of which once showed Roman ships the way to the port of Dover, has survived to this day. At that time it was one of the largest cities in England. And after the fall of the Roman Empire, Dover became the capital of the small Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Kent, founded by Germanic tribes that invaded the island. From the Saxon period, the chapel of St Mary in Castro, built in the 10th century for the garrison of Dover Castle and still used as a functioning temple, has survived to this day.
1066 was a turning point in the history of England. The Normans, led by William the Conqueror, who landed on the coast defeated the militia of the Saxon king Harald at Hastings and invaded the territory of the island. First of all, William hastened to take possession of Dover. The Normans stormed the castle and burned it, but literally the next day they began to restore the fortress: neglecting this most important strategic point would be madness.
The army of William the Conqueror stood in Dover for eight days, hastily strengthening the castle. Dover became the stronghold of the Normans, and later, when England was conquered, the main sea gate of the country. Without exception, all English kings took care of strengthening the castle, but the main work was carried out here in 1168-1188, under King Henry II Plantagenet. In those years, towers and walls of the inner ring were built, the construction of an external defensive line and a massive gate tower, square in plan, began, which later received the name Constable Tower: the commandants of the fortress, the constables, lived in it.
During the Middle Ages, Dover Castle was the largest and strongest of the English fortresses. In 1216, under King John the Landless, the castle was besieged by Prince Louis, heir to the French throne. England, tormented by internal turmoil, could not muster enough troops to rescue the garrison of Dover. By undermining, the French destroyed the bridgehead - the barbican - and the tower of the eastern gate. The fate of the castle hung in the balance, but at that time news arrived of the death of King John. His son and successor, King Henry III, who enjoyed the support of the church and many influential barons, managed to unite the English forces, and the French were forced to retreat. After this, Henry III allocated significant funds to repair and strengthen Dover Castle. It was after this restructuring that it acquired its current appearance.
The castle is protected by a double ring of fortress walls. Its center is a four-story donjon tower - the tallest structure of its kind in England. Its height is 30 m, the thickness of the walls is up to seven meters. The second floor of the tower is occupied by the arsenal; the third floor housed the royal chambers. The tower is surrounded by several residential buildings, where the garrison and courtiers were located, and the Great Royal Hall, the place of official ceremonies. In 1227, the Constable's Gate was built, protected by several round towers, from which the entire area in front of the gate was covered.
In 1642, during the civil war, the castle was captured by a detachment of supporters of parliament and remained in the hands of Cromwell until the restoration of the monarchy. No fighting took place here, and thanks to this, Dover Castle remained intact, unlike most other castles in England.
During the Napoleonic wars of 1792-1815. The castle has undergone significant reconstruction. It was additionally surrounded by earthen redoubts, some towers and sections of walls were rebuilt and turned into gun platforms. The network of underground tunnels under the castle, in the depths of the White Cliffs, built in the Middle Ages, has been expanded and enlarged. Units of British troops were stationed in these tunnels, drawn from all over the country to Dover to repel a possible French landing.
Dover Castle played a role in both the First and Second World Wars. Under the protection of its mighty walls there was a battery of heavy naval guns that defended the English Channel coast, and an underground hospital, bomb shelters and barracks were built in the tunnels. In 1940, the remnants of the British troops defending Dunkirk were evacuated here.
Today this castle, with its venerable age and glorious history, is one of the most popular tourist sites in England. Monuments from various eras have been preserved here. Most of the buildings date back to the 18th and early 19th centuries, when Dover housed a large military garrison.