More information : (SX 73373806) Fort Charles (NR) and remains of (NAT)
Salcombe Castle (NR) (1)
Salcombe Castle or Fort Charles, on the shore of the estuary at Salcombe, was built in the 16th century as part of Henry VIII's south coast fortifications. It is now in ruins, consisting mainly of one round tower.
The castle had become ruinous by the beginning of the Civil War, when it was known as "The Old Bulwarke", but was repaired in 1643-5 by Sir Edmund Fortesque, who held it for the King until its surrender to beseiging Parliamentary forces in 1646.
HHR Grade II. (2 - 3)
SX 734381. Salcombe Castle. Scheduled. (4)
A half-round tower facing towards the land is the principal surviving fragment of this castle, which was re-armed during the Civil War and ordered to be dismantled in 1647. The foundations of a larger D-shaped bastion with 6 or 7 gun-ports facing seaward can also be discerned. There is no record of the construction of the castle in the royal records, so it must be presumed that it was built by local initiative some time in the 1540's. (5)
Salcombe Castle, Grade II. C16, now a ruin, consisting mainly of one round tower, on shores of estuary. Part of Henry VIII South Coast fortifications. Scheduled Ancient Monument.
(Authority 6 is the full text of Authority 3). (6)
On the NW shore guarding the entrance to the harbour there lies the ruins of an ancient castle built on a rock not only insulated at high water but almost covered by the sea. There had been a castle called "Old Bulwark" or "The Old Bullworke", part of Henry VIIIs coastal defences, on the site before the Civil War but which was described in 1643 as "utterly ruined and decayed".
In 1643 Sir Edmund Fortescue was appointed Governor of the castle and received orders from Prince Maurice to repair and man it. Renamed Fort Charles it was fortified and provisioned by 15th January 1645-6. It suffered two short seiges early in 1646 and a third which lasted 50 days ended on 7the May 1646 with the capitulation when eight pieces of ordnance were taken. It had been beseiged by the Parliamentarian Forces under Sir Thomas Fairfax from the opposite side of the harbour (see SX 73 NW 8). One of the articles of surrender noted that it should not be defaced or known by any other name than Fort Charles. There seems little doubt however that the agreement was broken and an order may have been sent for its destruction which would account for its ruinous state.
The ruin is of an irregular form, circular on the south and west and convex in part towards the NW. At the end to the NE it is narrowed almost to a point where the circular sweep terminates, while a straight wall extending half the length of the fort, faces high lands at the back quarter called "The Berry". The port towards the sea has nothing left except the remains of one port hole which is on level with the water and commands the entrance to the harbour. The NW section, which is principally in the direction of the land, is now standing entire built of hewn stone and it appears to be about 40 ft high and 6-7 ft thick. Near the top are two port holes and seven
musket holes.
The ruin is called "Old Castle" (1198) and the island is shown (slightly larger on the south side than it is today) on the 1841 Tithe Map & Award. (7-10)
Fort Charles, otherwise known as Salcombe Castle, is a ruined building situated on a low rocky island at the mouth of Salcombe Harbour. This sub-triangular shaped island of resistant schist measures approximately 36.0m by 25.0m and it stands just above the high tide line although it is linked to the mainland at low tide.
Much of the castle, dominated by the crumbling cliffs of the mainland, has been destroyed either deliberatly or to some extent by the destructive action of the sea. The surviving walling. located chiefly on the landward side of the island is quite impressive and comprises (a) a semi-circular tower with a short stretch of walling on its east side; (b) an isolated stack of walling and a length of angular wall; (c) on the seaward side, an "island" of masonry crowned by a small circular building.
a) The semi-circular tower is constructed of local coursed rubble with, near its top, two square gun-ports as well as the possible remains of a third. This bowed wall which incorporates numerous ?put log holes, rises to a maximum height of c.7.0m and is approximately 1.8m thick. The weather-worn and crumbling southern end is apparently double-skinned being about 3.1m thick. The wall on the eastern side is 5.0m long and now ends in a collapsed state on the edge of a rock outcrop. Internally these walls are covered with ivy and the lower parts are submerged under dense thicket.
b) The tall stack of angular walling perched on a rock at the N corner of the island may represent the remains of a square tower. It stands to a height of c.6.0m and is set at an odd angle to the main wall on the SW side. The short length of walling on its southern side, on higher ground, is up to 2.5m high; both walls of coursed stone construction show evidence of repair.
c) The south side of the island is regularly swept by storm tides and as a consequence the surface layer of soil and stone along with any structures and even possibly some of the island itself has been washed away. The 'D' shaped bastion noted by Colvin (5) cannot now be traced however a curious circular building set on a stack of masonry survives on the rocky plateau.
The sub-triangular shaped stack of masonry is 4.0m long, 2.5m wide and 3.0m high; it could be part of the original fabric of the castle wall or it may have been constructed from reused material. The circular building on its top, approached by a flight of crude steps, is constructed of coursed stone blocks with small fillerstones. It has a domed stone roof with a flat headed door located on the landward side and four embrasured slit windows which offer an over 180 degree vista across the mouth of the estuary. It stands to a height of 2.5m and is 2.0m in diameter externally with an 0.9m internal diameter. It is probably a lookout but its date is unclear.
Surveyed at 1/2500. (11) |