| Summary : Dartmouth Castle was built in 1481 as a chain tower to protect the harbour. This comprised a circular stone tower (part of an earlier building - see below) to which a square tower was added. The bottom part of the round tower was built of large limestone rubble but the upper sections used slate, the same material as the square tower. The round tower is a three storey building with an entrance leading directly to the ground floor and living quarters on the first floor. It was modified between 1509 -1547 to take artillery as part of Henry VIII's modernisation of England's coastal defences. An iron chain, probably stolen from Fowey, stretched across the estuary from the tower to a cliff near Gimmerock where it was fixed to a rock. When raised from the bottom of the channel to the waterline, using a roller in the tower, it prevented shipping passing through the harbour. The chain tower was flanked on both sides by gun platforms. The surviving openings in the platform walls are 18th century remodellings. At the basement of the tower are seven ports for guns facing the sea, considered to be the earliest surviving examples of this type of gunport in England. They are rectangular and splayed internally to allow the gun to be traversed within the external opening. Hinged shutters were originally provided on the outside of the openings. The castle lies on the site of an older 14th century enclosure castle. This is believed to have taken the form of a ring of towers connected by a curtain wall and entered through a rectangular stone gate tower. The remains of this include part of the curtain wall, a circular tower -now part of the later building and rock cut moat, though more may survive as buried features. A coastal battery (see associated record), known as the 'Old Battery', is situated to the south of Dartmouth Castle. It is a 19th century artillery fort built on the site of earlier 16th and 18th century fortifications. Dartmouth Castle is in the care of English Heritage. |
More information : (SX 88675033) Dartmouth Castle (NR) (1)
A fortilace on the site of Dartmouth Castle was under construction in 1388. It had only a short life, for later the lords of Stoke Fleming built a residence within the enclosure (see SX 85 SE 15), and in 1539 Leland described the "old castle" as deserted.
Work on the present castle began in 1481, and carried on until about 1495. It is noteworthy as being the first castle in England designed to have guns as its main armament. Improvement
of the defences in the 16th century included construction of 'Lamberd's Bulward', a gun battery, on the site now occupied by a 19th century battery (see SX 85 SE 50).
Another earth bastion, for 'six pieces', was also built on the north side of the castle, but its position is uncertain.
The castle survived the Civil War, and although the office of governor was abolished in 1857, there was still a small garrison in 1886. The War Department handed over the castle itself to the Commissioners of H.M. Works in 1907, and the remaining portions were put under Guardianship in 1909 and 1955.
The term 'castle' is now usually restricted to the strong tower of 1481, together with the gun platforms which flank it (see plan). The wall along the cliff edge is basically 15th or 16th century; the embrasures on the gun platforms are 18th century remodellings.
The curtain wall of the castle's 14th century predecessor is best preserved above Castle Square, where it is over 7 feet thick and up to 40 feet high, with a rock-cut ditch on the outside.
Beyond the surviving tower, which rises almost to its original height, the wall ran north-eastward down to the north side of the church; fragmentary traces of walling can be seen and the
north wall of the cemetery is on its line. A small bastion shown on a plan of 1740 has been mostly destroyed by the road, but fragments probably remain adjacent to some lavatories.
Thick walling on the left of the main gates of the church represents another round corner tower, beyond which the wall ran eastwards parallel to the shore. Its line is indicated by the high retaining wall flanking the path to the castle. (2-3)
Generally as described. The curtain wall is currently undergoing restoration work. The rock cut ditch is overgrown but is very substantial surviving to a depth of 2.4m. On its W side it is less a ditch than a cutting back of the natural cliff face. (4).
Additional references. (5-6)
The Chapel of St Patrick in the castle was annexed as a cell and had monks serving in it according to Leland. (7)
Listed by Cathcart King. (8)
Dartmouth Castle was built in 1481 as a chain tower to protect the harbour. This comprised a circular stone tower (part of an earlier building - see below) onto, which a square tower was added. The bottom part of the round tower was built of large limestone rubble but the upper sections used slate, the same material as the square tower. The round tower is a three storey building with an entrance leading directly to the ground floor and living quarters on the first floor. It was modified between 1509 and 1547 to take artillery. An iron chain, probably stolen from Fowey, stretched across the estuary from the tower to a cliff near Gimmerock where it was fixed to a rock. When raised from the bottom of the channel to the waterline, using a roller in the tower, it prevented shipping passing through the harbour. The chain tower was flanked on both sides by gun platforms, the southern platform designed for three guns and the northern platform capable of holding five. The surviving openings in the platform walls are 18th century remodellings. At the basement of the tower are seven ports for guns facing the sea, considered to be the earliest surviving examples of this type of gunport in England, They are rectangular and splayed internally to allow the gun to be traversed within the external opening. Hinged shutters were originally provided on the outside of the openings. (5)
The castle lies on the site of an older 14th century enclosure castle. This is believed to have taken the form of a ring of towers connected by a curtain wall and entered through a rectangular stone gate tower. The remains of this include part of the curtain wall, up to 12 metre in height, a circular tower (now part of the later building) and rock cut moat though more may survive as buried features. A coastal battery (see associated record), known as the 'Old Battery', is situated to the south of Dartmouth Castle. It is a 19th century artillery fort built on the site of earlier 16th and 18th century fortifications. (5)
For architectural details please refer to the Listing description. (6)
Source 6 notes Dartmouth Castle in the context of the defence of the south west coast under Henry VIII. (7)
Visitor details current to 2009/10. (8)
Booklet on the cannon from Dartmouth Castle. (9)
Edition of the English Heritage Guide book published in 2000, with completely re-written text and new ilustrations. (10)
Report from 2004 on condition survey and archaeological recording of Dartmouth Castle. The report concentrated on the Gun Tower ("Old Castle"). There was also investigation of the Square Tower and the Round Tower. Analysis of mortar samples was carried out. The report discusses the theory that the base of the round Tower may represent the remains of a 14th century fortalice tower of gun platform; however the rest of the Round Tower abuts the Square Tower and so much of its construction is later. (11)
A scientific dating report published in 2004 by English Heritage noted difficulties in obtaining suitable timbers for dendrochronological (tree-ring) dating. An oak timber from the first floor ceiling of the "Old Castle" was found to have been probably felled between AD 1472 and AD 1508 and thus may date to the main construction phase of the late 15th century "Old Castle". (12)
Source 13 is a work of synthesis on the state of knowledge about Dartmouth Castle to 2005. As well as examining the interpretation of the physical structure it includes a timeline of references from primary sources and also charts how the study of the castle has developed. It contains a map of all known "interventions" made 1998-2005. (13) |