Dover Castle is situated at Dover, Kent and has been described as the "Key to England" due to its defensive significance throughout history. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Kent is a county in England, south-east of London. ...

History

Roman

The Roman lighthouse at Dover Castle

The site was probably originally fortified with earthworks in the Iron Age or earlier, before the Romans invaded in AD43 - this is suggested on the basis of the unusual pattern of the earthworks, which do not seem to be a perfect fit for the medieval castle, although archaeological excavation at the Castle has found no evidence of prehistoric activity. Download high resolution version (768x1024, 631 KB)Lightened and set levels. ... Download high resolution version (768x1024, 631 KB)Lightened and set levels. ... Britain was the target of invasion by forces of the Roman Republic and Roman Empire several times during its history. ...

The site also contained one of two 80 foot (24 m) high Roman lighthouse (or Pharos), which still survives. Roman Dover Dubris or Portus Dubris, Roman name for Roman-founded town of Dover, Kent, England. ... Pharos is: The name of the Lighthouse of Alexandria, as well as the island off the Egyptian coast at the port of Alexandria on which the lighthouse still stands; The Roman lighthouse at Dubris; The Greek and Latin word for lighthouse, and thus the etymological origin of the word for...

Saxon and early Norman

The view down from the Castle to the Church, possible Saxon burgh, and Harbour beyond.

After the Battle of Hastings in October 1066, William the Conqueror and his forces marched to Westminster Abbey for his coronation. They took a roundabout route, via Romney, Dover, Canterbury, Surrey and Berkshire. From the Cinque Ports's foundation in 1050, Dover has always been a chief member - it may also have been this that first attracted William's attention, and got Kent the motto of Invicta. In the words of William of Poitiers: Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2048x1536, 683 KB) Licensing I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2048x1536, 683 KB) Licensing I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ... Combatants Normans, supported by Bretons, Flemings & French Anglo-Saxons Commanders William of Normandy, Odo of Bayeux Harold Godwinson† Strength 7,000-8,000 7,000-8,000 Casualties Unknown, thought to be around 2,000 killed and wounded Unknown, but significantly more than the Normans The Battle of Hastings was... William I ( 1027 – September 9, 1087), was King of England from 1066 to 1087. ... The Abbeys western façade The Collegiate Church of St Peter, Westminster, which is almost always referred to as Westminster Abbey, is a mainly Gothic church, on the scale of a cathedral (and indeed often considered one), in Westminster, London, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. ... New Romney is a small seaside town in Kent, England. ... Flag of the Cinque Ports Formally, in Kent and Sussex there are five Head Ports making up the Confederation of the Cinque Ports, often pronounced as the anglicised sink ports, and meaning five ports (cinque in French means five and ports is to be connected to the Italian word porto... Invicta (meaning undefeated) is the motto of the county of Kent, England. ... William of Pointers (c. ...

Then he marched to Dover, which had been reported impregnable and held by a large force. The English, stricken with fear at his approach had confidence neither in their ramparts nor in the numbers of their troops ... While the inhabitants were preparing to surrender unconditionally, [the Normans], greedy for booty, set fire to the castle and the great part of it was soon enveloped in flames...[William then paid for the repair and] having taken possession of the castle, the Duke spent eight days adding new fortifications to it'.

This may have been repairs and improvements to an existing Saxon fort or burgh, centred on the Saxon church of St Mary de Castro, although archaeological evidence suggests that it was actually a new motte and bailey design castle built from scratch nearby. The famous parade helmet found at Sutton Hoo, probably belonging to King Raedwald of East Anglia circa 625. ... A sign in Linlithgow, Scotland. ... St Mary de Castro, right Church at Dover Castle. ... Model of a motte-and-bailey A motte-and-bailey is a form of castle. ...

Henry II's castle

Section of the western curtain wall leading to Peverell's Gateway

The inner bailey of Dover Castle

It was during the reign of Henry II that the castle began to take recognisable shape. The inner and outer baileys and the great Keep belong to this time. Maurice the Engineer was responsible for building the keep. The keep was one of the last rectangular keeps ever built. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (768x1024, 588 KB) From en: Wikipedia. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (768x1024, 588 KB) From en: Wikipedia. ... Download high resolution version (1523x512, 452 KB)Lightened and set levels. ... Download high resolution version (1523x512, 452 KB)Lightened and set levels. ... Henry II of England (5 March 1133 – 6 July 1189) ruled as Count of Anjou, Duke of Normandy, and as King of England (1154–1189) and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland[citation needed], eastern Ireland, and western France. ...

The siege of 1216

Main article: First Barons' War#Siege of Dover Castle

In 1216, a group of rebel barons invited Louis VIII of France to come and take the English crown. He had some success breaching the walls but was unable ultimately to take the castle. The First Barons War (1215–1217) was a civil war in England between the forces of a number of rebellious barons and King John. ... Events Prince Louis of France, the future King Louis VIII, invades England in the First Barons War Henry III becomes King of England. ... Louis VIII the Lion (French: Louis VIII le Lion) (September 5, 1187 – November 8, 1226) reigned as King of France from 1223 to 1226. ...

Post 1216 improvements

The vulnerable north gate that had been breached in the siege was converted into an underground forward-defence complex (including St John's Tower), and new gates built into the outer curtain wall on the western (Fitzwilliam's Gate) and eastern (Constable's Gate) sides.

Tudor

By now, the defences themselves had been superseded by gunpowder. They were improved by Henry VIII, who made a personal visit, and added to with the Moat Bulwark

Civil War

During the English Civil War it was held for the king but then taken by a parliamentarian trick without a shot being fired (hence it avoided being ravaged and survives far better than most castles) in 1642. The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations which took place between Parliamentarians and Royalists from 1642 until 1651. ... English parliament in front of the king c. ... Events January 4 - Charles I attempts to arrest five leading members of the Long Parliament, but they escape. ...

Napoleonic

Massive rebuilding took place at the end of the eighteenth century, during the Napoleonic Wars, with barracks added and the defences improved (including the eastern redan) as Dover became a garrison town. All this required large numbers of additional soldiers to be housed and conditions in the castle itself had become too crowded. The solution adopted by the Royal Engineers was to create a complex of barracks tunnels about 15 metres below the cliff top and the first troops were accommodated in 1803. At the height of the Napoleonic Wars, the tunnels housed more than 2000 men and to date are the only underground barracks ever built in Britain. (17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ... Combatants Allies: • Great Britain (until 1801)/United Kingdom(from 1801) • Prussia • Austria • Sweden • Russia • Portugal • Spain • and others • France • Denmark-Norway • Poland Casualties Full list The Napoleonic Wars comprised a series of global conflicts fought during Napoleon Bonapartes rule over France (1799 - 1815). ... A Norwegian soldier (a Corporal, armed with an MP-5) A soldier is a person who has enlisted with, or has been conscripted into, the armed forces of a sovereign country and has undergone training and received equipment to defend that country or its interests. ... The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army. ... Barracks is usally used to connote a type of military housing. ... Combatants Allies: • Great Britain (until 1801)/United Kingdom(from 1801) • Prussia • Austria • Sweden • Russia • Portugal • Spain • and others • France • Denmark-Norway • Poland Casualties Full list The Napoleonic Wars comprised a series of global conflicts fought during Napoleon Bonapartes rule over France (1799 - 1815). ...

At the end of the Napoleonic Wars, the tunnels were partly converted and used by the Coast Blockade Service to combat smuggling. This was a short term endeavour though and in 1826 the headquarters were moved closer to shore. The tunnels then remained abandoned for more than a century. Her Majestys Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is a non-ministerial department of the British Government primarily responsible for the collection of taxes, some forms of state support, and import controls. ... A skirmish with smugglers from Finland at the Russian border, 1853, by Vasily Hudiakov. ...

The secret wartime tunnels

The World War II Coastal Artillery Operations Room in the Secret Wartime Tunnels

The outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 saw the tunnels converted first into an air-raid shelter and then later into a military command centre and underground hospital. In May 1940, Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsey directed the evacuation of French and British soldiers from Dunkirk, code-named Operation Dynamo, from his headquarters in the cliff tunnels. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (768x1024, 454 KB) Summary This picture was taken by myself on 22/10/05. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (768x1024, 454 KB) Summary This picture was taken by myself on 22/10/05. ... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... Categories: People stubs | 1883 births | 1945 deaths | Royal Navy admirals | Royal Navy officers | British World War II people ... Location of Dunkirk in the arrondissement of Dunkirk Location within France Dunkirks seafront Map of Dunkirk courtesy of the Calgary Highlanders. ... Men from the French army disembark in England after evacuation of Dunkirk, France 1940. ...

A military telephone exchange in the tunnels, recreated as it would have looked in 1941

A military telephone exchange was installed in 1941 and served the underground headquarters. The switchboards were constantly in use and had to have a new tunnel created alongside it to house the batteries and chargers necessary to keep them functioning. The navy used the exchange to enable direct communication with vessels, as well as using it to direct air-sea rescue craft to pick up pilots shot down in the Straits of Dover. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (829x744, 378 KB) Summary This photo was taken by myself on 22/10/05. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (829x744, 378 KB) Summary This photo was taken by myself on 22/10/05. ... A Verizon Central Office in Lakeland, Florida at night. ... The term switchboard, when used by itself can refer to: Telephone switchboard Electric switchboard This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The Strait of Dover (Fr. ...

Later the tunnels were to be used as a shelter for the Regional Seats of Government in the event of a nuclear attack. This plan was abandoned for various reasons, including the realisation that the chalk of the cliffs would not provide significant protection from radiation, and because of the inconvenient form of the tunnels and their generally poor condition. Nuclear war, or atomic war, is war in which nuclear weapons are used. ... The Needles, part of the extensive Southern England Chalk Formation. ...

Tunnel levels are denoted as A - Annexe, B - Bastion, C - Casemate, D - DUMPY and E - Esplanade. Annexe and Casemate levels are open to the public, Bastion is 'lost' but investigations continue to gain access, DUMPY (converted from WW2 use to serve as a Regional Seat of Government in event of an atomic war) is closed, as is Esplanade (last used as air raid tunnel shelters in WW2). DUMPY is an acronym for Deep Underground Military Position Yellow. Combatants Major Allied powers: United Kingdom Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Major Axis powers: Nazi Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Harry Truman Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Backronym and Apronym (Discuss) Acronyms and initialisms are abbreviations, such as NATO, laser, and ABC, written as the initial letter or letters of words, and pronounced on the basis of this abbreviated written form. ...

The castle today

The castle, secret tunnels and surrounding land are now owned by English Heritage and the site is a major tourist attraction. The Lord Ports is officially head of the castle, in his conjoint position of Constable of Dover Castle, and the Deputy Constable has his residence in Constable's Gate. December 22nd 2002 saw Yvette Fielding and the Most Haunted Live team investigate the castle. English Heritage is a United Kingdom government body with a broad remit of managing the historic environment of England. ... hello peoples youve been fooled!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ...

Churches and chapels within its walls

Royal chapel

Within the keep, dedicated to Thomas Becket This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

St Mary de Castro

Main article: St Mary de Castro (Dover)

Saxon church, rebuilt in the Victorian era. St Mary de Castro, right Church at Dover Castle. ...

References

• Goodall, John, "Dover Castle and the Great Siege of 1216", Chateau Gaillard v.19 (2000) (the online version lacks the diagrams of the print version)
• Jeffrey, Kate, "Dover castle", Published by English Heritage, 1997

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Dover Castle

Coordinates: 51.1297° N 1.3214° E Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... Wikimedia Commons logo by Reid Beels The Wikimedia Commons (also called Commons or Wikicommons) is a repository of free content images, sound and other multimedia files. ... Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...