Dover Castle History
Dover Castle is situated at the shortest sea crossing of the English Channel. This has made it one of the most important defensive sites in Britain. There has been a castle at Dover since Anglo Saxon times. The castle was strengthened by William of Normandy, who built the first earthwork castle in 1066 before moving on to London.
Between 1179 and 1188, Henry II had Dover Castle completely rebuilt. The massive keep and walls and towers of the inner bailey were built and work was started on the walls of the outer bailey. The castle was the first in Western Europe to be built to a concentric design (a series of defences, radiating in a succession of larger and larger circles from the central inner keep). The defences were completed by King John after Henry's death.
In 1216 Dover Castle was besieged by Prince Louis of France. King John left Hubert de Burgh in charge at Dover and even though the French managed to breach the defences by undermining the north gate, de Burgh's forces beat back the attack and Prince Louis called a truce. The truce was short lived as John died soon after and Louis again besieged the castle. Louis was eventually defeated by Hubert de Burgh.
Following the 1533 annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, his subsequent excommunication by the Pope and the 1538 peace treaty between former enemies France and Spain, Henry VIII was isolated in Europe and a Catholic invasion of England seemed inevitable. A great chain of coastal forts was commissioned by the king, who came to Dover in 1539 to inspect the work personally.
At the end of the 18th century the Napoleonic Wars prompted a massive rebuilding program. Barracks were added and the defenses improved and Dover became a garrison town. With the Castle nearing capacity it was decided to build a complex of barracks under the castle. Up to 2000 soldiers lived in these underground barracks during the Napoleonic Wars.
At the end of the Napoleonic Wars, the barracks and tunnels were used by customs 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.
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