InfoBritain

 

 

 

 

 

Deal Castle, Kent

Deal Castle is one of a chain of castles built by Henry VIII along England's south coast, ostensibly to protect the country from French and Spanish attack. To allow his divorce from Catherine of Aragon, Henry had switched England's religion from Catholicism to Protestantism. This led to short lived fears of invasion from catholic France and Spain. Although the threat of invasion was only serious for a short time, a huge building programme of shore line defence began in 1539. The chain of forts built along the south coast included Camber Castle in East Sussex, Walmer Castle, and Sandown Castle in Kent, Southsea Castle at Portsmouth, Hurst Castle and Portland Castle in Dorset, Calshott Castle at Southampton, Yarmouth Castle on the Isle of Wight and the sister fortifications of Pendennis Castle and St Mawes Castle in Cornwall. The functional appearance of these castles belies their largely symbolic role. The threat of invasion was brief, but the effect of changing a religion was explosive. Religions are designed to hold people together and maintain hierarchy and discipline. With the change of religion and the possibility of division, perhaps England needed to feel itself pulled together by the illusion of imminent invasion, which apparently could only be countered by building huge forts. The symbolism was taken further in the use of stone from demolished monasteries going into building of the forts. The solid walls of these forts, almost all of which survive, is a physical manifestation of a struggle of ideas and beliefs. They are solid, squat and functional, and yet they have all the symbolism of the churches they were built from. I'm not saying that Henry VIII actually decided to build castles as symbols: he wasn't the most subtle of men. But he needed the reassurance of unity as much as anyone. The south coast castles were not really built to face an external enemy. Instead they were designed to create a symbolism that would prevent divisions appearing from within.

Deal Castle was one of the first coastal forts built, and is among the biggest. It guarded the stretch of water around the Goodwin Sands, a treacherous area of sandbanks and shallow waters a few miles off the Kent coast. As with most of Henry's forts, the only time Deal Castle was actually involved in combat was during the Civil War in the seventeenth century. Perhaps this is fitting for a castle built at a time when England was threatened by disunity from within, as much as it feared invasion from overseas. The garrisons at the three Kent castles, Deal, Walmer, and Sandown, initially sided with the parliamentarians, only to change their allegiance to Charles I and the royalists. They were besieged by parliamentary forces and held out for three months. Deal Castle had its battle damage repaired in the eighteenth century, and became an active fort again during the Napoleonic wars early in the nineteenth century. But in keeping with the theme of castles reflecting internal tensions it might be remembered that the French Revolution out of which Napoleon emerged led to great fears of a similar civil upheaval in Britain. It is often suggested that war with France helped keep Britain together during these turbulent years.The castle which seemed designed to keep foreigners out was actually still working more symbolically, to keep British people together.

Opening Times: Open daily 1st April to 30th September, 10am - 6pm, Saturdays 10am - 5pm.

The property is closed outside this period.

Address: Deal Castle, Victoria Road, Deal, Kent CT14 7BA

Directions: Deal Castle is close to the centre of Deal on the south east Kent coast. Follow the A258 from Dover or Sandwich. Click here for an interactive road and satellite map centred on Deal Castle. The castle looks strangely like a Tudor Rose from above.

Access: The gatehouse and ground floor are wheelchair accessible, but there is a spiral stairway to upper floors, and a flight of stairs down to the interactive display in the basement area. There are no adapted toilet facilities, and there are two steps to the shop. If you are disabled it is advisable to contact the property beforehand for arrangements to be made for you.

Contact:

telephone 01304 372762

web site: http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server.php?show=conProperty.179