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Walmer Castle, Kent

Walmer Castle is described by English Heritage as a "vital" defence, built by Henry the Eighth to counter the threat of catholic invasion from across the channel. I would suggest that Walmer castle, and all the other castles built by Henry along the south coast were more important symbolically than practically. To allow his divorce from Catherine of Aragon, Henry had switched the religion of England from Catholicism to Protestantism. This led to short lived fears of invasion from catholic France and Spain. Although the threat of invasion was never serious, a huge building programme of shore line defence began in 1539. A chain of forts built along the south coast included Camber Castle in East Sussex, Walmer Castle, Deal 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, and indeed the aftershocks of the changes of the fifteenth century remain with us today, most clearly in the divisions between people in Northern Ireland. Religions are designed to hold people together and maintain hierarchy and discipline. With the change of religion and the possibility of division, perhaps the country needed to feel itself pulled together by the illusion of imminent invasion, which apparently could only be countered by the building of huge forts. The symbolism was taken further in the use of stone from demolished monasteries going into the building of the forts. The solid walls of these forts, almost all of which survive, is the 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 the Eighth 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.

Fittingly the only time that Walmer castle saw battle was not during an invasion, but during the Civil War of the seventeenth century. Initially Walmer's garrison sided with the Parliamentarians, but then switched to the Royalists. The castle was besiged for three months before falling to Parliamentary forces.

Walmer Castle is also famous for its later association with the Duke of Wellington, who used the castle as his residence during his twenty three years as warden of the Cinque Ports. Wellington of course led British forces at the Battle of Waterloo in June 1815, and the victory here ended Napoleon's dreams of European power. But 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 the turbulent years at the end of the eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth centuries. It was good to think of Wellington sitting in his coastal fortress keeping all those foreigners out. In a very real sense, however, the tensions were actually internal. The castle which seemed designed to keep foreigners out was in fact working more symbolically, to keep British people together.

A number of items of Wellington's furniture remain at Walmer. His tastes were spartan, shaped by his military life. His yellow chintz chair, in which he died on the 14th of September 1852, can be viewed, as can his campaign bed with horse hair mattress. The Wellington Museum at Walmer has hundreds of other items relating to Wellington, and also to William Pitt, Prime Minister 1783 - 1801, and 1804 - 1806. Many of these were saved by former warden W.H. Smith, who founded the high street chain of newsagents.

Walmer Castle today resembles a rather oddly shaped stately home. The successive wardens of the fort were generally more interested in making the place comfortable than in stripping it down ready for battle. There are attractive gardens and a woodland walk. There is a restaurant, gift shop and plant sale.

 

Opening Times: open daily March 21st to 30th September, 10am - 6pm Sunday to Friday and 10am - 4pm Saturday. In October the castle is open Wednesday to Sunday, 10am - 4pm. The castle is closed 1st November to 29th February and re-opens 1st - 31st March 2009 Wednesday to Sunday 10am - 4pm. The castle is also closed 11th - 13th July.

Directions: Walmer Castle can be found on the A258 south of Walmer in Kent. Walmer station is a mile from the castle. Click here for an interactive road and satellite map centred on Walmer Castle. Use the satellite view to see how striking these coastal forst look when viewed from above.

Access: gatehouse and ground floor are accessible via ramps. There are stairs to the first floor. There are gravel paths within the grounds. Adapted toilet facilities are available.

Contact:

telephone: 01304 364288

web site: http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/conProperty.226