Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

Crevecoeur Tower is one of the series of towers in the western defences of Dover Castle, originating in the reign of King John (1199-1216), and unusually of round plan, and possibly used as a chamber tower with an adjacent hall. The tower is different from the others to the south, being round, more like the Norfolk Towers of the north gate of square plan, and seems likely to have been connected with an internal building. (location accurate to the nearest 1m based on available information)

Monument Types

• TOWER (Disused, Medieval to Modern - 1204 AD? to 2050 AD?)

Full description

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Crevecoeur Tower is one of the series of towers in the western defences of Dover Castle, originating in the reign of King John (1199-1216), and unusually of round plan, and possibly used as a chamber tower with an adjacent hall. The tower is different from the others to the south, being round, more like the Norfolk Towers of the north gate of square plan, and seems likely to have been connected with an internal building.

The tower is round, and battered above a round base, with three loops at ground level. The upper masonry may be partly rebuilt and the top of the tower has been levelled. There is a narrow turret/buttress extension on the south side (which contains a garderobe). It is much reduced in height, doubtless being modified when the Napoleonic batteries were established on the Norfolk Towers, and the rampart was constructed round the base of the tower. Internally the tower stands forward of the curtain wall, with steps rising on the left (S) to the external door to the garderobe and a wall passage leading into the tower. The front of the tower has a tall broad pointed arch (now railed off from the sloping rampart), with a recessed wall of which the footings and central stair remain. There are large window openings to the loops. (summarised from sources) (1-2)

<1> English Heritage, 2014, Dover Castle Conservation Management Plan Volume 2 Gazetteer (Unpublished document). SKE52105.

<2> Johnathan Coad, 1995, English Heritage Book of Dover Castle and the Defences of Dover (Monograph). SKE52106.

Sources and further reading

Related records