Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

The western outer curtain wall of Dover Castle, South from Peverells Gateway to the edge of the cliff is the work of Henry III (1216-1272) after the great siege of 1216/1217. There have been various periods of alteration and modernisation in the centuries since. It seems likely that the southern limit of the Curtain wall before the great siege was at Peverell’s Tower, located approximately one third of the way south between the Norfolk Towers and the cliffs edge at the far southern limit of the castle. (location accurate to the nearest 1m based on available information)

Monument Types

• CURTAIN WALL (Medieval to Modern - 1217 AD to 2050 AD)

Full description

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The western outer curtain wall of Dover Castle, South fromm Peverells Gateway to the edge of the cliff is the work of Henry III (1216-1272) after the great siege of 1216/1217. There have been various periods of alteration and modernisation in the centuries since. It seems likely that the southern limit of the Curtain wall before the great siege was at Peverell’s Tower, located approximately one third of the way south between the Norfolk Towers and the cliffs edge at the far southern limit of the castle.

The wall is primarily constructed of irregular ragstone stone with openings outlined withstone quoins. The visible east flank of the wall has many areas of intervention and evidence of buildings and removed features The walls are likely to have been modified as part of the works carried out under Twiss during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars at the end of the eighteenth century when they were extensively adapted for artillery with the addition of the Canons Gate and adjacent casemates, and modifications were made to other towers. (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 English Heritage, 2014, Dover Castle Conservation Management Plan Volume 2 Gazetteer (Unpublished document).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