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Monument details
| HER Number: | TR 34 SW 2531 |
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| Type of record: | Monument |
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| Name: | Former site of ditch surrounding the south eastern side of the inner Bailey, Dover Castle |
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Summary
The location of a ditch present on C18th plans of Dover Castle was identified within three trenches which were excavated on the south eastern side of the Inner Bailey at Dover Castle in 1964. Both lips of this ditch were visible within the section of trench 2 and trench 3 and it was excavated to its full depth of 4.8m. (location accurate to the nearest 1m based on available information)
| Grid Reference: | TR 3253 4188 |
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| Map Sheet: | TR34SW |
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| Parish: | DOVER, DOVER, KENT |
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Monument Types
- DITCH (In-filled, Medieval to Post Medieval - 1247 AD? to 1750 AD?)
Full description
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The location of a ditch present on C18th plans of Dover Castle, principally the 1756 pan (1) was identified within three trenches which were excavated on the south eastern side of the Inner Bailey at Dover Castle in 1964. Both lips of this ditch were visible within the section of trench 2 and trench 3 and it was excavated to its full depth of 4.8m. The ditch contained hardly any primary silting and little in the way of small finds except a few bones. It appears to have been immediately backfilled to a depth of 2.4m mainly with clay and the shallower ditch thus created had remained thereafter. Its location is consistent with an arrangement that is feasible enough to have been before the building of the eastern traverse work (1247-1248?) when there may have been an isolated abutment on its site and so not inconsistent with the ditch that was ordered in 1243. No dating positive evidence was recovered for the ditch but whenever it was excavated, it was certainly not earlier than the building of the well tower. Once the ditch had been partially backfilled it was not a very formidable obstacle and maintained its general profile for at least 500 years. (2)
<1> Unknown, 1756, Plan of Dover Castle dated 1756 (Plan). SKE52162.
<2> S. E. Rigold, 1967, Excavations at Dover Castle 1964-1966 (Article in serial). SKE52109.
Sources and further reading
| Cross-ref.
| Source description | | <1> | Plan: Unknown. 1756. Plan of Dover Castle dated 1756. |
| <2>XY | Article in serial: S. E. Rigold. 1967. Excavations at Dover Castle 1964-1966. Vol 30 Issue 1 PP 87-101. [Mapped feature: #102271 Ditch, ] |
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