Dartmouth Castle

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Dartmouth Castle is one of a pair of forts, the other being Kingswear Castle, that guard the mouth of the Dart Estuary in Devon, England (grid reference SX885503).

A small fort was built in 1388. The present building is the earliest surviving English coastal fortress specifically built to carry guns. It was built by the corporation of Dartmouth between 1481 and 1495 and additions were made during the 16th century by Henry VIII and again in the 17th century in order to accommodate new military technology.

During the Civil War it was beseiged for one month and then taken by the Royalists. After being held by them for 3 years it was attacked and taken by Sir Thomas Fairfax for the Parliamentarians in 1646. The castle continued in use as a working fort until the nineteenth century.

The castle comprises two towers — one round and one square — and sections of wall, the whole of which is built upon a rocky promotory, very close to the water's edge. A church, St Petroc's, is immediately adjacent to the structure.

Dartmouth Castle is now in the ownership of English Heritage.