George Clinch

“ The castle-building towards the end of the fourteenth century—say the reign of Richard II—was distinctly influenced by the new force employed in attack and sieges. Curves become the fashion instead of flat walls, and by the sixteenth century, when Henry VIII erected this great series of block-houses, we find that every means was taken to avoid presenting much surface to the action of cannon-shot. The walls were all curved to ensure the shot glancing off, and the whole structure was sunk in a moat, and built in very strong masonry, and with no more height than was necessary. ”

“ The regular castles of masonry erected during the reign of Henry II, a great castle-building period, although very important as military works, were not in the main built for the defence of the coast. But it is necessary to bear in mind that in ancient times river-courses, even far from the sea-coast, were subject in a peculiar degree to the incursions of the enemy, and the great Norman keeps of Canterbury, Rochester, and the White Tower of London, although situated far from the sea-coast, played an important part in the defence of the coast. ”

“ The castrum at Pevensey retains so much of its enclosing walls and bastions that it is particularly worthy of study if one would learn, by direct observation, what splendid specimens of architecture the Romans erected in this country. Although a mediaeval castle has been built within the boundary of the Roman castrum, the walls of the latter may be traced for almost the whole of the circuit, and on the north, east, and west sides they stand to a considerable height. At the south-western extremity is the main gateway, its two flanking towers forming perhaps the most prominent features. ”

“ Experience proved that the massive masonry of Norman times was inadequate. A new principle was universally adopted. The plan of the castle was so arranged that every part of the enclosing wall was commanded by means of mural towers. These additions not only added to the passive strength of the work, but also when placed within a bow-shot distance enabled the defenders, themselves protected, to enfilade the intermediate curtain. Again, the use of curved walls and mural towers gave free scope for constructive skill and favoured the economical use of building materials. ”

“ It says much for the intimate knowledge of the distribution of our defences that the Dutch, when they invaded our shores in 1667, steered clear of these castles, and made straight for the Medway, rather than for Portsmouth or Dover, or the east coast of Kent, where there were castles of the Henry VIII period, and later, guarding the shores.
One point in the construction of these block-houses which must arrest the notice of every one who pays any attention to the subject, is the excellent illustrations they afford as to modification of military architecture due to the introduction of gunpowder. ”

“ The mediaeval castle, generally speaking, represents an effort to maintain the power of the feudal lord, and, in a lesser and secondary degree, provision for resisting raids and invasion by foreign enemies. Walled towns, on the other hand, when situated on or near the coasts, or on navigable rivers, were primarily designed for coast defence. The mediaeval castles which were built in situations remote from the coast were the fastnesses and strongholds of nobles fighting amongst themselves or against the king. ”

“ The first duty of our English navy is, and always has been, offensive, as well as defensive. In times of peace we have been accustomed to regard our Navy as our first line of defence, and this is a perfectly accurate description of its functions. But it is obvious that these functions have always been different from, and in most periods independent of, what is generally understood by the term coast defences. ”

“ The Lord Warden, who is the chief officer of the Cinque Ports, combining therewith the governorship of Dover Castle and maritime jurisdiction as admiral of the ports, may be regarded as representing to some extent the ancient office of Count of the Saxon Shore, although the changes of time and the paramount [ 202] importance of the Royal Navy in more recent times in the work of defending our shores, have tended to rob the office of much of its former importance. At the present time the actual duties of the post are confined to presiding as chairman of the Dover Harbour Board. ”

“ The incursions of the Danes and other raiders provided the Saxons with excellent opportunities for displaying their skill in defensive warfare, and brought into prominence a great man whose name must ever be held in honour as one of the bravest and most enlightened defenders of our shores. ”

“ THE RUINS OF THE CHURCH At a comparatively early stage in the art of Roman masonry in Britain the idea was conceived of protecting the enclosing wall of the fortress by means of projecting bastions and towers. In an early type represented in the Romano-British coast fortresses, of which this of Reculver is an excellent illustration, there were, as we have seen, no projections whether of walls, bastions, towers, or gates. Reliance was placed in the strength and solidity of the walls themselves, which were 8 feet in thickness. ”

“ The defences on the eastern coast of England consist of an extremely interesting and important series of fortresses. In the extreme north is—
Berwick-upon-Tweed, a town which, from its position on the English and Scottish border, has always been a place of strategic moment, and which Queen Elizabeth spoke of as “the chief key of the realm.” In the time of Edward I (1272-1307) it was encompassed by a great moat, or ditch, 80 feet wide and 40 feet deep. A crenelated wall from 15 to 22 feet high, with 19 towers at intervals, was constructed during the reign of Edward II (1307-1327) . ”

“ Saltwood.—Situated about two miles inland from Hythe, this castle can hardly be described as a purely coast fortress, but it is such a valuable example of the mediaeval castles of its time that it deserves special attention. It [ 134] must be remembered that the typical mediaeval castle, with its elaborate defences, possessed a moral influence out of all proportion to its strategic value. As soon as effective charges of gunpowder were employed the weakness of mere walls of masonry became at once apparent. Explosives were far more effective and disconcerting than battering-rams. ”

“ GROUND PLAN OF SOUTHAMPTON The castle at Southampton occupied not only nearly the whole of the north-western corner of the area within the town-walls, but also the highest ground. Although some authorities have regarded it as a Saxon or Danish castle, the weight of evidence seems to be very much in favour of the view that it was built very soon after the Norman Conquest. It also seems probable that in the first instance it was mainly composed of an artificially-heightened mound and other earthworks, crowned, perhaps, by palisades. ”

“ SANDOWN CASTLE In making a careful examination of these buildings one is struck with the fact that we find a certain unity of idea running through the designs and plans. Deal, the largest and most complicated of the series on the east coast of Kent, has a central circular tower with a diameter of 58 feet, and from it project six small inner lunettes and six much larger outer lunettes. The walls are no less than 20 feet thick at the foundations, and about 11 feet thick at the summit. The whole building is surrounded by a moat and was originally approached by a drawbridge. ”

“ In many cases the earthwork castles as first built were, in due course, rebuilt in stone, the top of the mound being capped by a shell-keep and the other eminences being surmounted and reinforced by walls. Another type of keep, [ 90] generally square in plan and of great strength and size, was built, as at Dover, Rochester, Canterbury, London, etc.; but such massive structures required firm foundations, and they were always built on undisturbed sites. These two kinds of keeps practically determine the two types into which the Norman castles built in England naturally fall. ”

“ On the top of the eastern and western heights of Dover a lighthouse was erected by the Romans for the guidance of ships into the narrow mouth of the river. Traces of that on the western heights still remain, or remained recently: whilst that on the eastern heights stands intact, one of the most remarkable and interesting pieces of Roman architecture now remaining in the kingdom.
The Roman pharos at Dover consists of a strong and massive tower, hollow within, [46] which rises to a height of 42 feet, having walls whose thickness varies from 12 feet at the base to about 7 feet at the top. ”

“ Firstly we are struck by the origin, development, deterioration, and final degradation in the methods of coast defence. In the middle and later periods of the Roman occupation of Britain the fortresses for coast defence were built in massive masonry. In the earliest examples reliance was placed alone in mass and weight, and no attempt was made to protect the wall by enfilading. In the works built later on this defect was made good. Protecting bastions gave opportunity of attacking the invaders in flank, and so protecting the wall. ”

“ Sea-fighting was not unknown to the Romans, but as far as the invasion of Britain was concerned, Caesar’s fleet may be regarded as a collection of ships for transport purposes rather than a fighting naval force. The main object of Caesar was to land his soldiers so that they might encounter and vanquish the enemy on dry land. ”

“ It is a remarkable fact, that of all the block-houses built on the coast, or even in the estuaries of rivers, by Henry VIII, built, as we know from documentary evidence, at enormous cost, there is absolutely no record of any of them having been of real value in destroying the enemies’ shipping. ”

“ The structure is not entirely of Roman workmanship, because in the thirteenth century certain additions were made to its outer walls.
Doubtless its massive masonry was calculated to withstand the severe storms to which its exposed position on the lofty cliff subjected it. Whether employed for signalling purposes or as a lighthouse, this building was doubtless in such a position as to communicate with similar buildings on the coast of France, and with the lighthouse or signalling tower (it may have served in both capacities) at Richborough. ”

“ The men of the Cinque Ports seem to have carried on a certain amount of privateering at various times, but there have been times when their skill in seafaring and their undoubted courage have been employed in work of the utmost value in the defence of England. ”

“ Early in his reign, King Alfred devoted his attention to the important question of his navy, and he brought it to such a condition of strength and proficiency as to defeat the Danish raiders, one of the greatest pests by which our shores were ever troubled.
DANISH INCURSIONS AND CAMPS
The coast-line of England is of curious complexity, and is long out of all proportion to that of any other great European nation, perhaps not even excepting Norway. Consequently its defence presents and always has presented problems of great difficulty. ”

“ The north wall of Richborough, although to some extent marred by rebuilding of some part of it, affords an illustration of this. Here we find dark brownish-red ironstone built into the wall in a way which reminds one of bands of chequer work. A Pevensey again, where the stones are cut with the regularity and precision of brickwork, large blocks of similar sandstone are employed in regular order at different heights in the walls and bastions. To the latter in addition to their decorative use they serve to tie in the outer skin of masonry to the inner rubble. ”

“ The British method of fighting, in which chariots were employed for [ 11] the attack, is described by Caesar, [2] who was evidently impressed by their skilful combination of rapid and awe-inspiring attack with the freedom and mobility of light infantry.
It is noteworthy that Caesar says nothing about coast defences in the form of earthworks, or indeed in any other form, and it is on other grounds improbable that the Britons possessed [ 12] any provision of that kind against invading enemies, although they themselves lived in stockaded enclosures. ”

“ The upper part of the gate is a modern restoration in woodwork.
Sandwich originally possessed five gates, but those described are the only two which have survived.
Dover Castle.—For the last seven and a half centuries Dover Castle has been justly considered a fortress of paramount importance in the defence of England. Its site is remarkable for more than one reason. The steepness of the chalk cliffs towards the sea, and the abruptness of the other slopes, natural and artificial, which encircle it on the land side, give a peculiarly difficult, indeed, impregnable character to the fortress. ”

“ The association of certain towns on the south-east shores of England for the purpose of coast defence is of great antiquity. In the oldest Cinque Ports charter on record, granted in the sixth year of Edward I, reference is made to documents of the time of Edward the Confessor, indicating an origin before the Norman Conquest.
In early times there were, as the name implies, five ports included in this confederation, viz.: Hastings, Sandwich, Dover, Romney [ 197] and Hythe. Almost immediately after the Norman Conquest, Winchelsea and Rye were added with status equal to the original towns. ”

“ Martello Towers, of which so many were built on the coast of Essex, Kent, and Sussex, were based on the model of a tower on Cape Martello, on the Gulf of San [ 191] Fiorenzo, in Corsica. They are built of solid masonry, but contain vaulted rooms for the garrisons. They are furnished with a flat platform on top for two or three guns, and access to them is by means of a ladder leading to a side doorway, about twenty feet above the level of the ground. In some cases a deep ditch was cut round the towers. ”