Dover Castle

Today's castle is at Dover in England, which sits on a vital strategic spot guarding the shortest passage from the continent to the British Isles.

The spot has been fortified at least since Roman times; this is the surviving Roman lighthouse at Dover. There is also an Anglo-Saxon church on the spot, likely once attached to a royal fortress, and earthworks that probably date to pre-Roman times.

Most of the castle as it stands today was built by Henry II (1154-1189), the mighty ruler of England, Normandy, Brittany, and Aquitaine, overlord of Scotland and Ireland, most powerful European monarch of his day. The features built by Henry and his architect, referred to in documents as Maurice the Engineer, include the square keep and most of the curtain walls. Of course they have often been repaired, but they probably have essentially the same form as in Henry's time.

The castle was garrisoned by the crown continuously from 1066 (at least) to 1958, but it was seriously besieged only once, by Louis VIII of France in 1216. Louis' men breached the outer walls but could not take the castle.

I chose to write about Dover Castle because English Heritage has restored the interior of the keep to its twelfth century appearance. Since I was just complaining about the lack of textiles and the like in most restored castles, I thought I would show this interpretation of what the keep might have looked like when Henry was alive. Some of the items are described in royal inventories, others are imagined based on what we know of other halls and castles.

The guest hall.

The king's bedchamber. More at English Heritage.