KINGSWEAR CASTLE
KINGSWEAR CASTLE
T
he building of Kingswear castle was started by the corporation of Dartmouth in 1491 and completed in 1502 in the
reign of henry V11. It is thus slightly later than Dartmouth castle, which was completed by 1495. The two castles are similar in design and formed part of a single defensive plan to defend the river mouth and protect the people of Dartmouth and Kingswear from invasion. They share the distinction of being the first fortifications to be designed specifically for artillery, with a main gun platform on the ground floor. as examples of advanced military engineering
they were the exocet missiles of their day. The castle’s ground floor has been restored by the landmark Trust to look as it did in 1502, with the living quarters above. however, within 50 years of its construction, Kingswear castle was redundant. The castle at Dartmouth commanded a more elevated position from which to fire its powerful, far ranging artillery to pick off the enemy before it had even entered the mouth of the river. Difficulties in keeping the castle in a state of readiness may also have played a part in Kingswear castle’s demise as it was always more problematic to maintain, being more exposed to the weather - quite early on it was recorded that iron guns could not be kept there because they rusted so quickly. The advice was to use brass cannon instead. after the end of the 16th century records suggest that Kingswear was only manned in times
We turn our focus on the Castle which stands proud and prominent at the mouth of the river.
of emergency, such as the civil War when Dartmouth castle was besieged for one month and then taken by the royalists, falling to the parliamentarians three years later. according to a survey carried out in 1661, Kingswear’s main gun platform had moved to the top of the castle but had then been destroyed by fire - apparently by accident. at this time responsibility for maintenance was transferred from the corporation of Dartmouth to a governor appointed by the crown and certain
Pictures by permission of The Landmark Trust 67
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132