Work began on the castle (as we know it today) in the latter part of the 12th century with the construction of the Keep (or Great Tower) - the largest in Britain. This is another important fact making Dover more unique and therefore less typical, it has the largest keep in Britain, so from the very start of the castles construction, the designers and builders wanted this to be an impregnable fortress. At each corner of the Keep lies a square tower, as shown in the picture adjacent. Four storeys high, the Keep comprises of a basement, first floor, and a second floor, the entire structure is divided in two by a cross-wall, a relatively new idea at the time. The designer of the castle, Maurice the Ingeniator took every defence feature known at the time to build a castle of such significance.
One of the earliest examples of the systematic building of mural towers can be seen at Dover Castle. Henry II built a new (now the inner) bailey at Dover during the last quarter of the 12th Century. John continued this work and the inner bailey at Dover was ultimately defended by fourteen flanking towers (including gate towers). Making Dover a concentric castle (the 1st in western Europe). The keep was surrounded by two baileys, meaning that siege weapons like trebuchets couldn’t get close enough to fire and so that the defenders were bought time by the invading armies having to undermine or climb the outer bailey and then the inner bailey before getting to the keep. The idea of a concentric castle was a relatively new one brought back from the Crusades. The Crusaders brought back to Europe many improvements in siege weapons and in castle design, one of the most important being the refinement of the square to the round tower, although these cylindrical towers weren’t built at Dover until after the siege of 1216.
The rebellion of the barons in 1215-16 caused a war between powerful barons and King John. They forced the king to sign the Magna Carta in 1215, basically forcing the king into giving the barons more power, however the king broke his promises. The barons and their armies besieged the castle at Dover with the constable of the castle Sir Hubert de Burgh and a garrison loyal to John defending the royal castle. The Barons invited King Louis of France to claim the English throne who settled his army on the high ground to the north of the castle. He attacked the main gateway to gain entry into the inner bailey using siege weapons, probably trebuchets with success. The French miners brought down the eastern of the two gate towers, enabling the French to get beyond the outer bailey. There was fierce fighting inside the inner bailey but the loyal garrison and constable of the castle defended it effectively, driving the French out and barricading the breach of the wall. Faced by a determined castle garrison, Prince Louis called a truce. In the October of 1216 King John died a Newark castle and his son was proclaimed king, King Henry III. Once again prince Louis broke the truce but was once again defeated at the Battle Of Lincoln in 1217, bringing the war to an end. Henry had the support of the Church, many influential barons and the loyalty of Dover castle. Because of this new unity Prince Louis retreated to France.
The sieges of 1216-17 highlighted the castles strengths, the defenders never lost against the persistent French army. The castle was the key to taking the English Throne. If Louis had taken the castle, he could sail over reinforcements and take more of the land. In this respect, Dover is unlike any other castle. No other castle bears the significance of Dover; it is The Key To England. Despite showing the castles defensive capabilities, it also illustrated the weaknesses of the castle’s northern defences.
The constable of the castle in conjunction with Henry III’s backing started to improve the castle defences. The high ground proved to be to the attackers advantage so engineers constructed St. John’s Tower which overlooked a new spur to the north, designed to give the garrison more control over the higher ground. The northern gateway was blocked and replaced with Constables Gateway, made of several round towers on the western side of the castle. A secondary entrance Fitzwilliam’s Gateway was built and the outer curtain wall extended down to the cliff edge from Peverall’s Tower. A massive earth bank was constructed around the church and pharos, which was later topped by a stonewall in the 1250’s. These modifications included a new hall being built in 1240 and a set of chambers for the king built on the southeastern side of the inner ward. Dover was at the peak of its medieval power during this period. The castle was improved in parallel with the improvement of weapons, methods of attack and castle building techniques. It was one of the most historically significant fortifications throughout England, and its importance was unmatched. It was symbolic of the king’s power.
The castle is atypical in many ways, firstly it was designed by two people, Maurice the Ingeniator and Hubert de Burgh over many hundred years. This explains the differences in style of the various parts of the castle. The outer curtain wall took over 150 years to complete. During these 150 years, many changes were made in methods of attack and warfare- later sections of the wall reflect the changes in attack and differ from earlier ones. The outer curtain wall is defended more strongly at certain points and at the weaker points the towers are closer together for instance. Dover castle was built over many hundred years unlike other castles, like Beaumaris in Wales for example- the designs were drawn up and strictly followed (although the castle was never completed). This makes Dover unique, the building and design of the walls changed with the change in warfare techniques, as opposed to other castles through Britain that were built to cope with contemporary attacking methods and were not modified to the extent that Dover was.
I would disagree with the opening statement. At the end of the thirteenth century Dover Castle was much more than the typical medieval castle it had been in the twelfth century, it had all the refinements of the contemporary castles of the 1300’s. It is unique in that it has status as the key to England, a foothold necessary for any invading army, but at the same time a castle able to withstand the test of invading armies, rebel barons and the change in warfare techniques.
