Close-up, aerial view of the Remains of Sandown Castle, Deal Kent
Sandown Castle was an artillery fort constructed by Henry VIII in Sandown, Kent, between 1539 and 1540. It formed part of the King's Device programme to protect against invasion from France and the Holy Roman Empire, and defended the strategically important Downs anchorage off the English a keep and four circular bastions, the moated stone castle covered acres ( ha) and had 39 firing positions on the upper levels for artillery, with 31 gunloops in the basement for handguns. It cost the Crown a total of £27,092 to build the three castles of Sandown, Walmer and Deal, which lay adjacent to one another along the coast and were connected by earthwork defences.[a] The original invasion threat passed, but during the Second English Civil War of 1648–49, Sandown was seized by pro-Royalist insurgents and was only retaken by Parliamentary forces after several months' fighting. By the 19th century, the castle was suffering badly from the effects of coastal erosion but remained in military use until 1863. The War Office then demolished the upper levels with explosives, carrying out a second wave of demolition work in 1882 and destroying most of the surviving stonework in 1893. The remains of Sandown were purchased by the town of Deal for £35 to form part of the local sea defences.[b] The remaining masonry was encased in concrete in the late 1980s to form a sea wall but remains vulnerable to further erosion by the sea. In 1883 architectural historian Hayter Lewis complained to the British Archaeological Association that more needed to be done to protect the ruins, contrasting their poor treatment with that of the other castles along the coast. Despite this, concerns continued to be raised about the safety of the ruins facing along the sea, and in 1894 the Royal Engineers blew up the bastions and the keep on the seaward side using town of Deal then bought the remains from the government for £35 for use as part of their local sea defenses.
Size: 5464px × 3070px
Location: Sandown Castle, Deal, Kent, UK
Photo credit: © John Gaffen / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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