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Walmer Castle

1540 establishments in England16th-century fortificationsArthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of WellingtonBuildings and structures completed in 1540Castles in Kent
Device FortsDover DistrictEnglish Heritage sites in KentForts in KentGardens in KentHenry John Temple, 3rd Viscount PalmerstonHenry VIIIHistoric house museums in KentHistory of KentRobert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of SalisburyRobert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of LiverpoolRoyal residences in EnglandUse British English from February 2023William Pitt the Younger
Walmer Castle from the west
Walmer Castle from the west

Walmer Castle is an artillery fort originally constructed by Henry VIII in Walmer, 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 coast. Comprising a keep and four circular bastions, the moated stone castle covered 0.61 acres (0.25 ha) and had 39 firing positions on the upper levels for artillery. It cost the Crown a total of £27,092 to build the three castles of Walmer, Sandown, and Deal, which lay adjacent to one another along the coast and were connected by earthwork defences. The original invasion threat passed, but during the Second English Civil War of 1648–49, Walmer was seized by pro-Royalist insurgents and was only retaken by Parliamentary forces after several months' fighting. In the 18th century, Walmer became the official residence of the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports and was gradually modified from a military fortification into a private residence. Various Prime Ministers and prominent politicians were appointed as Lord Warden, including William Pitt, the Duke of Wellington and Lord Granville, who adapted parts of the Tudor castle as living spaces and constructed extensive gardens around the property. By 1904, the War Office agreed that Walmer had no remaining military utility and it passed to the Ministry of Works. Successive Lord Wardens continued to use the property but it was also opened to the public. Walmer was no longer considered a particularly comfortable or modern residence, however, and Lord Curzon blamed the poor condition of the castle for his wife's death in 1906. Lord Wardens since the Second World War have included Winston Churchill, Robert Menzies and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, but they have made only intermittent use of Walmer Castle. In the 21st century, Walmer Castle is run as a tourist attraction by English Heritage. The interior of the castle displays a range of historical objects and pictures associated with the property and its Lord Wardens, protected since the 19th century by special legislation. The grounds include the Queen Mother's Garden, designed by Penelope Hobhouse as a 95th birthday gift for Elizabeth in 1997.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Walmer Castle (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 51.200992 ° E 1.402308 °
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Address

Walmer Castle

Hawkshill Road
CT14 7LN , Upper Walmer
England, United Kingdom
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Website
english-heritage.org.uk

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Walmer Castle from the west
Walmer Castle from the west
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Nearby Places

A258 road
A258 road

The A258 road is an A road in England, running through East Kent from Dover to Sandwich. It begins at the A256 within Dover, running up Castle Hill and passing Dover Castle on its eastern side and the Duke of York's Royal Military School on its western side. It then crosses the A2 at a four-way roundabout (called Guston Roundabout) at the top of Jubilee Way before running behind the East Kent coast, with turn-offs to Westcliffe, Martin Mill and St Margaret's at Cliffe. It then runs through Ringwould (passing Ripple Mill), Walmer and Deal. Whilst in Deal it is named 'the Strand' and it passes Deal Castle, then becomes part of a one-way traffic system in Deal, it heads up 'Victoria Road', then right onto 'Ranelagh Road' then left onto 'Prince of Wales Terrace' (beside the coastline). 'Deal Castle Road' leads back to the Ringwould/Dover route. The route heads away from the coast on 'Broad Street', where it crosses over the pedestrianised high street and becoming 'Queen Street'. It passes over the railway close to Deal Railway station . Then it becomes 'London Road' heading to Upper Deal. Then it heads north-west, passing Sholden and later Betteshanger Park. It is once again called the A258, passing through the hamlet of Hacklinge and past the junction to Finglesham and then the junction to Worth. When it reaches the southern part of Sandwich, near Woodnesborough, it terminates at another junction with the A256 (Sandwich By-pass) at Stone Cross.