Dover to Brighton - Part 1

Hi there and welcome to the "Dover to Brighton" leg of our journey around the outer London regions for 2016.

Above: Is a Map of the ground that we covered on this day, and the journey that we will cover in Part 1 and Part 2 of this Blog!

First up - Dover: 

I guess the initial intention of going to Dover was to see the white cliffs, but as time drew closer to our trip we watched a show on Netflix called 'Great British castles' and it had an episode on Dover Castle, so we had to go to Dover Castle to see what all the excitement was about.

Above: A panorama picture of Dover Castle, showing the extensive outer and inner curtain walls and the "Great Tower" keep as the central and largest visible fortification.

 

Above: A photogenic tree being photogenic

Below: On approach to Dover Castle on both sides there are moat-style trenches that also seem to be some sort of drainage system. You can also see the Dover harbour walls which were made in WW2 to allow the ENTIRE British fleet to be within the walls. It seems hard to imagine the entire British Navy in there, maybe they referred to only the fleet that was tasked with evacuating all the people fighting in France at the time?

 

The site also contained one of Dover's two 80-foot (24 m) Roman lighthouses (or Pharoses), one of which still survives, whilst the remains of the other are located on the opposing Western Heights, across the town of Dover. 

 

Above and Left: Beside the Pharos is St. Mary in Castro is a heavily restored Saxon structure, built next to the Roman lighthouse which became the church bell-tower.

There are records of a church being built 'within the castle' by Eadbald of Kent in the 630s. 

However, it is unclear whether this means within the Saxon burgh (usually dated to later than 630) on the Eastern Heights, or within the ruins of old Roman fortifications in the valley. The large, late-Saxon cemetery around the present church does suggest the existence of a c.600 church,but not definitively. 

Obviously there has been a lot of neglect and repairs. It was in ruins by 1720, and restored as the Garrison Church in 1826 by Sir George Gilbert Scott.  

Below: A view from the walls up on the keep roof looking down at the church and Pharos.

Early Times
Immediately after his victory at Hastings in 1066, William the Conqueror strengthened the defences with an earthwork and timber-stockaded castle. Prior to this, there was a Norman fort. In the 1180s Henry II remodelled the castle, planning its great tower as a palace in which to entertain great visitors as well as a last redoubt for a strategically important castle.

It was during the reign of Henry II that the castle began to take recognisable shape. The inner and outer baileys and the great keep belong to this time. Maurice the Engineer was responsible for building the keep,one of the last rectangular keeps ever built. See the image to the left, it's a drawing of the keep with a cut-out section.

Below: The main entrance to the Great Tower itself, some stairs lead off to the side straight up to the throne room (right after passing over a mini draw bridge). The doorway goes into a huge kitchen/common area which you will see a picture of later. 

 

Above - Walking through the gatehouse of the medieval outer bailey from the "back" of the castle.  
Below:The back side of the gate house mentioned above. It is mostly in ruins now, with a more recent gatehouse (called the King's Gate) added on the other side of the courtyard that this part of wall creates with the inner bailey.

 

Above: Mercedes walking along the path between the modern dirt mounds on the right and the inner bailey walls up on the left. We are walking towards the back entry which is a cool extended stone ramp/causeway going up to a dual-gatehouse courtyard.  

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In 1216, a group of rebel barons invited the future Louis VIII of France to come and take the English crown. He had some success breaching the walls, but was unable ultimately to take the castle (see The First Barons' War).

During the siege, the English defenders tunnelled outwards and attacked the French, creating the only counter-tunnel in the world. We didn't manage to see the medieval tunnels mentioned but the newer WW2 tunnels were cool!

Above: Trebuchet style catapult. An example medieval siege equipment used.

Henry II was England's greatest castle builder, and Dover Castle was his best example. It had aspects of modern (AD 1100s) and old style castle architecture. Dover Castle was the first castle to have an inner and outer bailey in concentric circles around the keep! The square design of the castle was a homage to the old days of early Norman style castle building and to the days of the powerful English kings. Square forts are not as strong as rounded ones, so it was definitely a visual thing rather than practical for the keep part of the castle.

The castle and inner bailey were first built between 1179 and 1189, and the much larger outer bailey with curtain walls and towers were completed in early 1200s.  

Below: This was the kitchen that was located on the ground floor of the keep. This recreation shows bread left to raise on the benches and many cooking implements that would have been used in the kitchen at that time. This would have been a very busy place back in the day!

Below: Medieval style toilets - poop-chute! I suppose the buckets are for washing your hands or throwing down chute when you are done or something.

Left: On the middle floor of the Keep, there is a super-deep well-shaft with a cool handle and gear system to lower and raise a bucket to draw water from the well. 

Below: Looking down the well - the bucket is full of money. I assume from those tourists whose ethnic backgrounds encourage gaining "luck" by way of throwing away money. I wonder if that was just a sneaky way for those ancient governments to make people use to the idea of throwing away money - into public fountains for tax collectors/religious admin person to skim perhaps? The idea seemed to have stemmed from Ancient Rome, but this concept of luck and offerings to gods by donating money or other items into wells and fountains is found in many cultures. According to a blog I found on this topic it's also big business:

"This idea was popularized in the 1954 film Three Coins in the Fountain, which also suggested that if you throw two coins in, you’ll fall in love with a Roman, and if you throw three coins in, you’ll marry him or her. Since the movie, this practice has become so popular with tourists that it’s estimated that around €3,000 in coins are thrown in the fountain every day.

Obviously, all of those coins can’t just sit in the fountain forever. The Trevi Fountain shuts down for one hour every day and the coins are swept out by the Roman Catholic charity Caritas, which pays for food for the poor as well as Aids shelters. The coins have to be cleaned, sorted into different denominations, and sent off to the bank." - Emily Upton, 2014 see hyperlink above.

Above: Even the medieval English were trying to be sustainable - the castle roof was used to collect rain water and they stored it to supplement the water from the well. Unfortunately for them, it was stored in a lead tank. Silly buggers!

 


Above: Mercedes looking regal, sitting on the throne in the actually throne room in the keep.

Above: Look at all this sick loot we found! In an adjoining room from the throne room.

Above: A violent tapestry in the throne room.

Saint Thomas Becket and Henry II's contrition

In the previous blog (London to Canterbury) we mentioned the Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Becket was killed by King Henry II's men after they had a disagreement on the rights and privileges of the church. The men were not actually sent by Henry II, they overheard him in France during a rage against those in his court who defy him and basically insinuated that Thomas Becket was a pest and posed "who will deal with this pest" rhetorically. Four knights took it upon themselves to leave France and go to England and kill Becket in order to gain the King's favour. It was not a good idea! Henry did not like what they did and the knights fell into disgrace.  

Soon after Becket's death, Pope Alexander III and the Anglicans made Thomas Becket a saint. This event got King Henry in big trouble with the Papacy, and because a king is given the right to rule by god, he needed appease the Catholic religion authorities or he may be targeted for removal (one way or another). 

On Sunday 21 May 1172, Henry performed a ceremony of public penance at Avranches cathedral, where he swore:

• to provide money for 200 knights to crusade in the Holy Land
• to restore all property to the church of Canterbury
• not to obstruct any appeals to Rome by the clergy
• to abolish all customs prejudicial to the Church.

Additionally, King Henry did a radical act of contrition (repentance for sins one has committed) by doing two things - first, he went to Canterbury and went prostrate on the pavement, where he allowed clergy of the church to whip/strike him and he fasted for a few days. Second - he built a chapel dedicated to St. Becket in his pride and glory - in Dover Castle. Pictures of the chapel can be seen below:

In my (Kyran) opinion, the chapel seemed nice and it had 3 small rooms in it. Not overly exciting really, but space is limited in the confines of a castle keep so I understand why it was kept small. The stained glass windows were nice when the sunlight comes in.    

To tie all this in, Dover Castle was Henry's big project - to prove his authority and control to visiting royalty and pilgrims.  The improvements to the castle and surrounding areas occurred in the 1180's after the debacle with Thomas Becket in the 1170's allowed him to build the chapel in his name as well, as part of his ongoing contrition. The Castle then acted as a military stronghold, a place to entertain foreign royalty who would often pass through Dover on the way into Canterbury, and a place to show off his wealth and power as a King. 

Napoleonic Wars Era at Dover Castle

At the height of the Napoleonic Wars, Dover housed more than 2,000 men. 

With Dover becoming a garrison town, there was a need for barracks and storerooms for the additional troops and their equipment. The solution adopted by British Royal Army Engineer William Twiss was to create a complex of barracks tunnels about 15 metres below the cliff top. The first troops were accommodated in 1803. To date these tunnels are the only underground barracks ever built in Britain.

There were major changes to the defences at Dover during this time, including the building of huge earthen embankments and conversion of the stone wall towers and platforms to support cannons. Brick bunkers and barracks were littered around the outer walls, to house troops and ammunition.  

Around the large earthen ramparts surrounding the castle's inner bailey walls, there were many partially submerged/covered brick emplacements which were inward-facing ammunition stockpiles, protected from enemy fire. These little bunker style buildings held ammunition for the cannons nearby.

Above: 24 Pounder artillery cannon - points out at the hills surrounding Dover Castle.

Below: Mercedes standing in a narrow trench style walled walkway that goes out to some tower-like structures at the edge of the earthern ramparts.

Kyran looking like a boss on a hill.

With the development of heavy siege artillery with long range, the castle was vulnerable to bombardment from an area of high ground across from the other side of the town of Dover. The English decided to fortify the opposing high ground to make it harder for an enemy army to capture and set up their siege artillery. The hilly area was fortified and was called the Western Heights. The Western Heights was the largest fortification built in England during the Napoleonic wars. Work began on building it in about 1780 by constructing a series of earthwork gun positions. It was later expanded on in early 1800's. 

World War 2 Improvements

The outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 saw the tunnels converted first into an air-raid shelter and then later into a military command centre and underground hospital.

Later the tunnels were to be used as a shelter for the Regional Seats of Government in the event of a nuclear attack.

This plan was abandoned for various reasons, including the realisation that the chalk of the cliffs would not provide significant protection from radiation, and because of the inconvenient form of the tunnels and their generally poor condition. 

The first level was excavated in 1941 to serve as a medical dressing station for wounded soldiers. It contained two operating theatres and had basic accommodation for patients. Soldiers would be sent for emergency treatment in the tunnels and then transferred to inland hospitals. Within the Annexe(1st) level were dormitories, kitchens and mess rooms. 

Below: Entrance to the hospital

We did do a tour of the hospital but sadly no photos were allowed so here is a photo I stole off the internet!

 

Above: Rare double-helix spiral staircase, we emerged from the underground hospital from this stairwell. Its design allows two simultaneous staircases around the same shaft. There was a triple-helix design on the opposite side of the castle for the barracks and troop movement. 

Above: "New Officer's Barracks". Pretty fancy accommodation for the officers!

From 1850 to 1950, Dover was continually modernised to provide better facilities for its soldiers, more powerful and accurate guns, and some fancy equipment to help locate the enemy.

Dover castle housed the combined Fire Command Post and Port War Signal Station which were active in both the first and second World Wars. The Army used the command post to control the fire of the coast defence guns and by the Navy to communicate with its warships.

 

Above: 3-inch 20cwt AA gun - the first British dedicated AA gun in use in circa 1914. 

Fighting the enemy in the sky from on the ground was hard back in WW1 and WW2. 

In WW1, aircraft and blimps had just been invented and quickly weaponized and the threat of bombing was pretty scary for fixed fortifications such as the castle and fortresses at Dover. In response to the use of aircraft in WW1, regular cannons were modified to fire at high arcs to act as anti-aircraft guns. In 1914, Dover had only a single dedicated AA gun available, and finally had 8 by 1916. Supposedly the 3-inch guns were not very effective but they "provided some reassurance to the civilians"!

Operation Dynamo - Rescue from Dunkirk

In May 1940, the German attack into Western Europe caused the allied armies to retreat the French coast, surrounded by Germans they were (400,000 men) likely to die unless they could be rescued. 

Vice-Admiral Bertram Ramsay was put in charge of a rescue mission to send a fleet to pick up the soldiers and get them back to England and safety. He had 7 days to organise the mission, and the mission was to be staged in Dover from the castle and harbour because it was the closest point to the French coast and was already well established as a military base. 

It was suggested that only about 45,000 men could be saved, but with the hard work and inspirational leadership of Ramsay they managed to save over 330,000 men from Dunkirk over a period of 10 days! During all of this, the command post and planning centre was in the tunnels underneath Dover Castle. 

Above: A monument to Admiral Bertram Ramsay

Below: Some pictures of up on a plateau which has a battery of cannons, and a parade ground with a "saluting platform".

"The Struggle for Canada"

For those who read the blog post prior to this one (London to Canterbury), we saw the statue of "the victor of Quebec" James Wolfe. In the Regimental Museum at the castle of Dover, we saw more mentions of this guy and his battles in Canada. 

"The Queen's Scarf"

Queen Victoria crocheted a few scarves (8 to be precise), which were offered as gifts to notable or brave soldiers. The one pictured was a gift to Colour-Sergeant Thomas Ferrett, and in the picture you can see his wife, Mrs Ferrett, proudly wearing the scarf after her husband sent it back to England for her. 

Above: If you cannot read the text, briefly it says the scarves were sent out to various locations  - 4 to british regiments, and 4 to be given to colonial army soldiers (from Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa). The men were chosen by vote by NCOs (Non-commissioned Officers) and men of each unit for being "Gallant". The Scarves are crocheted in pale Khaki-coloured Berlin wool, approximately 8 inches wide and 4 feet and 10 inches long with a 4-inch tasselled fringe at each end. Embroidered into one end is Queen Victoria's monogram V.R.I (Victoria Regina et Imperatrix) worked in an over-hand stitch using white silk. 

Above: A view out from the Palace Gate

Above: A view from the outer earthern rampart back towards St. Mary's and the "new officer barracks". 
Below:  Panorama of the inner bailey ring wall, from the road/pathway that goes around it.

Left: Panorama close up of the King's Gate from the courtyard created by the King's Gate and the old medieval gatehouse which is now mostly in ruins. 

Below: View of the City of Dover. Those big cruiseliners on the left were laden with German tourists, which we saw many of inside the walls of Dover Castle that day. Something their 1940's forefathers would have loved to be doing ;)

Below: Panorama of part of the rooftop, looking out over at the land-bound sides of the castle. 

Below: Some classic British countryside (note: not actually at Dover, it's on the way to Brighton later on..)

Thanks for reading, and getting this far in the blog - this particular blog entry was quite large and took us tens of hours to organize and write (our process is not very efficient currently..). We ended up splitting the blog into Parts 1 and 2 to reduce the load and do some parallel work on the posts. 

If you want to keep close track of our blog in the next week or so, you can "follow" this blog on Google+. The blogs to come are going to cover things like our time visiting the Roman Baths, Lulworth Castle, Jurassic Cove (and the Durdle Door), two of Oxford's museums, the Eden Project and finally Duxford Imperial War Museum. 

Have a good one! - Kyran and Mercedes