Constable's Gate, Entrance to Lock and Key of the Kingdom, Dover Castle, Kent, UK

The classic view of Constable's Gate, today's pedestrian entrance to Dover Castle and what Matthew Paris (1), a medieval Benedictine monk and English chronicler, once famously described as the "Lock and Key to the Kingdom of England":


(Click this Constable's Gate of Dover Castle text link to see the largest size)

Western Outer Curtain Wall
Rokesley Tower & Canons Gate

The approach to the drawbridge doorway on the Western Outer Curtain Wall of this 12th century Norman castle is via Constable's Road, a junction on Castle Hill Road above Connaught Park and the Zig-Zags Park (both Victorian).

The entrance for vehicular traffic lies further south at Canons Gate, or Canons Gateway.

Constable's Tower was built by John de Fiennes (John de Fienes) under William the Conqueror (2) and for this reason was once known as Fiennes' Tower.

In the 1216 Great Siege of Dover Castle during the First Barons' War against King John (3), the Dauphin Prince Louis, later Louis VIII of France (4), son and heir-apparent of Philip Augustus (one of the most successful medieval French monarchs), unsuccessfully besieged Dover Castle.

The importance of Dover Castle to the Dauphin's campaign is reflected in this 1784 account (5):

The Canons Gate and Rokesley Tower, Western Outer Curtain Wall, Dover Castle, Kent, UK

The Canons Gateway, located at the southern end of the Western Outer Curtain Wall, is the vehicular entrance to Dover Castle:


(Click this Canons Gate of Dover Castle text link to see the largest size)

Western Outer Curtain Wall

The bridge entrance is accessible from Canons Gate Road, a turning off of Castle Hill Road not far from the Victoria Park junction. The pedestrian entrance to the castle is via Constable's Gateway to the north.

The tower on the left of the Canons Gate entrance is Rokesley's Tower, a D-type mural tower complete with Garderobe (a medieval latrine, or toilet).

Further to the left, Fulbert's Tower lies 80 yards north of Rokesley's Tower; out of view to the right is the Tudor Bulwark.

The photo was taken at 11.40 am on Easter Sunday, 12th of April, 2009.

---

Abridged excerpt from a Georgian book published in 1828 (1)

The following account refers to the original and now demolished "Canon, or Monk's Gate", once located out-of-shot to the right, and to the "New Entrance" - the Canons Gateway shown in the photo:

Saxon Church and Roman Pharos on Harold's Earthwork, Dover Castle, Kent, UK

The East Roman Pharos (on the right: a lighthouse and watchtower) and Saxon church of St Mary-in-Castro sit in a shallow depression on top of a huge horseshoe-shaped mound called "Harold's Earthwork":


(Click this St Mary-in-Castro and Pharos text link to see the largest size)

The rampart is rimmed by a the ruins of a low parapet wall, visible either side of the buildings, that was once connected to the composite Norman and Saxon Colton Gate (behind the viewer; alt. Colton Gateway, Colton Tower).

Harold's Earthwork was raised by Henry III (Henry of Winchester, Plantagenet) and lies south of Henry II's Keep, or "Great Tower", out-of-shot to the left (1).

The photo was taken at 5.31 pm on Sunday, 26th of June, 2011.

Click to see all photos of the Pharos and St Mary-in-Castro; also see all Dover Lighthouse and Church photos.

Dover Castle is a Grade I Dover Listed Building and Dover English Heritage site; the Pharos and St Mary-in-Castro have separate Grade I listings.

The following notes are divided into three sections - Pharos and Church, Pharos, Church:

Guest Chamber of King Henry II, Great Tower of Dover Castle, Kent, UK

A view of the Guest Chamber on the first-floor of the Keep, or Great Tower (night view), of Dover Castle after "a major transformation by English Heritage to re-create the splendour of a royal court in the late 12th century" (1):


(Click this Palace Guest Chamber text link to see the largest size)

Entry to this representation of a medieval royal palace is via the Forebuilding and King's Hall on the second-floor. Adjacent to the King's Hall (Great Hall) is the King's Chamber (bedroom, or solar). The Guest Hall is on the floor below the King's Hall, and the Guest Chamber is below the King's Chamber.

Embroidered textiles throughout the four-room complex are by the Royal School of Needlework (RSN).

Above the chest at bottom-left is a bed on top of which lie a patchwork blanket, bolster, and two pillows. Next is the main bed which can be completely enclosed by drawing the hanging curtains along their rail. There are two other beds set against the far wall.

The beds are quite small by modern standards which I immediately put down to the average height being less in the 12th Century than it is today. A 2007 newspaper report, however, suggests otherwise (2):

Guest Hall of King Henry II in the Great Tower of Dover Castle, Kent, UK

A view of the Guest Hall on the first-floor of the Keep, or Great Tower (night view), of Dover Castle after "a major transformation by English Heritage to re-create the splendour of a royal court in the late 12th century" (1):


(Click this Palace Guest Hall text link to see the largest size)

The Guest Hall, or lower hall, is shown being prepared for a feast, although it would have been a multi-purpose room (see below). Leading off this hall are the pantry and the buttery (2).

The Guest Hall backcloth above the 'high table', a powerful reminder to the guests of whose palace they are visiting, shows the mounted King Henry II (Curtmantle), ready for battle in mail, although without helmet so that all might see his face, wearing his crown and holding his sword aloft (3). The backcloth was made by the Royal School of Needlework (RSN):

2009 for the re-presentation of The Great Hall, Dover Castle. Six large pieces were produced in an extremely short timescale including the King’s Hall backcloth; a canopy and tester; the Guest Hall backcloth and a standard and altar frontal. These were completed with the help of volunteers from the RSN Certificate Course (4).

As part of the re-presentation of the Norman Keep, Alexandra Buckle, a junior research fellow in the Music Faculty at Oxford University, was employed by English Heritage as a music consultant for the project (5):

"Henry II was married to Eleanore of Aquitaine, a lifelong patron of the troubadours (composers and performers of Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages, 1100-1350) and someone who is credited with spreading the influence of the troubadours to England. Therefore we hear troubadour music in the Guest Hall, reflecting this." (The female equivalent of a troubadour is a trobairitz)

At other times:

The Keep, or Great Tower, of Dover Castle from the King's Gateway, Kent, UK

The north-western face of Dover Castle's Keep, or Great Tower, with the North Tower on the left and the West Tower on the right:


(Click this Great Tower of Dover Castle text link to see the largest size)

Dover Castle Keep at Night

The 12th Century Norman Keep was built in the 1180s with AD 1180-1185 often being the range quoted.

The length of the sides and height of the corner towers vary, but the Keep is approximately 100 feet square, over 80 feet high, and has walls up to 21 feet thick. It was designed by Henry II’s architect, 'Maurice the Engineer' (or mason; Latin: Ingeniator).

The North Tower and South Tower (or Flag Tower) both have spiral staircases leading from ground level up to the roof; the East Tower and West Tower do not.

To the left of the North Tower, and about two-thirds of its height, is the Forebuilding (main entrance), the largest of the period in England.

The Keep has three floors (ground, first, and second) that now contain a 2010 English Heritage representation of a medieval Royal Palace and Royal Court.

The largest pair of windows - in line with the top of the Forebuilding - are those of the second floor:

The Keep and Western Outer Curtain Wall of Dover Castle from the Harbour, Kent, UK

A panoramic view of Dover Castle taken from the lighthouse and Harbour View cafe end of the Prince of Wales Pier:


(Click this Keep and Western Outer Curtain Wall text link to see the largest size)

Dover Castle Keep

Distance to the White Cliffs of Dover above East Cliff at bottom-right is about 1450 yards; to the Keep, or Great Tower, about 1850 yards.

The Keep is 83 feet (25.3m) high and just under 100 feet (30m) square, with walls up to 21 feet (6.5m) thick.

This massive edifice was designed by the architect, 'Maurice the Engineer' (ie Mason) and built between 1180 and 1185 during the reign of Henry II (Curtmantle).

The interior of the Norman Keep was "re-furbished" by English Heritage in 2010 to show how a medieval royal palace, or royal court, may have looked in the 12th Century:

The Throne of Henry II in King's Hall, Great Tower of Dover Castle

The King's Chamber of Henry II in the Great Tower of Dover Castle

Guest Hall of King Henry II in the Great Tower of Dover Castle

Guest Chamber of King Henry II, Great Tower of Dover Castle

The Keep, with the Union Flag, or Union Jack, flying above its South Tower, was also once known as Palace Tower.

Below the Keep are the uncrenellated (ie flat-topped) towers of the Inner Bailey wall, or Inner Curtain Wall. The two higher towers close together below the Keep's right-hand tower flank the Palace Gateway, an entrance into the Keepyard. The other entrance is the King's Gateway, or King's Gate, on the northern side.

Furthest on the left of the photo is the stand alone grouping of the Constable's Gateway with the Queen Mary Tower indistinguishable in front.

The Western Outer Curtain Wall then extends from Queen Mary's Tower to the cliff-edge, featuring (from left to right):

St John's Tower, a 13th Century Round Tower in the Moat of Dover Castle, Kent, UK

A "rare view" of St John's Tower which is situated in the moat (ditch) at the northern end of Dover Castle. It is connected to the interior of the castle by an underground tunnel and gallery, or sousterrain, that passes beneath the Norfolk Towers, the earth-banked lower slopes of which can be seen in the upper left-hand corner:


(Click this text link to see the largest size)

The photo was taken at 7.05 am on Wednesday, 25th of May, 2011, from the eastern outer moat wall. An earlier Rare view of St John's Tower, taken from near enough the same location but under different light conditions, was photographed at 11.32 am on Friday, 13th of May.

This unusual round tower effectively divides the Eastern Outer Curtain Wall (out-of-shot to the left) from the Western Outer Curtain Wall (on the far side of the tower).

The roof of a two-level caponier (alt. caponnier: fr. "chicken cage") to the right of St John's Tower connects it to the Ravelin (or Redan), a brick-lined structure, partially visible behind the trees near the right-hand edge, that had been added to the Spur by Colonel William Twiss of the Royal Engineers between 1801-1803 during the the Napoleonic Wars.

The Napoleonic Spur Raised Gun Platform of Dover Castle - Redan or Ravelin? Kent, UK

The Napoleonic Ravelin, also known as the Redan, at the northern end of Dover Castle is an irregular triangle in plan view. The north-eastern face (in shadow on the right) is about 44 yards long, the western face on the far side is about 46 yards along, and the straight-line distance across the sunlit sawtooth-shaped base (not all of which is visible) is about 41 yards:


(Click this Dover Castle Ravelin text link to see the largest size)

The Ravelin, a raised artillery gun platform surrounded by its own ditch (moat), is embedded within the elongated and larger triangle, or "arrow", of the Spur earthwork. Part of the inside of Spur's western perimeter wall can be seen halfway down the left-hand side of the photo.

The Spur, originally teardrop-shaped, was constructed after the 1216 Great Siege of Dover Castle (First Barons War) along with St John's Tower and the Norfolk Towers, both out-of-shot to the left.

The Norfolk Towers (flank view) replaced and sealed off the previous Northern Entrance (or Northgate) that had been damaged during the siege by the the engineers of the Dauphin (Prince Louis, later Louis VIII of France); new gateways were made by Hubert de Burgh (Constable of Dover Castle) under Henry III at Fitzwilliam's Gate (in the east) and at Constable's Gateway (in the west).

Rare view of the 13th Century Norfolk Towers at Sunrise, Dover Castle, Kent, UK

The medieval Norfolk Towers at the northern end of Dover Castle viewed from a field adjacent to the hidden East Wing Battery of the Victorian Fort Burgoyne. The field (no access without permission) is where part of the French army were arrayed during the Great Siege of 1216:


(Click this Dover Castle Norfolk Towers text link to see the largest size)

Dover Castle from the Sea

The ivy-clad Norfolk Towers are in the fobidden zone that surrounds the entire perimeter of the castle. Despite their massive size, if this photo were to be mixed with half-a-dozen photos of other Norman castles, then I would be very surprised if the average Dovorian "man or woman in the street" would recognize that the Norfolk Towers are part of the ancient monument they see almost every day.

This post-sunrise zoomed photo of 400 yards was taken at 6.48 am on Monday, 27th of June, 2011. The flag-pole and collection of chimney stacks at top-left are part of Constable's Gateway (alt. Constable's Tower), 120 yards beyond the Norfolk Towers. The British Army flag is that of "Deputy Constable of Dover Castle". On a less-hazy day, the English Channel is visible above the skyline to the right of the towers.

The main entrance to Dover Castle prior to the 1216 Siege of Dover Castle (First Barons War) was the Northern Entrance (North Entrance, or Northgate).

During the siege, which broke off and then resumed briefly in 1217 when a trebuchet catapult was used (french: Malvoisin, or "Bad Neighbour"), the engineers of the Dauphin (Prince Louis, later Louis VIII of France) so damaged the eastern gate tower of the North Entrance by mining that Hubert de Burgh (Constable of Dover Castle under King John and Henry III) subsequently sealed the gateway, replacing it with the Norfolk Towers, and new entrances were made at Constable's Gate (in the west) and Fitzwilliam's Gate (alt. Fitzwilliam's Gateway, Fitzwilliam's Tower; in the east: a postern, or secondary entrance).

The Norman Keep or Great Tower of Henry II, Dover Castle at Night, Kent, UK

The north-western face of the Keep (or "Great Tower") with the North Tower on the left and the West Tower on the right:


(Click this Dover Castle Keep at Night text link to see the largest size)

The Keep from King's Gate

The East Tower is behind and to the left of the North Tower, the South Tower (Flag Tower) is out of view, although the Union Jack flag can be seen flying above it.

The Keep, once known as the Palace Tower, was designed by Henry II's architect 'Maurice the Engineer' (or mason) and built between 1180 - 1185. It is 83 feet high, just under 100 feet square, and has walls up to 21 feet thick.

Half-way down the Norman great tower on its north-eastern side (ie to the left) is the Forebuilding with its two chapels.

The Keep's largest pair of windows (difficult to spot at first glance - they're in line with the top of the Forebuilding) are those of the second floor:

Night Panorama of Dover Castle overlooking the Seafront and Harbour, Kent, UK

A panoramic view of the south-western face of Dover Castle's Keep (or Great Tower) taken at night on New Years Day, Saturday, 1st of January, 2011:


(Click this Dover Castle & Harbour at Night text link to see the largest size)

The Norman Keep was once known as Palace Tower and "...was designed by Henry II’s architect ‘Maurice the Engineer’ (or mason) and built between 1180 and 1185".

Beneath the Keep are the towers of the Inner Bailey wall, or Inner Curtain Wall. There are two entrances to the Keep-yard: on the left of the inner curtain wall is a flanking tower of King's Gate (King's Gateway), and the twin towers of Palace Gate (Palace Gateway) are on the right.

Constable's Gate
St Mary-in-Castro

Below the Inner Curtain Wall are the towers of the Western Outer Curtain Wall, from left to right: Constable's Tower, Queen Mary's Tower, Peverell's Gateway, Gatton's Tower, Say's Tower (not illuminated), Hurst's Tower, and Fulbert's Tower.

On Harold's Earthwork near top left are the Roman lighthouse, or East Pharos, and Saxon church of St Mary-in-Castro (more Dover churches).

In daylight, part of the White Cliffs of Dover would be visible below and to the right of the church.

On the seafront in the lower-half of the photo, the Gateway Flats overlook Marine Parade, the beach and harbour, to the Straits of Dover and English Channel beyond.

Above the Gateway Flats on the left are lights from Victoria Park (with its turreted Lodge, or Gatehouse). To the right of the Gateway Flats is part of the Premier Inn.

The photo was taken at 6.43 pm from the Clock Tower end of the Prince of Wales Pier while on an evening cycle ride (1).

Excerpt from "The Port of Dover" (2):

The King's Chamber of Henry II in the Great Tower of Dover Castle, Kent, UK

A view of the King's Chamber on the second-floor of the Keep, or Great Tower (night view), of Dover Castle after "a major transformation by English Heritage to re-create the splendour of a royal court in the late 12th century" (1):


(Click this Palace King's Chamber text link to see the largest size)

An explanation for the size of King Henry II's bed was given by Steven Lang (Head Custodian of Dover Castle) at a meeting held in 2010 (2):

The beds seem unusual and are small by today's standards. In Henry's reign people would not lie down to sleep. They were afraid that if they fell asleep and their mouths opened the devil would enter their bodies. With a shorter bed they could sleep in more of a sitting position and this would not happen.

An additional reason given by a Dover Castle English Heritage guide (Keith Ashley-Thomas) is that sleeping sitting up reduced wood smoke inhalation - but only for those who could afford such a luxury at night, of course!

As well as being a bedroom, the King's Chamber is where Henry II could have had private meetings and audiences. It was also known as a "Solar" (3):

The Throne of Henry II in King's Hall, Great Tower of Dover Castle, Kent, UK

A view of the King's Hall on the second-floor of the Keep, or Great Tower (night view), of Dover Castle after "a major transformation by English Heritage to re-create the splendour of a royal court in the late 12th century" (1):


(Click this Palace King's Hall text link to see the largest size)

The middle throne is in blue and gold and stands about 1.5 metres (five feet) tall, while the gold-on-red backcloth is five metres (16 feet) high. Topping the whole thing off is a canopy.

Keith Ashley-Thomas, an English Heritage guide who appears in the original Trebuchet Siege Engine photo (not yet uploaded), said the canopy contains stars of gilded leather and had been made by the Royal School of Needlework. A little research found this entry (2):

2009 for the re-presentation of The Great Hall, Dover Castle. Six large pieces were produced in an extremely short timescale including the King’s Hall backcloth; a canopy and tester; the Guest Hall backcloth and a standard and altar frontal. These were completed with the help of volunteers from the RSN Certificate Course.

On the left of Henry II's throne is a smaller one whose original would have been used principally by Prince John (later King John (Lackland): see the Knights Templar Ruins photo when uploaded) as another son, Prince Richard (later Richard I, Coeur de Lion, or Richard the Lionheart), spent much of his time abroad.

The seat to the right of King Henry II's throne was for Princess Alice of France (or Alys, Countess of the Vexin) who appears to have been more than just the ward of Henry II.

Rare view of the 1st Century Roman Pharos, Dover Castle, Kent, UK

The East Roman Pharos in the grounds of Dover Castle stands on a huge horseshoe-shaped rampart known as Harold's Earthwork:


(Click this East Roman Pharos text link to see the largest size)

The East Roman Pharos was built 46 AD during the reign of Emperor Claudius while Aulus Plautius was governor.

On the right-hand side of the photo is part of a low perimeter wall that runs all the way around the edge of the earthwork.

The reason the above view of the Pharos (a watchtower or lighthouse) is rare - if not unique, at least as far as the internet is concerned - is because it was taken from the west and from outside of the perimeter wall.

Behind the Pharos is the Saxon church of St Mary-in-Castro.

A replica remnant of the West Roman Pharos, known as the Bredenstone, is located on the other side of the River Dour valley on the Drop Redoubt (part of a vast Napoleonic and Victorian hidden fortress embedded into the Western Heights).

NAAFI, Regimental Institute and Hurst Tower, Knights Road, Dover Castle, Kent, UK

The Victorian Regimental Institute building in the grounds of Dover Castle houses the Naafi Restaurant ("Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes") and Queen Elizabeth's Pocket Pistol. It also once housed a remnant of a Barnes Wallis 'bouncing bomb':


(Click this text link to see the largest size)

On the left is Knights Road and Hurst Tower on the Western Outer Curtain Wall; Queen Elizabeth Road lies between the viewer and the restaurant.

The ex-Regimental Institute is a Grade II Listed Building.

The following extracts are © Crown Copyright. Reproduced under the terms of the Click-Use Licence (PSI licence number C2010002016):

Building Details:

Building Name: FORMER REGIMENTAL INSTITUTE; Parish: DOVER; District: DOVER; County: KENT; Postcode:

Details:

LBS Number: 469564; Grade: II ; Date Listed: 08/07/1998 ; Date Delisted: ; NGR: TR3253841699

Listing Text:

TR 3242 DOVER KNIGHT'S ROAD (north side), Dover Castle 685/1/10007 Former Regimental Institute

II

Regimental institute, now offices. Dated 1868, probably by G Arnold RE (Royal Engineeers), Clerk of Works; altered c 1994. Polygonal rubble, dressings, external and ridge stacks and slate roof. Tudor Gothic Revival style. Single-depth axial plan.

HISTORY: In a similar style to the nearby Officers Barracks by Salvin (alt. Officers New Barracks, Victorian Officers Mess). Institutes were introduced to provide improving pastimes in barracks and to reduce drinking. Used for education and training at the Castle garrison, and one of the oldest institutes in an English barracks.

Listing NGR: TR3253841699

More information (including sources used and a Google Earth satellite map) can be found on this photo's original webpage at:

Hurst's Tower and Naafi Restaurant of Dover Castle (UK)

Also see:

The Victorian Regimental Institute, Knights Road, Dover Castle

Small, but perfectly formed, the Victorian Bread and Meat Store of Dover Castle

A Dover history photo.

Links to the main Images of Dover website:

The English Heritage "Pastscape" entry for Dover Castle states:

"Medieval castle possibly originating as a pre-1066 motte and bailey castle, remodelled during the reign of Henry II (Curtmantle), to became a castle with concentric defences, one of the first examples of its kind in western Europe."

All castle photos first appear under the Dover Castle tag.

The castle is one of Dover's Grade I Listed Buildings and a Dover English Heritage site.

John Latter / Jorolat

Dover Blog: The Psychology of a Small Town

Queen Mary's Tower, Western Outer Curtain Wall, Dover Castle, Kent, UK

Queen Mary's Tower is located on Dover Castle's Western Outer Curtain Wall between Constable's Gateway, less than 15 yards to the right (north) and Peverell's Gate, less than 60 yards to the left (south):



This is a fairly typical D-type tower but the location within the garden grounds of Constable's Gateway (alt. Constable's Gate, Constable's Tower) prohibits getting any closer.

This view shows the internal arch and was taken looking over the garden wall from the raised ground between West Norman Road and Harold Road.

Queen Mary's Tower had its height reduced during the 18th Century in order to turn it into a gun platform (thereby removing the crenellations) like the other D-Type towers (eg Gatton's Tower, Say's Tower, Hurst's Tower).

Other names for Queen Mary's Tower: Port Tower, Porth Tower, Laswells Tower (Laswell's Tower?), and Gostling Tower.

As a rule of thumb, 'square' towers were built in the days of arrows, curved ones marked the advent of cannon.

More information (including sources used and a Google Earth satellite map) can be found on this photo's original webpage at:

Queen Mary's Tower, Western Outer Curtain Wall, Dover Castle

A Dover Middle Ages history photo.

Links to the main Images of Dover website:

All castle photos first appear under the Dover Castle tag.

The castle is a Dover Grade I Listed Buildings and an English Heritage site.

John Latter / Jorolat

Dover Blog: The Psychology of a Small Town

Prototype Barnes Wallis Dambusters Bouncing Bomb at Dover Castle, Kent, UK

A prototype World War II "Bouncing Bomb" remnant recovered off Reculver beach in 1996 and now at the English Heritage site of Dover Castle:



The relic is shown housed in the former Victorian Regimental Institute on Knights Road on the western side of the Castle. This building still contains Queen Elizabeth's Pocket Pistol and the Naafi Restaurant but the bomb fragment has been moved elsewhere.

Barnes Wallis' bouncing bombs were used by the Royal Air Force's 617 Squadron (led by Guy Gibson) in the RAF Dambuster Raid of 1943 during the Second World War.

The information board reads:

This is a prototype of the 'bouncing bomb' which was used in the famous Dambuster operation. This operation, which breached the Mohne Dam and Eder Dam in Western Germany, was carried out by No. 617 Squadron of the RAF on 16th May, 1943.

These special bouncing bombs resembled giant garden rollers and needed to spin away from the Lancaster aircraft, which were travelling at 220 mph at a height of 60 ft above ground.

This prototype was drop tested in April 1943 off Reculver beach, Kent and was rediscovered in June 1996.

More information (including sources used and a Google Earth satellite map) can be found on this photo's original webpage at:

The Barnes Wallis 'Bouncing Bomb' at Dover Castle (UK)

Links to the main Images of Dover website:

The English Heritage "Pastscape" entry for Dover Castle states:

"Medieval castle possibly originating as a pre-1066 motte and bailey castle, remodelled during the reign of Henry II (Curtmantle), to became a castle with concentric defences, one of the first examples of its kind in western Europe."

All castle photos first appear under the Dover Castle tag.

The castle is one of Dover's Grade I Listed Buildings and a Dover English Heritage site.

John Latter / Jorolat

Dover Blog: The Psychology of a Small Town

Queen Elizabeth's Pocket Pistol in the Regimental Institute, Dover Castle, Kent, UK

This is the second of two photos (see below for link). The 'Description' given to the first image is - with one modification - equally applicable to this one:

As in many other instances concerning Dover Castle (eg the East Roman Pharos) it would seem that no two single internet or non-internet sources can completely agree in their descriptions of any of the castle's component parts. The basilisk ('long gun') now situated in the building housing the Naafi Restaurant (out-of-shot to the right) is no exception.



Despite Queen Elizabeth's Pocket Pistol being an easily accessible object nearly 500 years old there are remarkable discrepancies between the current internet and non-internet sources regarding its characteristics. These include what the cannon's made of (bronze, brass), range of shot (1200 yards, 2000 yards, 7 miles, 21+ miles), size of shot (10 pounds, 12 pounds, 60 pounds), and much else besides!

The gun was made in 1544 in Utrecht (Netherlands) by Jan Tolhuys, and given to King Henry VIII (1491 -1547) by his friend, Maximilian of Egmont (1509-1548), Count of Buren and Leerdam and Stadtholder of Friesland.

Also known as Queen Anne's Pocket Pistol in the 19th Century. Gun carriage made in 1827, purportedly from French guns (cannons) captured by the Duke of Wellington's men in the 1815 Battle of Waterloo.

The Second World War prototype Barnes Wallis Bouncing Bomb fragment is out-of-shot to the left.

The above photo originally appeared at the following url:

Queen Elizabeth's Pocket Pistol, Dover Castle UK (2)

The above link also gives background historical information and Google Earth satellite map location.

Also see:

Queen Elizabeth's Pocket Pistol, the Long Gun of Dover Castle
Queen Elizabeth's Pocket Pistol, Naafi Restaurant, Knights Road, Dover Castle

Links to the main Images of Dover website:

A Dover Middle Ages history photo. The English Heritage "Pastscape" entry for Dover Castle states:

"Medieval castle possibly originating as a pre-1066 motte and bailey castle, remodelled during the reign of Henry II (Curtmantle), to became a castle with concentric defences, one of the first examples of its kind in western Europe."

All castle photos first appear under the Dover Castle tag.

The castle is one of Dover's Grade I Listed Buildings and English Heritage sites.

John Latter / Jorolat

Dover Blog: The Psychology of a Small Town

Queen Elizabeth's Pocket Pistol, Naafi Restaurant, Knights Road, Dover Castle, Kent, UK

As in many other instances concerning Dover Castle (eg the East Roman Pharos) it would seem that no two single internet or non-internet sources can completely agree in their descriptions of any of the castle's component parts. The basilisk ('long gun') now situated in the building housing the Naafi Restaurant (out-of-shot to the right) is no exception:



Despite Queen Elizabeth's Pocket Pistol being an easily accessible object nearly 500 years old there are remarkable discrepancies between the current internet and non-internet sources regarding its characteristics. These include what the cannon's made of (bronze, brass), range of shot (1200 yards, 2000 yards, 7 miles, 21+ miles), size of shot (10 pounds, 12 pounds, 60 pounds), and much else besides!

The gun was made in 1544 in Utrecht (Netherlands) by Jan Tolhuys, and given to King Henry VIII (1491 -1547) by his friend, Maximilian of Egmont (1509-1548), Count of Buren and Leerdam and Stadtholder of Friesland.

Also known as Queen Anne's Pocket Pistol in the 19th Century. Gun carriage made in 1827, purportedly from French guns (cannons) captured by the Duke of Wellington's men in the 1815 Battle of Waterloo.

The Second World War prototype Barnes Wallis Bouncing Bomb fragment is partially visible behind the cannon near the left-hand wall.

This photo originally appeared at the following url:

Queen Elizabeth's Pocket Pistol, Dover Castle UK (1)

The above link also gives background historical information and Google Earth satellite map location.

Also see:

Queen Elizabeth's Pocket Pistol, the Long Gun of Dover Castle
Queen Elizabeth's Pocket Pistol in the Regimental Institute, Dover Castle

Links to the main Images of Dover website:

A Dover British Army Royal Artillery history photo. The English Heritage "Pastscape" entry for Dover Castle states:

"Medieval castle possibly originating as a pre-1066 motte and bailey castle, remodelled during the reign of Henry II (Curtmantle), to became a castle with concentric defences, one of the first examples of its kind in western Europe."

All castle photos first appear under the Dover Castle tag.

The castle is one of Dover's Grade I Listed Buildings and English Heritage sites.

John Latter / Jorolat

Dover Blog: The Psychology of a Small Town