Pendennis Castle facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Pendennis Castle |
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| Kastell Penn Dinas | |
| Falmouth, Cornwall, England | |
16th-century keep and gun platform
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 Pendennis Castle
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| Coordinates | 50°08′50″N 5°02′52″W / 50.14722°N 5.04777°W |
| Type | Device Fort |
| Site information | |
| Owner | English Heritage |
| Open to the public |
Yes |
| Condition | Intact |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1540–42 |
| Built by | John Killigrew |
| Events | English Civil War Second World War |
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Listed Building – Grade I
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| Official name | Pendennis Castle |
| Designated | 23 January 1973 |
| Reference no. | 1270096 |
Pendennis Castle (which means "headland fortification" in Cornish) is a historic fort built by King Henry VIII in Falmouth, Cornwall, England. It was constructed between 1540 and 1542. This castle was part of a big plan by the King to protect England from possible invasions by countries like France and the Holy Roman Empire.
Pendennis Castle guarded the important Carrick Roads waterway, which is at the mouth of the River Fal. The original castle had a round keep (a strong tower) and a platform for guns. Later, more walls and bastions (parts of the wall that stick out) were added to make it even stronger, especially because of threats from Spain.
The castle played a big role in the English Civil War. It was held by the King's supporters (called Royalists) and was only captured by Parliament after a long siege in 1646. After the war, King Charles II made improvements to the fort.
Over the years, Pendennis Castle was updated many times. This happened in the 1730s and again in the 1790s, especially during the Napoleonic Wars. At one point, it had as many as 48 guns! In the late 1800s, an electric minefield was placed across the River Fal, controlled from Pendennis and St Mawes Castle. New, fast-firing guns were also added.
The castle was used again in both the First World War and the Second World War. During World War II, it even fired at German planes. However, by 1956, the castle was no longer needed for defence and was closed down. Today, English Heritage looks after Pendennis Castle, and it's a popular place for visitors to explore. It's considered one of the best examples of a historic fort in the country.
Contents
History of Pendennis Castle
Building the Castle (16th Century)
Pendennis Castle was built because of problems between England, France, and the Holy Roman Empire during the last years of King Henry VIII's rule. Usually, local lords and communities were in charge of coastal defences. But this changed when an invasion of England seemed likely.
In 1533, King Henry VIII broke away from the Pope. This made the Holy Roman Emperor, whose aunt was Henry's wife, very angry. France and the Empire then formed an alliance against Henry in 1538. The Pope even encouraged them to attack England.
Because of this threat, King Henry VIII ordered new forts to be built along the English coast in 1539. This plan was called the "Device programme".
The Carrick Roads waterway near the River Fal was a very important place for ships coming from the Atlantic and Mediterranean. A small gun tower, called the Little Dennis Blockhouse, was built there in 1539. The plan was to build five more castles, but only two were actually built: Pendennis and St Mawes Castle. These two forts were placed on opposite sides of Carrick Roads so their guns could protect the water between them. John Killigrew, a local landowner, probably supervised the building of Pendennis. He also became its first captain.
Early Years of Operation
The Killigrew family managed Pendennis Castle for many years. John Killigrew's son and grandson also served as captains. The captains of Pendennis and St Mawes often argued, especially about who had the right to search ships coming into the harbour. The Admiralty (the navy's leaders) eventually decided they should share this duty.
After 1558, England made peace with France, so the first invasion threat passed. However, Spain became a bigger threat to England's southwest. War broke out in 1569. To protect against land attacks, an earthwork (a defensive mound) was built northwest of the castle. An extra gun battery was also added to face upriver. The number of soldiers at the castle changed a lot. In 1578, there were 100 men, but in 1599, there were about 200.
The Spanish threat continued. Spanish raiding parties attacked nearby towns in 1593 and 1595. In 1597, a large Spanish fleet with 20,000 men planned to attack Pendennis and invade England. Luckily, bad weather stopped them from landing. This near-miss worried the government. A review found that the castle wasn't strong enough to stop a Spanish landing.
So, between 1597 and 1600, the castle's defences were greatly improved. A military engineer named Paul Ive built a new ring of earthworks, embrasures (openings for guns), bastions, and a stone-lined ditch around the old castle. About 400 local workers helped build these new defences.
In the early 1600s, England was peaceful, and Pendennis Castle was not well looked after. Soldiers' pay was often late, forcing them to find food like limpets from the shoreline. Still, a new gatehouse was added around 1611. When war with Spain started again in 1624, another defensive line with guns was built across the peninsula in 1627.
English Civil War and Restoration
When the English Civil War began in 1642, Pendennis Castle and the southwest of England were controlled by the King's supporters, the Royalists. The town of Falmouth was important for their supplies. The Carrick Roads waterway was also used by Royalist ships. As the war turned against the Royalists, Prince Charles briefly stayed at the castle in early 1646.
Soon after Charles left, a large army led by Thomas Fairfax entered Cornwall. Most other Royalist strongholds had already fallen. St Mawes Castle surrendered quickly. But Pendennis Castle kept fighting. It was defended by about 1,000 soldiers led by Sir John Arundell. He declared he would rather die than give up.
Parliamentary forces attacked the castle from land, while Captain Batten's ships blocked it by sea. This stopped new supplies from reaching the castle. The defenders even used a Royalist warship that was deliberately run aground to create an extra gun platform. By July, food was running out. Sir John Arundell agreed to surrender on August 15. About 900 survivors, some very sick from hunger, left the fort two days later. Pendennis was one of the last Royalist forts to surrender in the war.
Parliament kept soldiers at the castle, but in 1647, they cut military spending. The soldiers at Pendennis were offered less pay than others. They mutinied, holding Parliamentary officials hostage until they received full pay. After the uprising was settled, a smaller, more reliable group of soldiers was stationed there. During this time, a writer named William Prynne was imprisoned at the castle.
When King Charles II returned to the throne in 1660, Sir Peter Killigrew became the new captain. Worries about invasion continued. An extra gun battery was built at Crab Quay. By the end of the century, a new barracks (soldiers' living quarters) and gate were added to the castle.
18th and 19th Centuries
Pendennis Castle remained in use throughout the 1700s and 1800s, working with St Mawes Castle. In 1714, an inspection found the castle in bad shape, with collapsed walls and ditches full of plants. Not much was done until the 1730s, when the castle was greatly updated. The inside was changed, the walls were rebuilt, and new guns were installed.
During the American Revolutionary War, France joined the American side, leading to war with Britain in 1778. The Napoleonic Wars followed. Falmouth became an important military supply base. In 1795, the government bought the castle's land from the Killigrew family. They strengthened the fort against new invasion threats. More guns were added, and a new gun position called the Half-Moon Battery was built. New barracks and other buildings were also constructed inside the fort. At its busiest, the castle had up to 48 guns.
After the Napoleonic Wars ended in 1815, Pendennis was neglected. Many of its guns stopped working, and some buildings fell apart. The special job of "captain of Pendennis Castle" was ended in 1837. In the 1850s, new fears of a French invasion led to more investment. Nineteen new guns were installed.
Falmouth remained an important harbour, especially for the Royal Navy. When new concerns about France arose, an electric minefield was placed across Carrick Roads in 1885. This minefield was controlled from both Pendennis and St Mawes. New, fast-firing guns and machine guns were added to the castle to protect against enemy torpedo boats.
20th and 21st Centuries
In 1902, the 105th Regiment Royal Garrison Artillery took over the castle. New barracks were built for them. A signal station was put on top of the old keep to help coordinate with ships. The 16th-century guardhouse was taken down. During the First World War, extra defences were built on the land side, and the castle was used for training. After the war, Pendennis continued to train gunners. However, its old 16th-century buildings were given to the Ministry of Works in 1920, and by 1939, all the castle's artillery had been removed.
The castle was rearmed at the start of the Second World War. Twin 6-pounder guns and longer-range artillery were installed. Zig-zag trenches were dug for protection, and new buildings were added. The 16th-century fort became the headquarters for Falmouth Fire Command, which managed all the artillery in the area. New radar-controlled 6-inch guns were added in 1943. Falmouth was important for supporting the D-Day invasion of France in 1944. During the invasion preparations, Pendennis's guns defended against German E-boats.
After the war, Pendennis was still used for training for a short time. But the castle was now old-fashioned and no longer needed for defence. It was officially closed in 1956.
The entire Pendennis site was then taken over by the Ministry of Works and opened to visitors. The Ministry focused on the 16th-century castle, and many of the newer military buildings were removed. The barracks were used as a youth hostel from 1963 to 2000. English Heritage took control of the castle in 1984. They started to focus more on preserving its newer features too. In the 1990s, a lot of work was done to fix up the fortifications and add new things for visitors. This included archaeological surveys and digs. In the 2000s, some buildings were turned into holiday cottages.
Today, English Heritage manages Pendennis Castle as a popular tourist attraction. It is protected by UK law as a Grade I listed building and a scheduled monument.
Architecture of Pendennis Castle
Pendennis Castle sits at the end of a peninsula, looking out over Carrick Roads and the sea. It includes the original 16th-century fort, surrounded by a ring of outer defences. These outer defences were built in Elizabethan times and then changed over the 1700s, 1800s, and 1900s. Other gun batteries and a blockhouse are located closer to the water. Historic England believes Pendennis is "one of the finest examples of a post-medieval defensive promontory fort in the country." It shows a long history of different ways to defend a place. English Heritage calls it "one of the finest surviving examples of a coast fortress in England."
Outer Walls and Defences
The main entrance to the castle is on the western side of the outer walls, called the ramparts. The gatehouse dates from around 1700 and has a classical look. A stone bridge from the mid-1800s crosses the ditch outside. The ramparts are made of stone with protective ditches. They have angled bastions that allow guns to fire in different directions, which was a new idea in England when they were first built in 1600.
North of the gatehouse are the Smithwick and Carrick Mount bastions. The Carrick Mount bastion has a fast-firing gun battery from 1903. Further along the ramparts, the East Bastion also has two spots for fast-firing guns from 1902. It has underground magazines (places to store ammunition). These were turned into a battery plotting room during the Second World War. Just to the south, the Nine-Gun Battery was built in the 1730s. It has a line of nine openings for guns.
In the southeast corner of the ramparts is the One-Gun Battery. This battery originally held a "disappearing gun." This type of gun was designed to drop back behind a steel shield after firing. It was built in 1895, but the idea didn't work well, and the gun was removed in 1913. However, the gun emplacement (the place where the gun was) is still there and is a rare example of this type of weapon.
The Bell Bastion, the Ravelin, the Pig's Pound Bastion, and the Horse Pool Bastion protect the southern and western parts of the ramparts. Many different types of artillery and anti-aircraft guns are on display around the defences. These include 19th-century carronades (short, light cannons) and 20th-century pieces. You can see a 155 mm (6.1 in) Long Tom field gun, a Quick Firing 3-inch 20 cwt (76 mm 102 kg) anti-aircraft gun, and two Ordnance Quick-Firing 25-pounder (11 kg) howitzers (short-barreled cannons).
The Inner Castle
At the very center of the castle is the original 16th-century fort built by King Henry VIII. It's made of granite ashlar (cut stone) and rubble. It has a round keep surrounded by a gun platform. You enter through a bridge and a forebuilding (an entrance building). The keep has very thick walls, about 3.36 meters (11 feet) thick. Inside, it's octagonal (eight-sided).
The basement of the keep was originally a kitchen, cellar, and pantry. The ground floor was first planned as a gun room, but it was changed during construction to be living quarters for the soldiers. Another gun room is on the first floor, with seven openings for guns. This room is set up to look like it did in the 1500s. The roof also has seven gun openings and a lookout tower.
The gun platform around the keep has 16 sides and 14 gun openings. The two-story forebuilding was added in the second half of the 1500s. It has three rooms on each level connected by a spiral staircase. This building was originally where the castle captain lived. Its entrance was protected by a portcullis (a heavy gate that slides down). The roof was designed to be defended with handguns. The stone bridge that crosses the ditch around the castle was built in 1902. Originally, a rectangular gatehouse protected the front of the bridge, but this was taken down in the early 1900s.
The rest of the inside of the fort once had many military buildings. Most of these have been removed and the area is now a large grassy parade ground. Some buildings that still remain include the Royal Garrison Artillery barracks, located north of the parade ground. Built between 1900 and 1902, it could house 140 soldiers. Next to the barracks are bungalows for senior non-commissioned officers, a storehouse from the Napoleonic Wars, and two guard barracks from 1700. These guard barracks are a very early example of this type of military building in England. Other surviving buildings include a 19th-century field train shed and an 18th-century gunpowder magazine, which is now a shelter for gunners.
External Defences
Three defensive positions are located outside the main walls of the castle. To the south, reached by an underground passage, is the Half-Moon Battery. This was built in 1793 and updated in 1895 and 1941. It has two camouflaged gun houses and 6-inch guns from the Second World War. During the war, 99 soldiers worked here.
Further south, near the water, is the Little Dennis Blockhouse. This D-shaped gun position dates back to 1539. It was changed in the 1540s and later became part of a larger defence system covering all of Pendennis Point in the late 1500s. It's built from Killas rubble, and its outside and lookout tower are still in good condition. Just along the shoreline to the northeast is the Crab Quay Battery. These defences started in the 1500s to stop enemy landings on the headland. They were greatly updated in 1902.
