Walmer Castle facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Walmer Castle |
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| Walmer, England | |
The castle from the east in 2018
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 Walmer Castle
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| Coordinates | 51°12′04″N 1°24′08″E / 51.200992°N 1.402308°E |
| Type | Device Fort |
| Site information | |
| Owner | English Heritage |
| Open to the public |
Yes |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1539 |
| Events | English Civil War Napoleonic Wars |
| Official name | Artillery castle at Walmer |
| Designated | 19 October 1981 |
| Reference no. | 1013381 |
| Official name | Walmer Castle |
| Designated | 1 May 1986 |
| Reference no. | 1000291 |
Walmer Castle is an old fort built by King Henry VIII in Walmer, Kent. It was constructed between 1539 and 1540. This castle was part of the King's plan to protect England from attacks. He was worried about invasions from France and the Holy Roman Empire. Walmer Castle helped defend an important area called the Downs anchorage off the English coast.
The castle has a central tower, called a keep, and four round towers, known as bastions. It was surrounded by a moat and covered about 0.61 acres. The upper levels had 39 places for cannons. Walmer was one of three castles built close together along the coast. The others were Sandown and Deal. These three castles cost a total of £27,092 to build.
Even though the invasion threat passed, Walmer Castle saw action during the English Civil War in 1648–49. It was taken over by people who supported the King. But the King's enemies, called Parliamentary forces, took it back after several months of fighting.
In the 1700s, Walmer Castle became the official home of the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports. This was an important job that used to involve protecting five key ports. Over time, the castle changed from a military fort into a private house. Many famous people lived there as Lord Warden. These included Prime Ministers like William Pitt the Younger and the Duke of Wellington. They added living spaces and beautiful gardens to the castle.
By 1904, the army decided Walmer Castle was no longer useful for defense. It was then looked after by the government's Ministry of Works. Lord Wardens continued to use it, and it was also opened to the public. Today, English Heritage manages Walmer Castle as a popular tourist spot. You can see historical items and pictures inside. The gardens include the Queen Mother's Garden, designed for Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother's 95th birthday in 1997.
History of Walmer Castle
Building the Castle: The 1500s
Walmer Castle was built to protect England from attacks. King Henry VIII ordered its construction in his last years. Before this, local lords usually handled coastal defenses. England didn't have many strong forts.
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In 1533, King Henry VIII broke away from the Pope. He wanted to end his marriage to Catherine of Aragon. Catherine was the aunt of Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor. Charles V felt insulted by this. In 1538, France and the Holy Roman Empire became allies against Henry. The Pope even encouraged them to attack England. An invasion seemed very likely.
So, in 1539, Henry VIII issued a special order. This order, called a "device", gave instructions. It was for the "defence of the realm in time of invasion." This led to new forts being built all along the English coastline.
Walmer Castle and its nearby castles, Deal and Sandown, were built to protect the Downs. This was an important place for ships in east Kent. Enemy soldiers could easily land on Deal Beach from there. These stone castles were also supported by four earth forts. There was also a 2.5-mile-long defensive ditch and bank. Together, these forts were called the "castles of the Downs." They cost the King £27,092 to build.
Walmer was built between April 1539 and autumn 1540. Richard Benese was the surveyor, William Clement the master carpenter, and Christopher Dickenson the master mason. At first, the castle had a captain, two lieutenants, two porters, ten gunners, and three soldiers. This cost £174 per year. It likely had brass and cast-iron cannons. It also had smaller guns and bows for close defense. In 1597, a report listed its cannons, including a cannon, a culverin, and several demi-culverins.
Walmer Castle in the 1600s
In the early 1600s, Walmer Castle was not well cared for. Not much money was spent on repairs. The soldiers were paid little. Some even lived in nearby Deal instead of the fort. They took other jobs to earn more money.
At the start of the first English Civil War, Walmer Castle was taken by Parliament's forces. This war was between King Charles I's supporters and Parliament. Walmer Castle did not play a big role in this first part of the war. After a few years of peace, the Second Civil War began in 1648. This time, the King's supporters were joined by Scottish allies.
The Parliamentary navy was based in the Downs. Walmer and the other castles protected it. But in May, a Royalist uprising began across Kent. Vice-Admiral William Batten had been forced to leave his navy job. He now encouraged the fleet to join the Royalists. Sir Henry Palmer also urged the fleet to revolt. Walmer and Deal Castle declared for the King, soon followed by Sandown. With the forts and navy under Royalist control, Parliament worried about foreign forces landing.
Parliament defeated the main uprising in June at the Battle of Maidstone. Then, Colonel Nathaniel Rich was sent to deal with Walmer and the other castles. Walmer Castle was attacked first and surrendered on July 12. Deal was attacked in late July. In August, Sandown was also attacked with cannons. All three forts surrendered. Walmer was badly damaged. Colonel Rich estimated repairs would cost at least £500.
In 1649, Parliament sent new ammunition and powder to Walmer. The castle was put back in good order. It had a governor, a corporal, and 20 soldiers. But when Charles II became King again in 1660, he reduced the numbers. There was a captain, a lieutenant, a porter, and 16 men. In 1688, during the Glorious Revolution, the people of Deal took Walmer Castle. They did this for William III, the Prince of Orange. By the end of the century, the castle was seen as old-fashioned for military use.
Changes in the 1700s and 1800s
From Fort to Home (1700–1828)
In the 1700s, Walmer Castle became the official home of the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports. This was an old title connected to five important ports in England. The job was not as powerful as it once was, but it still had important duties. When Lionel Sackville, the Duke of Dorset, got the job in 1708, he moved into Walmer Castle. He found the old residence at Dover Castle unsuitable.
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The Duke of Dorset held the Lord Warden job until 1765. He did a lot of work to make the castle more comfortable. He added new parts towards the north tower. He also built a small house in the south tower for soldiers. Later Lord Wardens, like Robert Darcy and Francis North, kept cannons at the castle. But it became less and less like a military fort.
The Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger became Lord Warden in 1792. Pitt owed a lot of money. King George III thought the job, which paid £3,000 a year, would help Pitt. Pitt used the castle a lot. By 1803, it was his main home to save money. His niece, Lady Hester Stanhope, lived with him from 1803 to 1806. Together, they worked on the castle gardens. They changed them from a simple vegetable garden into beautiful ornamental areas. Stanhope even got the local soldiers to help with the planting.
When the French Revolutionary Wars started, Pitt became very active. He worked to protect the ports along the coast. He often hosted local military leaders and naval captains at Walmer. After Pitt resigned as Prime Minister in 1801, people still feared a French invasion. He formed a volunteer cavalry unit at Walmer Castle. He also created a unit of infantry and a fleet of 35 fishing boats. These boats were armed with cannons. Stanhope noted the constant training of army units around the castle.
Robert Jenkinson, the Earl of Liverpool, took over Walmer Castle after Pitt died in 1806. Liverpool was a favorite of King George. His appointment was also meant to provide income and a country escape. As Prime Minister, Liverpool used Walmer as a private retreat. He also held secret political discussions there.
Famous Residents (1829–1899)
After Lord Liverpool died, Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington, asked King George IV for the Lord Warden job. He mainly wanted to use Walmer Castle. Wellington took the job in 1829. He thought Walmer was "the most charming marine residence." He used the castle every autumn. He hosted many guests but lived and slept in just one room. Queen Victoria visited him there twice. Once when she was a princess, and later as queen. Wellington let the gardens become overgrown.
Wellington died in his room at Walmer on September 14, 1852. His body was kept in his room until November 10. When the room was opened to the public for two days, about 9,000 people visited. The Duke's body was then moved to London with a military escort.
James Broun-Ramsay, the Marquess of Dalhousie, became Lord Warden next. After he died, Prime Minister Henry Temple, Viscount Palmerston, took over the castle in 1861. Palmerston at first refused to buy the castle's contents from the previous owner's family. This was a tradition for Lord Wardens. He complained about the high price. This meant the historical items might be sold off. So, some of Wellington's belongings were taken by his family for safekeeping.
The politician Granville Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville was offered the Lord Warden job in 1865. The Prime Minister, John Russell, noted the role would be expensive. The salary had been removed in 1828. But it would give Granville a seaside property, which he wanted. Granville took over Walmer in 1865. He made the gardens bigger. He also built new kennels for his hunting dogs. He spent many years gathering back furniture and items that Pitt and Wellington had used. He had many visitors, especially those traveling to or from France. A diplomat, Baron de Malortie, visited Granville. He praised the cozy feel of the castle. He said that after breakfast, everyone gathered in the drawing room. This was the only large room. Granville would answer government letters while family life went on around him.
The businessman and politician William Smith became Lord Warden in 1891. But he died at Walmer Castle during his first visit that October. Smith had suggested protecting the historical items in the castle. He wanted to stop future Lord Wardens from removing them. The government followed his plan after his death. They protected almost 70 pieces of furniture and 50 artworks. These could not be moved without the War Office's approval. Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, the Marquess of Salisbury, became the next Lord Warden. With the items now protected, the 3rd Duke of Wellington offered to return his grandfather's belongings. But Lady Salisbury said no.
Walmer Castle in the 1900s and 2000s
By 1904, the War Office decided Walmer Castle had no military use left. They agreed to give the castle to the Office of Works. The Office accepted it if they were paid £2,400 for repairs. Their survey noted the lower floor was "very inconvenient, dark and not conducive to health." It also said the main floor was "badly arranged and badly lighted." They even suggested it would be best to knock down the building and rebuild it.
There were ideas to find the next Lord Warden, George Curzon, other places to live. The Royal Marines were asked to live there instead, but they said no. The Ministry agreed to open most of the castle to the public. Historical items related to the castle were put on display. King Edward VII even donated some. Lord Curzon moved into the castle in 1905. His wife, Mary, became ill. Curzon believed it was because of their poor living conditions. She died shortly after. Because of this, Curzon resigned as Lord Warden. The Prince of Wales, who would become George V, took the job next.
William Lygon, the Earl Beauchamp, became Lord Warden in 1913. He built a Roman Catholic chapel at the castle. He also held big parties there every summer. His children later said the castle was cold and small. Prime Minister Asquith was invited by Beauchamp to use the castle during World War I. It had good connections to the front lines in France. Asquith's wife, Margot, was not impressed at first. She wrote in her diary that it was "very distinguished" but "terribly exposed" with "cold... noisy corridors and small rooms." She later grew to like the castle and was sad to leave.
Lygon left the country in 1931 and resigned as Lord Warden the next year.
Lygon's replacement, Rufus Isaacs, the Marquess of Reading, became Lord Warden in 1934. He held fun family gatherings there. His wife, Stella, tried to make Wellington's old bedroom look like it did when he lived there. As part of this, the 4th Duke of Wellington sent the original items from the room back to the castle. They are still there today.
Freeman Freeman-Thomas, the Marquess of Willingdon, became Lord Warden in 1936. Then Sir Winston Churchill followed him in 1941 during World War II. Churchill told the Minister of Works and Buildings that he doubted he could live at Walmer Castle during the war. It was within range of German cannons on the French coast. He also said he might not be able to afford to live there after the war. So, he hoped the government would maintain the castle and gardens.
Sir Robert Menzies, an Australian politician, became Lord Warden in 1965. He visited the castle every year, staying in the flat there. Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother followed Menzies in 1978. She first visited the castle from the Royal Yacht. But from 1986, she took over the whole castle for three days each July. This meant moving furniture and other items from London. This caused some challenges for English Heritage, who managed the property. Admiral of the Fleet the Lord Boyce became Lord Warden in 2004. The position is currently empty since his death in 2022.
Today, English Heritage manages Walmer Castle. It attracted 152,391 visitors in 2019. English Heritage spent £674,000 in 2015 to improve the visitor experience. The castle is protected by UK law as a scheduled monument. The gardens are also protected with a grade II listing.
Castle Design and Features
Walmer Castle's Structure
Walmer Castle still has most of its original 16th-century design. It has a tall central tower, or keep, which is 83 feet across. Four round towers, called bastions, are on its sides. One of these towers served as the gatehouse. A moat surrounds the castle, which is then surrounded by an outer wall, called a curtain wall. Its curved walls are 15 feet thick. Walmer was almost identical to its sister castle at Sandown. It was about 167 by 167 feet across, covering 0.61 acres. Historians see the original castle as a mix of old English designs and newer Italian defense styles.
The castle had three levels for cannons. The heaviest and longest-range weapons were on the upper levels, including the keep. There were 39 firing positions in total. The basement had 31 gunloops for handguns if close defense was needed. The openings in the walls were wide. This gave the cannons plenty of space to move. The inside of the castle had vents. These allowed the smoke from the guns to escape.
From the 1700s, the inside of the castle was changed. It became living quarters for the Lord Wardens. Most of it is now open to visitors. You still enter through the ground floor of the gatehouse in the western tower. This area has the original porter's lodge. In the middle of the castle is the keep. This used to be the Servants' Hall and is now a tea room.
In the southern tower are rooms reached through the Hall Room. These were built as gunners' lodgings in the 1700s. They became the castle's entrance hall in the 1930s. On the other side of the tower are the Sackville and Willingdon Rooms. These were built in the 1700s. The Willingdon Room is now a museum for items related to William Pitt. The Lucas Room is decorated in a mid-1800s style. It shows various items from the Duke of Wellington. The north and east towers are filled in. This provides strong bases for the gun platforms above.
The second floor has the Lord Warden's private rooms. These are in the west tower and the western half of the keep. In the southern tower is the Duke of Wellington's Room and the Lucas Room. These were part of an apartment chosen by William Pitt. He liked them because they were the warmest part of the castle. The corridor running through the keep was built by Pitt. It connected the north and south parts of the castle.
The Prince Consort's and Queen Victoria's rooms in the keep are named after their use. They stayed there during a royal visit in 1842. However, their current decoration is from the time between the two World Wars. The Dining Room, Drawing Room, and Ante Room overlook the northern tower. They date from the 1730s. The Duke of Dorset built them as private rooms. These rooms have pink and purple window glass. People say the Earl of Liverpool installed it to protect his wife's eyesight. But recent tests show some pink glass is from the 1730s. It naturally changed color over time. Other panes were bought around 1800 in these colors. They were probably status symbols, not for medical reasons.
Walmer Castle's Gardens
The gardens at Walmer Castle mostly date from the 1790s and 1860s. They cover about 13 hectares (32 acres) of land. This is split evenly between formal ornamental gardens and parkland. The main part of the gardens stretches away from the castle to the north-west. It has protected, well-drained, chalky soil. This creates a special maritime microclimate.
You approach the castle through the castle meadow. This is an open parkland area. It is lined with Holm oaks planted in the 1860s. The castle is surrounded by a dry moat. This moat is now a garden, dating from at least the 1850s. It is planted with trees and shrubs. Next to the castle are the Queen Mother's Garden and the kitchen garden with glasshouses. The Queen Mother's Garden was built by English Heritage. It was a 95th birthday gift for the Lord Warden in 1997. This area was originally part of the larger kitchen gardens. It became a tennis court in the 1920s. Penelope Hobhouse designed the garden. It includes a 92-foot-long pool, a viewing mound, and a classical pavilion. The two glasshouses have been fixed up. They work as cold greenhouses. The rest of the kitchen garden has vegetables, fruit trees, and flowers.
The 262-foot-long Broadwalk is the main path of the gardens. It separates the glasshouses from the 328-foot-long Oval Lawn. This lawn is planted with lime trees and yews. The Broadwalk is lined by the "Cloud Hedge." This is a formal 19th-century yew hedge. It grew very large during World War II and was left in its current wavy style. Two terraces in the middle of the garden separate the far half of the garden. William Masters designed these in an Italianate style.
On the other side are the paddock, planted with Holm oaks. There is also a curved belt of woodland with beech, ash, and chestnut trees. These trees were badly damaged in the storms of 1987 and 1990. At the very end is the Glen. This is a woodland hollow made from an old chalk quarry in the 1800s.
Images for kids
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The castle from the east in 2018
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An early design from 1539 for Walmer or nearby Sandown Castle.
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Map of Deal, Walmer, and Sandown Castles, known as "The three castles which keep the Downs."
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Aerial view of the castle from the north-east, showing later changes to the upper levels. The gatehouse is to the upper right.
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A funny drawing from 1805. It shows William Pitt the Younger leading operations against the French from Walmer Castle (left).
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The Duke of Wellington's room. It includes his original chair and camp bed.
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The central corridor on the first floor of the castle, looking north.
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Three cannons on one of the castle's firing platforms.
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Plan of the ground floor of the castle. Key: A - gatehouse; B - porter's lodge; C - gunpowder store; D - servant's hall; E - Hall Room; F - Gunners' Lodging; G - Willingdon Room; H - Sackville Room.
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The Queen Mother's Garden.
See also
In Spanish: Castillo de Walmer para niños
