DOVER DISTRICT
STATELY HOMES, CASTLES & TOWERS
Various Stately homes, Country houses, Castles and Towers still exist around our county of Kent and in among the history, some are rumoured to be haunted. These include Sir Winston Churchill and Charles Darwin among others. there is also a few lesser known treasures which have their own surprises in store. check out what we found so far in the Dover District.
It should not be assumed that these sites are all publicly accessible and may be on private property. Please check first and get permission, if necessary....Do not trespass!
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​If we have missed any out or you hear of any reports of Paranormal Activity at any of the ruins or the castles that aren't reported here, please get in touch Thankyou
DEAL CASTLE - MARINE ROAD, DEAL, KENT, CT14
A 16th-century coastal artillery fort, located in Deal, Kent, between Walmer Castle and the now lost Sandown Castle.
When Francis I, King of France, signed an alliance with the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, in 1538, Henry VIII's England was threatened by the combined force of the two European super-powers of the day. Henry's foreign policy had relied on playing off France and the Empire against each other, but an alliance between the two put England under immediate threat. Henry's response was to launch a huge building project, erecting a series of forts along the English coast, the largest such coastal defence project since the Romans built a series of Saxon-shore forts over 1000 years previously.
Deal Castle was built between 1539 and 1540 to counter the threat of the invasion, the area around Deal offering easy landing to an invasion force. The fort was set down low to the ground, thus giving the enemy less to fire at.
It is one of the Henrician Castles (Device Forts) intended to dominate the Downs, a sheltered area of water in the English Channel protected by the Goodwin Sands, which would have been an ideal rallying point for an invasion fleet. The three forts were initially linked by a two-mile-long earthen "Fosse" or Rampart, strengthened by three small earth "bulwarks" or forts. These earthworks were sketched by the antiquarian William Stukeley in 1725, The earthworks are long gone, but the Henrican forts at Walmer and Deal remain. The whole scheme for the defence of the Downs was completed by the autumn of 1540. The final result looked similar to a Tudor rose symbol probably played a part in the design process, but the main reason for the design was purely practical.
According to various sources, Anne of Cleves stayed at Deal following her long voyage from Europe. It is from Deal, Anne left for London and her fateful meeting with King Henry.
During the Civil War, Deal Castle was besieged and On 28th July 1648, the Royalist warships returned and, after three weeks of failed attempts to land a relief force at Deal, on the night of 13th August managed to land 800 soldiers and sailors in the darkness. This force might have been able to surprise the besieging Parliamentarian force from behind, had it not been for a Royalist deserter who alerted the castle, in time to defeat the Royalists, with less than a hundred of them managing to get back to the ships (though 300 managed to flee to Sandown Castle). Another attempt at landing soon afterwards also failed On the 23rd August news was fired via an arrow into Deal Castle, informing the Cromwell victory at Preston, most Royalist hope was lost and two days later Deal's garrison surrendered, followed by Sandown on 5th September. This finally ended the Kentish rebellion and after that, it never engaged in any further military action. Col. Nathaniel Rich, who sided with Parliament in the English Civil War was made Captain of Deal Castle, a position he held his position there until 1653 and in which he spent around £500 on repairs.
It became fortified during the Napoleonic Wars and many alterations were made during the 18th & 19th centuries. The Governor's lodgings were rebuilt at the beginning of the 19th century, only to be destroyed again in 1941 by German bombs in WWII.
From May 1940 until September 1944, the castle was used as the Battery Observation Post and accommodation for the nearby Deal Emergency Coastal Battery of 6-inch naval guns. It was the official residence of the Captain of the Cinque Ports, but since 1951 has been owned by English Heritage.
Today you can explore the whole of the castle, from the storerooms to the first-floor captain’s residence. Take a walk around the defences and admire the squat, rounded bastions and canons.
HAUNTINGS
Apparitions of soldiers have allegedly been seen, especially in the areas of the bakery and the rounds.
Two friends visiting the castle reported seeing a white figure at the stairs in the Dungeons and one heard chains in the Dungeon and a picture taken of what looks like a little girl, was sent to Haunted Scotland Other visitors have felt a chilly breeze in the air at times and feelings of not being alone. and Spirit ResearchNE have a possible ghost picture, in their video ''Haunted Kent - Deal Castle''
There are several YouTube videos, which can be found on the GofEPS Dover district Playlist
DOVER CASTLE - CASTLE HILL RD, DOVER CT16
In Kent, overlooking the sea and protecting England's southeastern coast, resides the massive Dover Castle... It is the largest castle in England and has been described as the "Key to England" due to its defensive significance throughout history.
The first Castle built here was made entirely out of clay. It collapsed to the ground and the clay was then used as the flooring for many of the ground-floor rooms. Defensive structures have been located from this perch possibly Pre-Romans. It may have been fortified with earthworks in the Iron Age or earlier before the Romans invaded in AD43. This is suggested on the basis of the unusual pattern of the earthworks which does not seem to be a perfect fit for the medieval castle. Excavations have provided evidence of Iron Age occupation within the locality of the castle
The site also contained St Mary de Castro, a church in the grounds. It is a heavily restored Saxon structure. St Mary serves the local population and the army and is the church of the Dover Garrison. Built next to a Roman lighthouse which became the church bell-tower and is one of Dover's two 80-foot (24 m) Roman lighthouses (or Pharoses), which still survives, whilst the remains of the other are located on the opposing Western Heights, across the town of Dover. On the site is a classic campsite where the Normans landed after their victorious conquest.
After the Battle of Hastings in October 1066, following his Coronation at Westminster, William the Conqueror marched to Dover, which had been reported impregnable and held by a large force. The English, stricken with fear at his approach had confidence neither in their ramparts nor in the numbers of their troops ... While the Norman inhabitants were preparing to surrender unconditionally, greedy for money, they set the castle on fire and the great part of it was soon enveloped in flames...William had taken possession of the Castle, paid for the repair and spent eight days adding new fortifications to it.
In 1088, eight knights were appointed under tenures to guard Dover Castle, their names were: William d'Albrincis; Fulberl de Dover, William d'Arsic; Geoffrey Peverell; William Maminot; Robert Du Port; Hugh Crevecoeur; and Adam Fitzwilliam.
Most of the castle seen today was built during the reign of Henry II, founded in the late part of the 12th century, the castle began to take recognisable shape with more rebuilding. The inner and outer baileys and the great keep belong to this time. Maurice the Engineer was responsible for building the keep, which is one of the last rectangular keeps ever built.
Early 13th Century, King John establishes the first royal fleet and completes the castle's outer defences.
1216 was the start of the Great Siege - After King John fails to honour the Magna Carta, Prince Louis of France invades England and besieges Dover Castle but it is successfully defended by a few hundred men.
In the hands of Henry III, it became the largest and most strategically important castle in England
During the mid 13th Century, Simon de Montfort challenges Henry III's government and captures Dover Castle and the future Edward I was briefly held prisoner here and after De Montfort was killed in battle his wife, Eleanor, continued the defence of Dover, holding out with 29 archers but she is forced to surrender to Prince Edward when he brings troops from London.
Little battle was seen during the Civil Wars with the smaller castles along the Kent coast being taken instead.
The 18th Century saw more threats from Europe, so the defences were upgraded and during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars, tunnels were dug beneath the Castle for secret access and escape, when needed.
In the 1890's the Great Tower was furnished and decorated and made open to the public and in the 1900's, several parts were passed to the Ministry of Works.
During WWII the Tunnels were used as services headquarters and is where the Dunkirk evacuation was masterminded.
In 1956 the castle was shut down for military use.
The tunnels were once again renovated in the 1960-80's to serve as one of 12 regional seats of government in the event of nuclear war and finally, in 1963, the castle was also transferred to the Ministry of Works and put into the care of the nation, for public usage.
The Arthurian hero Sir Gawain is buried here according to legend.
HAUNTINGS
A phantom headless young drummer boy said to be from the Napoleonic period has been seen wandering along the battlements and entering the solid walls of the old keep, a woman in a flowing red dress has also been seen, in this area. It is also reported, a male spectre in the garb of a cavalier has been seen. In the underground tunnels, formerly known as Hellfire Corner, witnesses have reported seeing several World War II soldiers.
In the Kings bedroom, the ghost of half a man has been reported, walking through a doorway. Witnesses have heard screams and cries, which they thought to be real sound effects until the staff told them that there were no such re-creations at the castle.
Two television researchers who, while walking past the keep, heard a scream from above, as though someone had just flung himself from the battlements. they leapt for cover, awaiting a body to impact the walkway but moments later, the screams ceased and nobody was seen or found.
Whispering voices of invisible people have been heard in the dead of night, doors opening and closing of their own and sudden drops in temperature for no reason are just some of the other strange happenings, experienced at the castle.
There are several YouTube videos, which can be found on the GofEPS Dover district Playlist
RICHBOROUGH CASTLE - RICHBOROUGH RD, SANDWICH CT13
Richborough Castle contains the ruins of a Roman Saxon Shore fort, collectively known as Richborough Fort or Richborough Roman Fort. It is situated in Richborough near Sandwich, Kent, in the United Kingdom.
Rutupiae or Portus Ritupis was founded by the Romans after their invasion of Britain in AD 43. Because of its position near the mouth of the Stour, Rutupiae was the major British port under the Romans and the starting point for their equivalent of Watling Street. Additional routes connected Durovernum (Canterbury) with further ports at Dubris (Dover), Lemanis (Lympne), and Regulbium (Reculver). Earth fortifications were first dug on the site in the 1st century, probably was as a storage depot and bridgehead for the Roman army.
The first site was defended by earthworks and in AD85 an 80-foot high marble covered arch was built to commemorate the conquest of Britain. The original fort was demolished in AD275 and the new stone walls were added in AD290, turning it into one of the most important of the Saxon Shore forts and it was transformed into a civilian and commercial town. The walls on three sides of the fort and the surrounding earthworks are still standing but only the foundations of the arch are left. When the fort was built it was it was surrounded by water on three sides, but silting of the Wantsum Channel which once separated the Isle of Thanet from the rest of Kent has left it two miles from the present seashore. The later fort is believed to have been constructed by the rebel Carausius.
It is now owned by English Heritage, open daily all summer and weekends during the winter.
HAUNTINGS
Spectral Roman armies were seen marching into the sea during the World War II Watches. The fort originally overlooked a port, it is now two miles from the sea. since then it has normally been just the sounds heard , the noise of marching feet but there have also been witnesses who have reported seeing them, as if they were marching out of a mist.
SANDOWN CASTLE - Â 271 SANDOWN RD, DEAL CT14
It was built between 1537-1540 on a very similar design to that used for Walmer Castle. Sandown was one of the three castles built on the orders of Henry VIII to guard the sea off Deal, When Francis I, King of France, signed an alliance with the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, in 1538, Henry VIII's England was threatened by the combined might of the two European super-powers of the day. Henry's foreign policy had relied on playing off France and the Empire against each other, but an alliance between the two put England under immediate threat. Henry's response was to launch a huge building project, erecting a series of forts along the English coast, the largest such coastal defence project since the Romans built a series of Saxon-shore forts over 1000 years previously. Henry linked the three new forts with an earthwork interspersed with bastions. The earthworks are long gone, but the Henrican forts at Walmer and Deal remain.
The invasion scares passed without incident and it wasn't until the second Civil War when Sandown Castle saw action. In 1648 the Navy, which dominated the area and had supported Parliament, changed sides taking all three 'Downs' castles into Royalist's hands. The rebellion was suppressed at the Battle of Maidstone but all three castles fought on and were besieged by Parliamentary forces in June ultimately being forced to surrender on 23 August.
The castle remained garrisoned until the Napoleonic period but by this stage, the sea had defeated the castle. In 1785 seawater broke into the dry moat. It was remodelled in 1805 and garrisoned to assist in the defences against Napoleon before finally becoming ruins in 1863 and most of it sold for building materials. By 1882 it has been largely demolished and what little that remained was eventually incorporated into the sea defences built in 1979.
Almost nothing now remains except ground-works and the grounds are now tended as a community garden and maintained by the Sandown Castle Community Garden Group, a group of local residents who want to retain the area as a pleasant place to linger.
HAUNTINGS
Spirit ResearchNE was witness to an apparition here in the Mid 1990's. One evening, while doing some light investigations at the ruins, he saw the apparition of a sad looking woman, dressed in a dress of yellow/gold tones, possibly 17th Century along with half a dozen guards, wearing tunics with black & red coloured sleeves and breast plates, wearing Marion style helmets and carrying pikes. they seemed to be making sure she didn't get away. No sooner had they appeared, they then vanished and although he has been back there many time, that was the only time he saw the visitation.
WALMER CASTLE - KINGSDOWN RD, WALMER, DEAL CT14
An artillery fort originally built on the order of Henry VIII in the 1539 and is smaller in size than nearby Deal Castle. Originally a Tudor Artillery Fortress, it formed part of the King's Device to protect against invasion from France and the Holy Roman Empire and defended the important Downs anchorage off the English coast. It Comprised of, 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. The three Forts (Walmer, Deal and now gone - Sandown) 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. succumbing to a murderous mortar bombardment in July 1648.
From the 18th Century, Walmer Castle had evolved into a homely residence, first being the official residence of the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports and was gradually modified from a military fortification into a private residence for the appointed Lord Wardens like, William Pitt, the Duke of Wellington who died in his room at Walmer on 14 September 1852, His body was kept in a death chamber in his room to lie in state until 10 November, and when the room was opened for public visitors during the final two days, around 9,000 attended. The Duke's body was finally removed to London via Deal, complete with a military escort and Lord Granville, in 1865, who adapted parts of the Tudor castle as living spaces and constructed extensive gardens around the property
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.
By 1904, the War Office agreed that Walmer had no remaining military utility and it passed to the Ministry of Works.
William Lygon, the Earl Beauchamp, became the Lord Warden in 1913, and built a Roman Catholic chapel at the castle and would hold large parties there each summer Lygon had sexual relations with men, which was illegal in England during this period and rumours spread about the parties that he had held at Walmer Castle after the war, and it is said, he had "behaved indiscreetly with young men" and soon the King was informed about his lifestyle and Lygon fled the country in 1931.
Lord Wardens since the Second World War have included Winston Churchill, Robert Menzies, and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.
The gardens of Walmer Castle date mainly from the 1790's and 1860's and comprise around 32 acres (13 ha) of land split evenly between formal ornamental gardens and parkland,
In the 21st century, the property is managed by English Heritage and improvements to the castle in 2015 have improved the visitors' experience.
The castle is protected under UK law as a scheduled monument, while the surrounding gardens are protected with a grade II listing
The castle and grounds are closed between the 11th and 13th of July when the Lord Warden is in residence in the apartments above the gatehouse.
HAUNTINGS
There are no online reports found of the Castle Ghosts but a youtube video named 'Halloween at the Most Haunted Basement and Soldiers Kitchen at Walmer Castle' (which gives no evidence) and a the same blogger did a story on Blogspot, with a disputable 'ghost picture'. There is also a story about a ghostly Redcoat who patrols up and down a particular footpath by the side of Walmer Castle, which has been investigated several times by Spirit Research NE, who says he felt "Militaristic" as he walked the path and captured some E.V.Ps. so more research is being done, as to whether this castle entertains some ghosts or not, so if you hear anything, please get in touch.