Walmer Castle in Walmer, Kent, England, was built for Henry VIII between 1539 and 1540 under the Device programme. Richard Benese served as surveyor, William Clement as master carpenter and Christopher Dickenson as master mason. It was meant to guard the Downs anchorage against a possible invasion by France and the Holy Roman Empire.
It has a central keep, four rounded bastions, a moat, a curtain wall and 39 artillery firing positions. The historian John Hale saw its design as a transition between medieval English and newer Italian styles.
Royalists seized it in 1648, and Parliamentary forces retook it. From the 18th century it was the official residence of the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports. English Heritage now runs it, and its grounds include the Queen Mother's Garden.
Comments