Building and site description
Dover Castle towers, grey, strong and vast, above the famous white cliffs. From this spot, England has guarded itself against cross-Channel invaders for at least 2,000 years from the site’s inception as an Anglo-Saxon fort.
Dover Castle inner bailey © English Heritage photo library
Henry II’s 12th century keep is enclosed by a double ring of thick, high stone walls, so it was well able to withstand the siege of 1216?17 when the castle held out for King John against the rebel barons.
Three centuries later, Henry VIII visited the castle to inspect Kent’s coastal defences because everyone was expecting attacks from Catholic neighbours across the English Channel.
Later fears of invasion led to the construction of a network of tunnels to fend off Napoleon, which came in handy in 1942 when Vice-Admiral Ramsay planned the Dunkirk evacuation from them.
The site also includes a wonderfully well-preserved Roman pharos (lighthouse) and Dover Castle’s own Saxon church, which is one of the most complete in Kent. The Prince of Wales’s Royal Regiment Museum is also on the site.
Aerial view of Dover Castle © English Heritage photo library
Quirky facts
Franco Zeffirelli’s film Hamlet (starring Mel Gibson, 1990) was filmed at Dover Castle, as was The Other Boleyn Girl (2008) with Scarlett Johansson.
Building highlights
- exhibition displays in WW II tunnels, including the underground telephone exchange and a wartime hospital
- views of the English Channel
- medieval keep
- Roman pharos (lighthouse)
- Saxon church.
Using the castle as a teaching resource
Visiting a castle lets students experience history first hand. Touching the cold stones, hearing the mewling seagulls (hovering over this site for thousands of years) and standing in a courtyard where people such as Henry VIII have stood brings history to life.
As students learn and think about this history in the context of the site, they naturally start to ask questions and consider issues in a way that helps them develop as independent thinkers.
Suggested activities
Key stages 1 and 2 – maths and history
Measure the thickness of the walls. Pace the courtyard to work out its size. Count doors, gates, towers and windows. Tally results in a table and create a graph. Then analyse the data: why are there so few doors? Why are the walls so thick?
Key stages 2 and 3 – art & design
Compare Dover Castle’s architectural styles. Make a chart or grid with notes on Medieval, Tudor, Saxon and Roman styles. Draw an example of each style.
Key stages 2 and 3 – art & design, maths, science and English
Work out how the pharos was used. What lit it? What distance would this light have reached at sea? Draw and write about it, both factually and imaginatively.
Students on an English Heritage discovery visit at Dover Castle © English Heritage
Region
South east
Location
Dover Castle
Dover
Kent CT16 1HU
Dover Castle is an English Heritage site.
For enquiries, contact 01304 209899.
For booking enquiries only, email educ.castles@english-heritage.org.uk.
Accessibility
10am–4pm Thurs–Mon until 31 January
10am–4pm daily until 31 March
10am–6pm in summer (note that the keep is closed for refurbishment until August 2009)
Further information
English Heritage discovery visits for schools: Merry Maids and Men (KS 1)
Dover Castle teacher information and hazard sheets (includes activities)
Dover Castle background information
