Deal Castle

Deal Castle was built in 1539–40 on Henry VIII’s order as an artillery fortress, designed to allow all-round firepower from over 140 guns. For over 250 years it defended the important naval anchorage called the Downs, and in 1648 endured a hard-fought siege between Royalist and Parliamentarian forces during the English Civil Wars. From 1730 it was gradually transformed into a genteel residence, and its military role had effectively ceased by around 1800.