The Seige of 1216 and Dover Castle

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The Seige of 1216 and Dover Castle "THE SIEGE OF 1216 BROUGHT ABOUT LITTLE REAL CHANGE TO DOVER CASTLE.

AT THE END OF THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY DOVER CASTLE REMAINED THE TYPICAL

MEDIEVAL SQUARE KEEP CASTLE THAT IT HAD BEEN IN THE TWELFTH CENTURY"

I would disagree with his statement, Dover Castle developed throughout

its history, to cope with the change in weaponry and situation of the

times it went through. After the siege of 1216 changes and

improvements were made that made an already important fortification to

one of supremacy. Castles have two main functions, to provide a

residence for an army and for military purposes. Dover castle is an

example of a castle that takes these needs to an extreme- it was a

royal castle, a castle fit for the king, and a castle with a military

importance like no other in England, it was described as the key to

England.

[IMAGE]

The pharos at Dover, evidence that the site had been occupied for

thousands of years

[IMAGE]Fortifications at Dover had existed since Roman times; the

pharos is an example of a roman structure built inside the original

Iron Age hill fort and the Anglo-Saxon church shows that the Saxons

had settled on the hill as well. The embankments constructed by

original settlers laid out the shape of the castle for years to come-

the concentric defences of the castle during the 13th century followed

the outline of these embankments. In this respect, Dover is not

typical- no other castle was built on the basis of an Iron Age hill

fort. William of Normandy built the first castle at Dover in 1066

shortly after his invasion. This was to put his own mark on the land,

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