Deal Castle Kent Southern England

Deal Castle, Kent, Southern England

Deal Castle in East Kent in the south east of England is along with nearby Walmer Castle, a major attraction of this part of the Kent coast.

Castle walls

History

Deal Castle was built by Henry VIII between 1539 and 1540 as an artillery fortress to protect England from overseas invasion. This part of the English coastline would have been ideal for landing an invasion fleet and indeed, Julius Caesar and his Roman legions had done just that way back in 55 BC. An earthwork or “fosse” was built to connect the three fortresses of Deal, Walmer and Sandown.

The castle in Deal is constructed of brick and stone taken from religious buildings after Henry’s dissolution of the English monasteries.

The fortress was strengthened during the time of the Napoleonic threat from across the Channel and was used as an Observation Post during World War II, when it was also bombed by the Germans. In 1951, the castle was taken over by English Heritage. It remains a popular and interesting tourist attraction in Kent.