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1848 chart showing the position of the Downs off the coast of Kent. NB: depths are in fathoms. The Downs is a roadstead (an area of sheltered, favourable sea) in the southern North Sea near the English Channel, off the east Kent coast in southern England, between the North and the South Foreland, near the town of Deal.
Walmer Castle is an artillery fort originally constructed by Henry VIII in Walmer, Kent, between 1539 and 1540.It formed part of the King's Device programme to protect against invasion from France and the Holy Roman Empire, and defended the strategically important Downs anchorage off the English coast.
Map of Deal Walmer and Sandown Castles, "The three castles which keep the Downs" [9] Deal and the adjacent castles of Walmer and Sandown were constructed to protect the Downs in east Kent, an important anchorage formed by the Goodwin Sands which gave access to Deal Beach, on which enemy soldiers could easily be landed and an area the King knew well. [10]
The Downs N/A The bulwark comprised an earthwork defence, forming part of a chain between Sandown and Walmer Castle, linked by a trench or a covered way. It was designed by Stephen Haschenperg. By 1547, the bulwark was defaced and the guns had been removed; it was formally removed from service in 1550. The site has since been lost. [25]
It is a former fishing, mining and garrison town whose history is closely linked to the anchorage in the Downs. Close to Deal is Walmer, a possible location for Julius Caesar's first arrival in Britain.
A draught of the Goodwin Sands Pl.XXII P169 RMG A8031-D (printed chart from 1750) Goodwin Sands is a 10-mile-long (16 km) sandbank at the southern end of the North Sea lying 6 miles (10 km) off the Deal coast in Kent, England. [1]
In the late 19th century, The Downs was widely used by hundreds of sailing ships that needed to ride out bad weather, although many ships came to grief on the Goodwins. A lifeboat station was built at Kingsdown in 1866 and was in operation until 1927. The nearest lifeboat is now based at Walmer to the north.
The Device Forts, also known as Henrician castles and blockhouses, were a series of artillery fortifications built to defend the coast of England and Wales by Henry VIII. [a] Traditionally, the Crown had left coastal defences in the hands of local lords and communities but the threat of French and Spanish invasion led the King to issue an order, called a "device", for a major programme of work ...