Pendennis Castle

Coordinates: 50°08′50″N 5°02′52″W / 50.14722°N 5.04777°W / 50.14722; -5.04777
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For the GWR steam locomotive, see GWR 4073 Class 4079 Pendennis Castle.

Pendennis Castle
Kastell Penn Dinas
Second World War
Listed Building – Grade I
Official namePendennis Castle
Designated23 January 1973
Reference no.1270096
Official namePendennis peninsula fortifications
Designated9 October 1981
Reference no.1012134

Pendennis Castle (Cornish: Penn Dinas, meaning "headland fortification") is an artillery fort constructed by

restoration to the throne
in 1660.

Ongoing concerns about a possible French invasion resulted in Pendennis's defences being modernised and upgraded in the 1730s and again during the 1790s; during the

Second World War when it saw action against the German Luftwaffe aircraft, but in 1956, by now obsolete, it was decommissioned. It passed into the control of the Ministry of Works, who cleared away many of the more modern military buildings and opened the site to visitors. In the 21st century, the castle is managed by English Heritage as a tourist attraction, receiving 74,230 visitors in 2011–12.[1] The heritage agency Historic England considers Pendennis to be "one of the finest examples of a post-medieval defensive promontory fort in the country".[2]

History

16th–17th centuries

Construction

A late 16th-century plan of the Falmouth defences, and a modern equivalent; Key: A – Falmouth Bay; B – Pendennis Castle; C – St Mawes Castle; D – Falmouth; E – Carrick Roads

Pendennis Castle was built as a consequence of international tensions between England, France and the Holy Roman Empire in the final years of the reign of King Henry VIII. Traditionally the Crown had left coastal defences to the local lords and communities, only taking a modest role in building and maintaining fortifications, and while France and the Empire remained in conflict with one another, maritime raids were common but an actual invasion of England seemed unlikely.[3] Basic defences, based around simple blockhouses and towers, existed in the south-west and along the Sussex coast, with a few more impressive works in the north of England, but in general the fortifications were very limited in scale.[4]

In 1533, Henry broke with Pope

device", in 1539, giving instructions for the "defence of the realm in time of invasion" and the construction of forts along the English coastline.[9]

The stretch of water known as

John Killigrew, a prominent member of the local Cornish gentry, probably oversaw the construction of Pendennis; it was built on his land and he was appointed as its first captain.[13] Pendennis Castle cost £5,614 to construct.[14][a]

Initial operation

Tudor gun crew in action in the keep

The Killigrews controlled the castle for several decades, with John Killigrew's son and

Admiralty eventually issued a compromise, proposing that the castles share the searching of the traffic.[18]

Meanwhile, a lasting peace with France was made in 1558 and the initial invasion threat passed.

gun battery facing upriver was installed alongside the blockhouse.[21] The levels of the garrison varied considerably during the period.[22] Pendennis had a garrison of 100 men in 1578, and could have mustered around 500 men in 1596, while in 1599 it was reportedly guarded by 200 soldiers.[22]

The Spanish threat continued; raiding parties destroyed the Killigrews' family home at

Italian-styled ring of earthworks, embrasures, bastions and a stone-revetted ditch around the original Henrician castle between 1597 and 1600, using a team of 400 local workers, costing around £80 a week in wages.[27][a]

In the early 1600s England was at peace and Pendennis was neglected; reportedly the garrison's pay was two years in arrears, forcing them to gather limpets from the shoreline for food.[28] Nonetheless, a new Italian-styled gatehouse was added to the castle, probably in 1611.[29] War with Spain broke out again 1624 and a new defensive line, with bastions and artillery, was built across the peninsula in 1627.[26]

English Civil War and Restoration

The classically styled gatehouse, built in 1700

When

Parliament, Pendennis and the south-west of England were held by the Royalists.[30] The growing town of Falmouth was a strategically important part of their supply route to the Continent, while Carrick Roads formed a base for Royalist piracy in the English Channel.[30] As the war turned in favour of the Parliamentarians, preparations were made for Prince Charles to shelter there over the winter of 1645–46, as part of which the surrounding fortifications were improved; in the event, Charles stayed in the castle only briefly in early 1646.[30]

Shortly after Charles left Pendennis for the Isles of Scilly on 2 March, Thomas Fairfax entered Cornwall with a substantial army.[30] Almost all the other Royalist positions in England had by now fallen and St Mawes Castle surrendered immediately as Fairfax approached.[30] Pendennis Castle, however, continued to hold out, defended by around 1,000 soldiers under the command of Sir John Arundell.[30] They were determined to hold out against the besiegers and Arundell announced that he would die rather than surrender.[31] Two Parliamentary colonels, Fortescue and Hammond, directed the bombardment of the castle from the land, while Captain Batten, with a flotilla of ten ships, blockaded it by sea, preventing fresh supplies from arriving.[32]

The garrison's defences were supported with artillery fire from a Royalist warship that was deliberately run aground north of the castle to produce an additional gun platform.[33] By July, food had begun to run short and some of the garrison unsuccessfully attempted to break out by sea to acquire supplies.[34] Arundell agreed to an honourable surrender on 15 August, and around 900 survivors left the fort two days later, some terminally ill from malnutrition.[35] Pendennis was the penultimate Royalist fortification to hold out in the war.[36]

Parliament maintained a garrison at the castle, but in 1647 it cut the levels of the armed forces across the country; most soldiers who lost their posts were offered two months pay, but at Pendennis only one month's pay was offered.[37] The garrison, led by Colonel Richard Fortescue, mutinied, seized the visiting Parliamentary commissioners and refused to leave the castle until the additional pay was granted to them.[38] Fearing a wider uprising, Parliament negotiated an end to the confrontation, paying off the garrison in full and offering Fortescue fresh employment elsewhere.[39] A smaller, more reliable garrison was then installed.[40] During the interregnum, the castle was used to imprison the radical pamphleteer William Prynne.[41]

Just before the restoration of King Charles II to the throne in 1660, the Royalist Sir Peter Killigrew became the new captain of the castle.[29] Fears of an invasion continued, and an additional gun battery was constructed at Crab Quay, to the south-east of the main fortification.[34] At the end of the century, a new guard barracks and gate were constructed, probably emulating those being constructed in France.[34]

18th–19th centuries

Early 20th-century barracks

Pendennis Castle continued in use through the 18th and 19th centuries under the command of successive captains, still operating in partnership with St Mawes. In 1714, Colonel Christian Lilly carried out an inspection of the fortification, finding it to be "in a very precarious condition" and noting that "the body of the fort having been for many years neglected is now is in a very ruinous condition".[42] The parapets had collapsed, the ramparts could easily be scaled and the ditches were filled with brambles.[43] Little was done to remedy this, however, until the 1730s, when the castle was extensively modernised.[42] The interior was redesigned, the ramparts were rebuilt and the castle's guns were replaced, incorporating new 18-pounder cannons.[42]

During the

war with Britain to break out in 1778.[44] The French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars followed, during which period Falmouth became an important military depot.[44] In 1795, the Crown purchased the castle's land from the Killigrew family, and reinforced the fortress to deal with the fresh threat of invasion.[45] The government installed more guns and built a new gun position called the Half-Moon Battery just outside the 16th-century walls; the landward defences of Pendennis were reinforced, and a new barracks and other ancillary buildings were built inside the fortress.[46] At its peak, the castle was equipped with up to 48 artillery pieces.[44] A new volunteer unit of artillery was formed in Falmouth to support the forts around the harbour, many of them carrying out training using Pendennis's guns before then deploying elsewhere across Cornwall.[47]

After the end of the

machine-guns for close defence, were assigned to the castle to deal with the emerging threat from enemy torpedo boats.[50]

20th–21st centuries

Second World War

The 105th Regiment Royal Garrison Artillery took over the manning of Pendennis Castle in 1902.

First World War and additional defences were constructed on the landward side.[53] It continued to defend the harbour and was also used for training purposes.[53] After the war, Pendennis continued to be used for training gunners, but its 16th-century buildings were placed into the guardianship of the Ministry of Works in 1920, and by 1939 the fortification's artillery had all been removed.[54]

The castle was rearmed at the beginning of the

D-Day invasion of France in 1944, and during the preparations for the invasion, the gun batteries at Pendennis were used to defend against German E-boats.[57] After the war, Pendennis was initially still used for training, but the castle was now obsolete and it was decommissioned in 1956.[58]

The whole of the Pendennis site was placed in the guardianship of the Ministry of Works and opened to visitors; the Ministry focused its attention on the 16th-century castle and many of the more modern buildings were destroyed.

archaeological surveys and excavations; in the 2000s, the sergeant's mess and the custodian's house were converted into holiday cottages.[60]

In the 21st century, the castle is managed by English Heritage as a tourist attraction, receiving 74,230 visitors in 2011–12.[1] It is protected under UK law as a Grade I listed building and as a scheduled monument.[61]

Architecture

Plan of the castle; A – Pig's Pound Bastion; B – Horse Pool Bastion; C – Half-Moon Battery and tunnel; D – practice battery; E – Henrician castle; F – gatehouse, guard barracks, sergeants's mess and stores; G – Smithwick's Bastion; H – Bell Bastion and One-Gun battery; I – field train shed; J – barracks; K – East Bastion; L -Carrick Mount Bastion; M – Little Dennis Blockhouse; N – Crab Quay Battery

Pendennis Castle is located at the end of a peninsula, overlooking Carrick Roads and the sea.[62] It includes the original 16th-century Device Fort, surrounded by a ring of outer defences, based on the Elizabethan ramparts and later adapted during the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries.[63] Further gun batteries and a blockhouse are located closer to the shore.[63] The heritage agency Historic England considers Pendennis to be "one of the finest examples of a post-medieval defensive promontory fort in the country", demonstrating a long history of different defensive approaches, and English Heritage describes the site as "one of the finest surviving examples of a coast fortress in England".[64]

Ramparts

The gatehouse to the castle is located on the western side of the ramparts and dates from around 1700.[65] It has a classical facade, with a mid-19th century stone bridge reaching across the external ditch.[65] The ramparts are built from stone with protective ditches, and have angular bastions to provide overlapping fire, an innovative design in England when they were first constructed in 1600.[66] North of the gatehouse are the Smithwick and Carrick Mount bastions, the latter holding a quick-firing gun battery from 1903.[67] Further around the ramparts, the East Bastion also has two emplacements for quick-firing guns, dating from 1902, and underground magazines, which were converted into a battery plotting room in the Second World War.[68] Just to the south, the Nine-Gun Battery was built in the 1730s and comprises a fixed line of nine gun embrasures.[69]

In the south-east corner of the ramparts is the One-Gun Battery, which originally held a "

155 mm (6.1 in) Long Tom field gun, a Quick Firing 3-inch 20 cwt (76 mm 102 kg) anti-aircraft gun and two Ordnance Quick-Firing 25-pounder (11 kg) howitzers.[71]

Inner castle

Ground floor plan of the Henrician castle; A – bridge; B – living room; C – kitchen; D – garrison room; E – gun platform

At the heart of the castle is the 16th-century Henrician fortification.[56] Built of a combination of granite ashlar and rubble, it comprises a circular keep surrounded by a gun platform, entered through a bridge and a forebuilding.[72] The keep has 3.36-metre (11.0 ft) thick walls and on in the inside is octagonal.[73] The basement was originally a kitchen, cellar and larder for the castle.[74] The ground floor was initially designed to be a gun room, complete with gun embrasures, but was altered during the initial construction project to form living accommodation for the garrison instead.[74] Another gun room occupies the first floor, with seven gun embrasures, and is dressed to appear as it would have done in the 16th century.[75] The roof has seven gun embrasures and a lookout turret.[76]

The polygonal gun platform around the keep has 16 sides, with a total of 14 gun embrasures.[77] The two-storey forebuilding dates from the second half of the 16th century, with three rooms on each level linked by a spiral-staircase, and was originally used to house the captain of the castle.[78] Its entrance was guarded with a portcullis, and the roof was designed to be defendable with handguns.[74] The stone bridge that stretches across the ditch that protects the castle dates from 1902; it would originally have been protected at the front by a rectangular gatehouse, but this was demolished at the start of the 20th century.[56]

The rest of the interior of the fortress was, at various times, occupied by a range of different military buildings, but they have mostly been demolished and grassed over to form a large

parade ground.[79] Among the surviving buildings are the Royal Garrison Artillery barracks, located to the north of the parade ground. Built between 1900 and 1902, it could hold 140 soldiers in 12 man barrack-rooms.[80] Alongside the barracks are bungalows, originally for the use of senior non-commissioned officers, a storehouse dating from the Napoleonic Wars, and two guard barracks from 1700, which form a very early example of this form of military architecture in England.[81] Other buildings that have survived include a 19th-century field train shed, and an 18th-century gunpowder magazine, since converted into a shelter for gunners.[82]

External defences

Little Dennis Blockhouse

Three defensive positions are positioned outside the main ramparts of the castle. To the south, reached by an underground passage, is the Half-Moon Battery, constructed in 1793 and redesigned in 1895 and 1941.[83] This has two camouflaged gun houses and 6-inch guns dating from the Second World War, when it held a team of 99 soldiers.[83] Further south, near the waterline, is the Little Dennis Blockhouse, a D-shaped gun position dating from 1539, altered in the 1540s and then adapted to form part of a larger fortification covering the whole of Pendennis Point in the late 16th century.[84] Built from Killas rubble, the exterior of the blockhouse and its lookout turret still survive intact.[85] Just along the shoreline to the north-east is the Crab Quay Battery, a set of defences originating in the 16th century, intended to prevent an amphibious landing on the headland, and modernised extensively in 1902.[84]

Cornish wrestling

Many Cornish wrestling tournaments were held in Pendennis Castle during the 1800s.[86][87] These were for both the general public[88] and for the military (e.g. the Duke of Cornwall's Artillery Volunteers in 1883).[89]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b Comparing early modern costs and prices with those of the modern period is challenging. £5,614 in 1542 could be equivalent to between £2.8 million and £1,300 million, depending on the price comparison used. £80 in 1600 could be equivalent to between £15,700 and £5.1 million. For comparison, the total royal expenditure on all the Device Forts across England between 1539 and 1547 came to £376,500, with St Mawes and Sandgate Castle, for example, costing ££5,018 and £5,584 apiece.[15]

References

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  15. ^ Biddle et al. 2001, p. 12; Harrington 2007, p. 8; Lawrence H. Officer; Samuel H. Williamson (2014), "Five Ways to Compute the Relative Value of a UK Pound Amount, 1270 to Present", MeasuringWorth, retrieved 18 December 2015
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Bibliography

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