One of Henry VIII's squat artillery forts on the Kent shore, laid out like a rose so its guns could point every way
Open to visitorsan English Heritage site — check opening times and admission before you go
Substantial ruinsruined, but plenty survives above ground
Seen from above, Deal Castle looks like a stone flower: a round central tower ringed by six rounded bastions, and those ringed again by six more, so cannon could fire out across every angle of sea and shore. Henry VIII had it built in 1539 and 1540, one of a chain of low, thick-walled forts thrown up along the south coast when a French and Spanish invasion looked likely — the device forts, as they’re known. Deal was the largest of three set close together to command the Downs, the sheltered anchorage offshore, with Walmer Castle to the south and Sandown to the north. Built for guns rather than grand living, it stays low and businesslike, its rounded walls shaped to deflect shot. English Heritage runs it, right on the seafront at Deal, where the Saxon Shore Way passes the door.
More at the National Heritage List entry
