Dover Castle

The largest castle in England Dover Castle is a medieval castle located on a hill which overlooks (qui donne sur) the English Channel and the port of Dover.The greatest advantage of this castle is that it guards (protège) the nearest point to the European continent.

Brief History From 115 BC until 40 : The Romans built a lighthouse (phare) here to guide ships(bateaux)into the harbour (port). St Mary’s Church : The Saxon church of St Mary in Castro was built beside the lighthouse. Henry II rebuilt Dover Castle between 1180 and 1189 with underground tunnels. From 1205 until 1215 : King John created the first royal fleet (flotte) and completed the castle's outer defences. In 1216 rebel barons invited Prince Louis of France to come and take the English crown. They surrounded (entouré)the castle and breached the walls but didn’t succeed in taking the castle. From 1217 until 1256 : Henry III reinforced the castle. During the Napoleonic wars more tunnels were built in the cliffs (falaises) under the castle to house 2000 men. During the 20th century : the underground tunnels played a special role during the Second World War serving as an air-raid shelter (abri)and an underground hospital was built. In 1963 The castle wa transferred to the Ministry of Works for preservation.