Sandown Castle

Sandown Castle stands on the Kent coast near Deal, a ruined artillery fort built by Henry VIII between 1539 and 1540. It formed part of a line of three forts designed to guard the Downs anchorage, a sheltered stretch of water off Deal Beach. The castle had a central keep and four rounded bastions set within a moat, covering just over half an acre. Its thick stone walls bristled with firing positions for artillery and handguns. The fort cost £27,092 to build alongside Deal and Walmer castles, connected by earthworks and a defensive ditch. The fort saw action in the Second English Civil War when Royalist supporters seized it in 1548. Parliamentary forces recaptured it after months of fighting. By the 19th century coastal erosion had badly damaged the structure. The War Office demolished the upper parts in stages between 1863 and 1893, leaving only the lower masonry. The town of Deal bought the remains for £35 to help shore up its sea defences. Today the castle’s surviving stonework is encased in concrete as part of a sea wall. Visitors can walk around the low ruins and see where the keep and bastions once stood. The site offers views across the Downs anchorage and along the Kent coast. The remaining masonry shows the castle’s original layout despite centuries of erosion and demolition.