Sandgate Castle

Sandgate Castle stands on the Kent coast between Folkestone and Hythe, a low stone fort built by Henry VIII in 1539–40 to guard a gap in the cliffs where invaders might land. Its central circular keep is ringed by three rounded towers and a gatehouse, all joined by covered stone passageways three storeys high. The outer and inner wards were once grassed over, with a stone cesspool and sewers running beneath the walls. The fort’s value lay in its artillery strength: four tiers of guns could fire from every level, including the roof, giving 142 firing points for cannon and handguns. Henry’s engineer Stefan von Haschenperg supervised the work, using Kentish ragstone and Caen stone recycled from dissolved priories. By 1540 the castle was complete, garrisoned by a captain, gunners and porters, and later used by Elizabeth I to hold the courtier Thomas Keyes. Visitors today see the reduced keep turned into a private house, its walls scarred by centuries of coastal erosion. The remaining structure still shows the original triangular plan, with bastions on the north-west, north-east and south sides. The shingle beach now laps close to the southern ruins, while the northern parts stand protected as a Grade I listed building.