Dartmouth Castle And Gun Platforms To West And South

Dartmouth Castle and its associated gun platforms represent a significant defensive structure with a history spanning from 1480 to 1494, and subsequent modernisations. Constructed primarily from slatestone rubble with red sandstone detailing, and featuring a lead roof, the castle incorporates a unique combination of architectural forms. Originally, a small round tower, potentially adapted from a 14th-century fortalice, was established, later joined by a square tower to the south-east, which merged at a higher level. The round tower served as an anchor for a chain boom stretching across the estuary, while the square tower housed the principal armament. Accommodation for soldiers was provided on the upper two floors, accessible by a south-facing stair turret that also acted as a lookout. Open gun batteries flank the castle on both sides.

The basement level of the square tower features seven embrasures, including large, rectangular ports close to the water level, originally fitted with external shutters. Upper floors contain handgun loops and smaller square-headed windows, with provision for further cannon on the flat roof. The crenellated parapet is topped with machicolations above the doorway, which is a 20th-century reconstruction in its original position. The landward parapet has been raised.

Internally, some floor levels have been altered. The rock-cut basement of the round tower reveals slots for a pulley and holes, likely for a windlass used to operate the chain boom. While much of the interior carpentry has been renewed in the 20th century, the first-floor barracks retain large, moulded crossbeams with run-out stops (likely a later addition from a period beyond the 15th century), alongside a hooded fireplace and remnants of another. Open batteries with thick, crenellated parapets are present on both sides of the castle, having undergone remodelling in the 18th century. Originally, access to the castle was via a bridge (since rebuilt) crossing a chasm to the north. An 18th-century doorway through the inner curtain wall incorporates a brick segmental arch and a fielded six-panel door. The castle, together with other nearby buildings, forms a significant group at the mouth of the Dart valley, representing an early example of a fort designed for artillery, predating the castles of Henry VIII. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument.