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| Name: | Camber Castle, Icklesham : C16 castle |
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| HER Ref: | MES2299 |
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| Type of record: | Monument |
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Designations
- Scheduled Monument 1014632: ARTILLERY CASTLE AND ASSOCIATED EARTHWORKS AT CAMBER
- Listed Building (I) 1234738: CAMBER CASTLE
Summary
The monument includes an artillery castle which survives in ruined form, and a series of associated, surrounding earthworks, situated on low-lying ground c2km to the north of the modern Sussex coast.
Monument Types
- ARTILLERY CASTLE (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
- ARTILLERY CASTLE (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
- ARTILLERY CASTLE (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
- ARTILLERY CASTLE (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
- CAUSEWAY (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
- CAUSEWAY (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
- CURTAIN WALL (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
- CURTAIN WALL (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
- GATEHOUSE (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
- GATEHOUSE (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
- ARTILLERY CASTLE (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
- ARTILLERY CASTLE (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
- ARTILLERY CASTLE (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
- ARTILLERY CASTLE (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
- BASTION (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
- BASTION (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
- CAUSEWAY (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
- CAUSEWAY (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
- CURTAIN WALL (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
- CURTAIN WALL (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
- GATEHOUSE (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
- GATEHOUSE (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
- MILITARY TRAINING SITE (Modern - 1901 AD to 2050 AD)
- MILITARY TRAINING SITE (Modern - 1901 AD to 2050 AD)
Description
(TQ 9218 1845) Camber Castle (rems of)(1)
One of a series of five polygonal block-houses built for the defence of the south-east coast. The central tower (see plan) appears to have been built about 1511-14and the outer bastions c 1538-44. By 1626 the castle was rendered useless by the retirement of the sea and the shifting of the mouth of the Rother, and it was 'dismantled' in 1642. Traces of a moat surround the remains.(2)
About 800ft NW of the castle is a rectangular enclosure crossed by two 'streets' at right angles. ? Encampment related to the castle. Shows on air-photo. Area outside walls containing low earth banks. ? Outer earthworks of Civil War period.(3)
Surrounding enclosure faintly visible on A/Ps.(4)
Camber Castle (name board) is as described in the plan by VCH but further internal details are being recovered by the Department of the Environment, who are restoring it. There is no trace of a moat. Approx 120.0 metres NW of the castle is a low bank about 0.3m high and 3.5m wide forming an 'L - shape with a sharp corner. This overlays a slight causeway leading to the castle. The 'enclosure' mentioned by E Holden lies against the bank at TQ 9205 1857, the two apparently contemporary. These two features do not have the appearance of an antiquity and probably represent an old field boundary. In this area there is also evidence of land sculpture that relates to the former golf links. Resurveyed at 1:2500.(5)
I Camber Castle A scheduled Ancient Monument. This was one of the series of castles built by Henry VIII as coast defences in 1538. Its plain is quatrefoil-shaped, with lunettes at the corners and the entrance on the North side forming another lunette orthe stalk of the flower. It is a squat bdg. of ashlar lined with brick. In the centre of the square is a higher round tower or keep of earlier date built of ashlar and lined with brick for the top or second storey which has probably been added.(6)
The artillery castle at Camber survives well, retaining much of its original fabric in unaltered form. The history of the monument is documented by contemporary records, and a modern, comprehensive programme of excavation and building recording has provided further evidence for its development over the years. The castle's importance is enhanced by the unusual survival of contemporary, associated structures in the area surrounding the main building. [7]
During WWII the area around the castle was utilised as a decoy site to divert German bombers from their real target of Rye [8]
Work on what was then called "Winchelsea Castle" began in 1539, with much of the building material coming from local sources. The castle is dressed in limestone, some of which came from Caen, France. An estimated 600,000 bricks were manufactured on site. In 1541 this castle and all others in Sussex and Kent were put under the command of the Constable of Dover Castle and the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports who at that time was Sir Thomas Cheyne. The castle was completed in 1544, costing £23,000 and by 1553 the garrison strength was 29 men. In 1637 the castle garrison was disbanded as a result of the silting of the Camber and the eastward shifting of the harbour entrance. The guns of the fort were removed in 1642 when the castle was partly dismantled. Excavations have been undertaken at the castle in 1963 until 1983 under the minitry of public buildings and works. English Heritage took responsibility for the site in 1984 and Rye Harbour Nature Reserve has been opening it to the public since 1999. The castle was built in three stages;
Phase I - Between 1512 and 1514, consisting of an artillery tower with a single storey gun deck and gun ports below
Phase II - Begun in 1539, followed the device forts design, a concepted created by Stephen Von Haschenperg. This type of castle emphasised close defence and internal security, with a number of hidden passages
Phase III - There were doubts about the castle effectivness so only 18 months after it was armed and in use, the castle underwent further alteration. The finished castle was much more effective, having guns mounted at a number of levels and with improved outer defences. [9]
Sources
| <1> | Article in serial: Article in serial. Ordnance Survey 6" 1962. |
| <2> | Article in serial: Article in serial. The Victoria History of the County of Sussex 9 1937 pp 184-5. |
| <3> | Article in serial: Article in serial. Correspondents Annotated 6" Sheet (E W Holden 1970). |
| <4> | Article in serial: Article in serial. Aerial Photorgaphs 36/TUD/UK 148 5249-50. |
| <5> | Correspondence: 1952. Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Field Investigators Comment. First OS Archaeology Field Investigator 04/10/1972. |
| <6> | List: National Heritage List for England. List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest Rother 13/05/1987. |
| <7> | List: National Heritage List for England. English Heritage Schedule Entry 13/06/1996. |
| <8> | Bibliographic reference: Chris Butler. 2007. East Sussex Under Attack: Anti-invasion sites 1500-1990. p104/105. |
| <9> | Bibliographic reference: Friends of Rye Harbour Nature Reserve. 2001. Camber Castle: A look into the past of Henry VIII's Castle. (2001) Author Unknown. |
Associated Events
- Field observation on TQ 91 NW 1
- CAMBER CASTLE (Ref: EI 713)
- CAMBER CASTLE (Ref: EI 714)
- CAMBER CASTLE
Associated Monuments - none recorded
Associated Finds - none recorded
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