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Summary

The remains of a late medieval fort called Gommerock. The site was discovered in 1952 during a resurvey of Kingswear by the Ordnance Survey and consequently does not appear on earlier Ordnance Survey maps. It comprises a late medieval tower house dating to the late 14th or 15th century and which overlooked the Kingswear end of a defensive boom chain across the Dart. Above the chain terminal is the site of an artillery blockhouse which was probably built in the 1490s. Close to the tower are the remains of three dwelling houses dating to the 16th and early 17th century. The site was ruinous by 1734. One of the buildings was reused as a pet cemetery in the 19th century. To the south-east is a level terrace which was used for a tennis court in the 1930s. Further down the shoreline is a World War II observation post. See associated monuments for further details of particular buildings and features.

Location

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1003852: Gomerock Tower

Other References/Statuses

• Tide Project: 02/09/2022

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• FORT (Built, XIV to XV - 1301 AD (Between) to 1500 AD (Between))

Full description

Adams, M., 1900, The Castle, Manor-house and Church of Clifton, near Dartmouth, 506 (Article in Serial). SDV172286.

Ruins of a round fort with terrace below, on which are the remains of a square tower into which the chain from Clifton Castle was led.

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, 1952, SX85SE10 (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV342794.

While re-surveying Kingswear in 1952 the Ordnance Survey found a substantial ruin in the grounds of the Fountain Violet Club which was formerly Brookhill. The ruins had not been recorded on earlier Ordnance Survey maps. The ruins are the remains of a fort called 'Gommerock' which was later superseded as a defence work by the building of Kingswear Castle in 1491.

Russell, P. + Yorke, G., 1953, Kingswear and its Neighbourhood, 70-72 (Article in Serial). SDV176862.

The first reference to a castle here is in 1580; in 1590 it is described as 'a toft' and all the walls called 'old castelle', and had presumably been superseded by Kingswear. By this date, outworks possibly existed where the tennis court now is, although a 1734 engraving shows the building as now, ie a rectangular tower 10.9 metres by 1.23 metres set lengthways on a steep slope. The roof has gone, but the walls are intact; the upper walls have a rock-cut ditch around them and are surmounted by a rampart walk and papapet. Immediately below the castle is a platform cut out of the solid slate, presumably made about 1490, and used to hold one end of the chain across the estuary. It was later used as a battery, and the castle was probably ruined in 1643.

Wilson-North, R., 1996, Gommerock, Kingswear: An Archaeological Survey by the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England (Report - Survey). SDV342799.

A 1:500 ground survey of Gommerock was produced by the RCHME as part of a collaborative project with Exeter Archaeology.
The site is on the densely wooded slopes on the eastern side of the Dart estuary and comprises a ruined medieval building and associated structures and a probable anchoring point for a medieval harbour chain on the rocks below.
The area around Gommerock was later used for garden and other recreational purposes; terraced paths and vestiges of ornamental planting schemes survive.
See report for further information.

Watts, M. A., 1997, Archaeological and Historical Survey at Gomerock, Kingswear (Report - Survey). SDV173198.

A field survey and documentary research were undertaken on the group of ruined medieval and later structures at Gomerock [sic] on the eastern side of the Dart estuary, about 300m north-west of Kingswear Castle. The project was commissioned as part of the Devon Sites Management Scheme, funded by Devon County Council and English Heritage.
Fifteen buildings and structures were identified in the survey. The main building is Gomerock Castle or Tower, a medieval tower house dating to the late 14th or 15th century and which overlooked the Kingswear end of a defensive boom chain across the Dart. The chain is first documented in 1462. The boom terminal survives down on the shore, as a rounded boss of rock with a semi-circular groove for the chain. Above the terminal is the site of an artillery blockhouse which was probably built in the 1490s.
Close to the tower house are the remains of three dwelling houses. One (Building C) probably dates to the 16th century, the other two (Buildings B and D) to the early 17th century. A small quarry close by was probably the source of the stone for the buildings. The fort appears to have been ruined during the Civil War when it is also thought the steps up from the shore were blocked. A drawing by Buck of 1734 shows the castle in a ruinous state.
The shell of one of the dwelling houses (Building D) was reused as a pet cemetery in the 19th century. To the south-east is a large, level terrace which was used for a tennis court in the 1930s. During the Second World War an observation post was built just above the shoreline about 160m to the south.
See report for full details and also associated monuments for details of individual buildings and structures.

Ordnance Survey, 2022, Mastermap 2022 (Cartographic). SDV364674.

Gommerock (remains of) marked.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV4543 - Survey of Features at Gomerock
• EDV4542 - Survey of Features at Gommerock, Kingswear

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