Tudor Day Trips From London: Dover Castle

Cover image: View of Dover Castle from the north de facto. Image ©Wikimedia Commons.

Dover Castle is located in the historic town of Dover in Kent, England. One of the largest and most enduring castles in England, it dates back to the eleventh century. The mighty palace-fortress sits atop the White Cliffs of Dover and is an iconic symbol of English sovereignty. Built by Henry II, the castle has strong connections with the Tudor era and was visited by Tudor royalty, including Henry VIII, Charles V, Anne Boleyn and Anne of Cleves.

Today, Dover Castle is a popular tourist destination. Visitors can explore its well-preserved medieval structures, uncover its wartime secrets, and appreciate the stunning panoramic views of the English Channel. In this mini-guide, we cover some of the essential history of the castle from the sixteenth century, provide a sense of how the castle was used by its Tudor occupants, and provide essential visitor information.

Dover Castle: Essential Travel Information

Travel: 

• By Train: It is possible to reach Dover by train from London via three different lines: St Pancras to Dover Priory: 1 hour and 4 minutes; Victoria to Dover Priory: 1 hour 58 minutes (direct) or 1 hour 46 minutes (1 change); Charing Cross to Dover Priory: 1 hour 54 minutes (1 change)
• A 22-minute walk through the town to the castle (NB: part of this walk will be uphill!)
• By Car, around 2 hours from central London, parking onsite at Dover Castle.

Journey Time: 1h 4 mins (direct)

Distance from Station to City Centre: 10 mins walk (NOTE THIS IS NOT THE DISTANCE TO THE CASTLE)

View of Dover Castle from the north de facto. Image ©Wikimedia Commons

Key Locations in Dover:

• Dover Castle
• Dover Museum & Bronze Age Gallery
• The Maison Dieu

Dover Castle & the Arrival of a New Tudor Queen

As mentioned above, there were several royal visits to Dover and its castle. After all, the town was the major embarkation point for anyone travelling to and from continental Europe. One of the most highly anticipated Tudor events associated with Dover Castle was the arrival of Anne of Cleves en route to become the fourth wife of England’s omnipotent monarch, Henry VIII. In the dying days of 1539 and amidst the most atrocious English weather, Anne landed at Deal. Later that day, she was escorted to Dover, where the queen-to-be took shelter in the castle.

According to the Chronicle of Calais:

‘On her arrival at Dover, the duke of Suffolk and lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, with the other lords appointed to wait upon them, and the duchess of Suffolk and other ladies, shall receive her at her landing, and convey her to the castle, attend upon her during her abode there, and at her departure conduct her to Canterbury, and so forth till her meeting with the King.’  

Painted landscape of Dover Castle.

A Short History

By the time of Anne’s visit, the medieval castle, perched atop the gleaming White Cliffs of Dover, had been guarding the harbour and welcoming visitors and returning Britons alike for hundreds of years. Its mighty great tower, which was visible for miles out to sea, along with the castle’s curtain walls and inner bailey, was built by Henry II in the 1180s. In the thirteenth century, King John and Henry III completed the outer defences started by their predecessor; however, these were not the first structures to occupy this commanding position over the town.                                                                

In the first half of the second century AD, the Romans constructed a pharos or lighthouse to guide ships into the harbour. This structure still stands. Later, the Saxons built a church that was probably part of a fortified settlement. Then, soon after his victory at the Battle of Hastings in 1066, William the Conqueror ordered a timber-stockaded castle to be constructed on the site. From then on, Dover Castle was continuously garrisoned until 1958.

Preparations for the Arrival of Anne of Cleves

Now, back to our story of Anne of Cleves at Dover…In the latter part of 1539, Thomas Cromwell was busy finalising arrangements for Henry VIII’s marriage to Anne and overseeing the preparations for her impending arrival. In his remembrances of November 1539, the following note is included: ‘The sending of such officers as shall furnish the houses and farres [ferries] at Calais and Dover for the receiving of the lady Anne, with all apparel for the same.’                                                                

Then, in early December, Thomas Cheyne penned the following letter to Cromwell:

I thank you for your letter of this day’s date; be assured that I have taken such order for provision to be made at Dover of all things necessary for our mistress [Anne] that shall be that there shall be no lack. I have already sent not only to Dover but all along the way Her Grace shall come. From my poor house, Thursday, 4 Dec.                                               

Henry’s chief minister had enthusiastically promoted the match with the German princess and so had a vested interest in seeing that all went to plan and that no detail was overlooked. It’s no surprise that according to the research of Dr Gordon Higgott, an independent architectural historian, ‘the longest recorded campaign of refurbishment works under Henry VIII [at Dover] was for the intended reception of Anne of Cleves in 1539’. At this time, a crown of iron was erected over the king’s lodgings in the keep. Interestingly, this feature is visible in a drawing of the castle by the surveyor, John Bereblock, in 1570.                                                                       

Black and white floorplan for Dover Castle showing the Queen’s Privy and Presence Chambers. From The History of the King’s Works.

The Royal Apartments                                         

While we know that Anne spent her first two nights in England at Dover Castle, no documentary evidence exists detailing exactly where Anne was lodged during her stay. It is thought likely that it was one of two possibilities: the first was that, like many queens and distinguished guests before her, including Charles V in 1520, Anne was lodged in a suite of rooms in the great tower; the second was that Anne occupied a chamber in a range of royal lodgings situated along the north-east side of the inner bailey and connected to the keep by a covered passageway or pentice.                                

Around 1480, King Edward IV modernised the keep to use it as a royal residence. On the first floor were the queen’s apartments, and on the floor above the entrance level were the king’s rooms. Each floor had an ‘outer’ room and an ‘inner’ room; the outer functioned as a hall or presence chamber, where the king and queen dined publicly or held an audience, while the inner served as a privy chamber, where monarchs could enjoy some level of privacy. The second floor also housed a private chapel. In addition, each floor had a series of smaller ‘mural chambers’ opening off the main rooms, which served various purposes over the centuries, including something akin to modern bedrooms in the fifteenth century.

We know from the work of Dr Higgott that the four main chambers at the time of Anne’s visit were as follows:                                                                      

On the first floor, the ‘outer’ (NE) room was the Queen’s ‘Reigning Chamber’, while the ‘inner’ SW room was her Privy Chamber; on the second floor, the ‘outer’ NE room was the King’s Great Chamber or Watching (i.e. Guard) Chamber, while the ‘inner’ SW room was variously styled his Privy or Presence Chamber. This general arrangement seems to be confirmed by several references in the accounts for the refurbishment of 1625-6 to the king and queen’s ‘Presence’ and ‘Privy’ chambers, which confirm that the first floor was regarded as the Queen’s and the second floor as the King’s.                                                                    

If Anne and her ladies were not accommodated on the first floor of the great tower, then they may have stayed in one of the chambers that made up a range of royal lodgings on the north-east side of the inner bailey known as ‘The King’s Lodgings’. These buildings were constructed in the thirteenth century as accommodation for Henry III. When his wife, Queen Eleanor of Provence, was in residence, she stayed in her suite of rooms in the great tower. The King’s new range included a great hall named Arthur’s Hall, presumably after the legendary king, plus a series of royal chambers and a chapel. Edward IV refurbished these buildings in the fifteenth century, installing new windows. In Bereblock’s drawing of Dover, the range is visible to the north of the keep.                                                                

John Bereblock’s view of the buildings of the Inner Bailey, Dover Castle, c 1570. From The History of the King’s Works.

Visiting Dover Castle Today                           

While very little remains of the King’s Lodgings, the apartments in the Great Tower survive. They are presented as if Henry II and his court were in residence and are a fascinating evocation of a medieval court in all its splendour.                                                               

Next to the Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment Museum is Arthur’s Hall, which is home to an exhibition on the royal history of the castle today. At the southeast end of the hall are three blocked doors excavated in the 1970s. The central door initially gave access to the kitchen, while the doors on either side led to the buttery and pantry.          

Be sure to visit the church of St Mary in Castro, beside the Roman lighthouse. While the church was heavily restored in the nineteenth century, the outer shell is mainly original.

As you walk the grounds of this significant English landmark, you might imagine Anne and her entourage riding out on that wintry morning in December 1539. After weeks of travelling across land and sea, Anne had only three more days to wait until she came face to face with England’s King.

Panoramic aerial view of Dover Castle Chensiyuan, via Wikimedia Commons.

Visitor Information

Dover Castle is managed by English Heritage. Please visit their website for visitor information. I recommend combining a visit to the castle with a visit to the Dover Museum & Bronze Age Boat Gallery to learn more about the fascinating history of this historic port town and view the remains of a large prehistoric boat thought to be 3,000 years old.

From 2024, Dover’s Town Hall, once part of the Maison Dieu, will be reopened following extensive renovations. The Maison Dieu was built in 1203 by Hubert de Burgh to provide temporary accommodation for travelling pilgrims travelling to the shrine of Thomas à Becket in Canterbury.

Other Tudor places to visit nearby:

If that wasn’t enough to keep you occupied, Deal Castle and Walmer Castle are within 7 miles of Dover. They are two of the unique coastal defences erected by Henry VIII against foreign aggressors. You can hear more about them in my interview with expert Christopher Moore, accessible here.