At the centre of Walmer Castle is a circular keep, surrounded by an open courtyard and protected by a concentric wall, from which four, squat, semi-circular bastions project. The northern bastion forms the gatehouse and would have had a gun on its roof; the other bastions would have had guns mounted inside them and on the roof. The central keep would also have had guns mounted on its roof giving the castle the capacity to mount 39 guns.

A gallery running around the castle at basement level has 32 loops for hand-guns covering the moat.

The defences were never put to the test during the Tudor period and it wasn't until 1648, during the English Civil War, that the castle finally came under siege. The three 'castles of the Downs' were initially held for Parliament, but the forces switched allegiance to support the Royalist cause. It took Parliamentary forces, led by Colonel Rich, nearly three months to defeat the three castles, with Walmer surrendering first after a three week siege.

The Cinque Ports Confederation originated in the 11th century when the five ports of Hastings, Romney, Hythe, Dover and Sandwich joined forces to provide ships and men for the defence of the coast and protection of cross-channel trade. In return for these services they received substantial local privileges including immunity from all external courts of justice and from national taxation. In the 13th century the office of Warden was instituted to oversee and regulate the affairs of the Confederation.

The gardens surrounding the house include a commerative lawn, woodland walk and a working kitchen garden. The remainder of the grounds are mostly wildlife gardens.

Over the years successive Wardens converted the fort and its grounds into a comfortable country house and gardens. Resident Wardens included William Pitt the Younger (whose niece Lady Hester Stanhope initiated the castle's gardens, using labour from the local militia).

The scourge of Napolean, the Duke of Wellington held the post of Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports for 23 years. This position originally carried real power, but with the forming of a Royal Navy and the decline of the Cinque Ports, the role of Warden became more of an honorary position.

This is the armchair in which Wellington died on 14th September 1852. Many of his personnel effects can be seen in the Wellington museum including his campaign bed.

The castles were built to a revolutionary design being intended to engage in short, violent action against an invading enemy rather than to withstand long sieges. They were built low to provide the minimum target the ship's guns while offering a clear view for their own guns. They had no flat or angular surfaces as rounded walls would deflect most cannon balls without damage.

The basic design has a hollow stone central keep in the form of a cylinder with 14 feet thick walls and a well of water at its base. Inside there was basic living accommodation and gund positions at the top as in this photo. Semi-circular lunettes, or buttresses were built against the circular wall of the keep and were provided with strong platforms on which the heavy guns were mounted. The entrance door is studded with 1200 bolts to deflect the axes of any invader and, above it, are the 'murder holes' from which quicklime or missiles would be dropped onto attackers.

The gun platforms are sloped to reduce the recoil effect of the guns when fired. As well big guns, Deal is also equipped for close quarter defence, with no less than 145 embrasures for firearms. The fort guarded the sheltered anchorage of 'the Downs' - the stretch of water between the shore and hazardous Goodwin Sands.

The castle looks very low from some distance and vulnerable to scaling but this photo shows the wide moat which was dug around the castle to increase the height of the walls, making Deal truly formidable. The foreign invasion that Deal was built to defend against never materialised, but the Castle saw hard fighting during the English Civil War (1648). It was briefly captured by Royalist forces and was besieged twice by Parliamentarians, only surrendering after the bloody repulse of a relief attempt.

The entrance door is studded with 1200 bolts to deflect the axes of any invader.

Above the entrance are the 'murder holes' from which quicklime or missiles would be dropped onto attackers. Today, the whole of the castle can be explored, from the storerooms including where gun powder was stored. Copper was the only metal used to prevent sparks. This, the other rooms and the captain's residence can all be visited and the history of Deal Castle understood.