South East castles history

Lewes Castle :- Lewes castle was built by William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey. He was a brother-in-law of William the Conqueror. The first fortification on the site was a wooden keep, later converted to stone. It is unusual for a motte and bailey construction in that it has two mottes. It is one of only two such remaining in the country, the other being Lincoln.


Pevensey Castle :- The Roman fort of Anderitum was built in around A.D. 290. Though the Roman army officially retreated from Britain in the 5th century, the fort continued in use as the home of a small community. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, the fort was besieged by Saxons in 491 and the inhabitants killed. It is uncertain whether habitation of the fort continued after this. When the Duke William the Conqueror of Normandy invaded Sussex, landing at Pevensey Bay in September 1066, there were no defences at Pevensey or anywhere else on the south coast. 

Robert, Count of Mortain (half-brother to William the Conqueror) was granted Pevensey shortly after the Norman Conquest. Mortain used the existing fort as the basis for building a castle around 1100, carrying out only minor repairs to the walls to form an outer bailey, and building a new wooden palisaded irregular rectangular-shaped inner bailey against the Roman wall. Shortly afterwards, a rectangular stone keep was erected, incorporating part of the east curtain wall and a Roman bastion. The original main entrance to the south-west and the east gateway were both repaired.

The castle was besieged by William Rufus in the Rebellion of 1088 and during a period of civil war by the forces loyal to King Stephen (11351141). Around 1190-1220 the present twin-towered gatehouse was constructed, making it one of the earliest known examples of this type.A stone circuit wall was erected around the inner bailey by Peter of Savoy around 1250, with three D-shaped towers. A third siege occurred in 1264, when Henry III's supporters took refuge at the castle following the Battle of Lewes and were besieged by Simon de Montfort.

The castle remained in use throughout the Late Middle Ages. In 1415, king Henry V sent his hostage king James I of Scotland to the castle. 

During later times the ancient castle nearly did not survive. Queen Elizabeth I ordered the castle to be demolished but this was ignored. In fact the castle boasts Elizabethan 'gun emplacements', earthworks and an Elizabethan cannon mounted on a replica carriage. During the period of interregnum under Oliver Cromwell efforts were again made to destroy it but luckily only a few stones were removed. 


Bodiam Castle :- Bodiam Castle is a 14th-century moated castle near Robertsbridge in East Sussex, England. It was built in 1385 by Sir Edward Dalyngrigge, a former knight of Edward III, with the permission of Richard II, ostensibly to defend the area against French invasion during the Hundred Years' War. Of quadrangular plan, Bodiam Castle has no keep, having its various chambers built around the outer defensive walls and inner courts. Its corners and entrance are marked by towers, and topped by crenellations. Its structure, details and situation in an artificial watery landscape indicate that display was an important aspect of the castle's design as well as defence. It was the home of the Dalyngrigge family and the centre of the manor of Bodiam.


Dover Castle :- This castle has always been of great strategic importance. It was founded in the 12th century and has been described as the "Key to England" due to its defensive significance throughout history. It is the largest castle in England.
It was during the reign of Henry II that the castle began to take recognisable shape. The inner and outer baileys and the great keep belong to this time.
During the English Civil War it was held for the king but then taken by a Parliamentarian trick without a shot being fired (hence it avoided being ravaged and survives far better than most castles) in 1642.


Leeds Castle :- A castle has been on the site since 1119. In the 13th century it came into the hands of King Edward I, for whom it became a favourite residence; in the 16th century, Henry VIII used it as a residence for his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. The castle today dates mostly from the 19th century and is built on islands in a lake formed by the River Len to the east of the village of Leeds.

The castle escaped destruction during the English Civil War because its owner, Sir Cheney Culpeper, sided with the Parliamentarians. The castle was used as both an arsenal and a prison during the war. Other members of the Culpeper family had sided with the Royalists, John, 1st Lord Culpeper, having been granted more than 5,000,000 acres (20,000 km2) of land in Virginia in reward for assisting the escape of the Prince of Wales