English Heritage

Medway, Kent

This week I have had a quick little visit to Upnor Castle, Medway. The camera, of course, had to be included within this little trek. Please view the images below.

About Upnor Castle

Upnor Castle’s buildings were constructed from a combination of Kentish ragstone and ashlar blocks, plus red bricks and timber. Its main building is a two-storeyed rectangular block that measures 41 m (135 ft) by 21 m (69 ft), aligned in a north-east/south-west direction on the west bank of the Medway. Later known as the Magazine, it has been changed considerably since its original construction. It would have included limited barrack accommodation, possibly in a small second storey placed behind gun platforms on the roof. After the building was converted into a magazine in 1668 many changes were made which have obscured the earlier design. The second storey appears to have been extended across the full length of the building, covering over the earlier rooftop gun platforms. This gave more room for storage in the interior. The ground floor was divided into three compartments with a woodblock floor and copper-sheeted doors to reduce the risk of sparks. Further stores were housed on the first floor, with a windlass to raise stores from the waterside.

A circular staircase within the building gives access to the castle’s main gun platform or water bastion, a low triangular structure projecting into the river. The castle’s main armament was mounted here in the open air; this is now represented by six mid-19th century guns that are still on their original carriages. There are nine embrasures in the bastion, six facing downstream and three upstream, with a rounded parapet designed to deflect shot. The water bastion was additionally protected by a wooden palisade that follows its triangular course a few metres further out in the river. The present palisade is a modern recreation of the original structure.

A pair of towers stand on the river’s edge a short distance on either side from the main building. They were originally two-storyed open-backed structures with gun platforms situated on their first floors, providing flanking fire down the line of the ditch around the castle’s perimeter. They were later adapted for use as accommodation, with their backs closed with bricks and the towers increased in height to provide a third storey. Traces of the gun embrasures can still be seen at the point where the original roofline was. The South Tower was said to have been for the use of the castle’s governor, though their lack of comfort meant that successive governors declined to live there. The two towers are linked to the main building by a crenallated curtain wall where additional cannon were emplaced in two embrasures on the north parapet and one on the south.

The castle’s principal buildings are situated on the east side of a rectangular courtyard within which stand two large Turkey oaks, said to have been grown from acorns brought from Crimea after the Crimean War. A stone curtain wall topped with brick surrounds the courtyard, standing about 1 m (3.3 ft) thick and 4 m (13 ft) high. The courtyard is entered on the north-western side through a four-storeyed gatehouse with gun embasures for additional defensive strength. It was substantially rebuilt in the 1650s after being badly damaged in a 1653 fire, traces of which can still be seen in the form of scorched stones on the first floor walls. A central gateway with a round arch leads into a passage that gives access to the courtyard. Above the gateway is a late 18th century clock that was inserted into the existing structure. A wooden bellcote was added in the early 19th century and a modern flagpole surmounts the building.

The curtain wall is surrounded by a dry ditch which was originally nearly 10 m (33 ft) wide by 5.5 m (18 ft) deep, though it has since been partially infilled. Visitors to the castle crossed a drawbridge, which is no longer extant, to reach the gatehouse. A secondary entrance to the castle is provided by a sally port in the north wall. On the inside of the curtain wall the brick foundations of buildings can still be seen. These were originally lean-to structures, constructed in the 17th century to provide storage facilities for the garrison.

The above text has been obtained under the WikiPedia Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Contributors English Heritage, and Saunders P.