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Henry VIII's Fort (Pendennis Castle)

Originally constructed between 1540 and 1545, Pendennis and its sister, St Mawes Castle, (SW8432 : St Mawes Castle), form the Cornish end of the chain of coastal artillery fortresses built by Henry VIII along the south coast of England to counter a perceived threat from France and Spain, following his divorce from Catherine of Aragon and conversion of the official religion of England from Catholicism to Protestantism.

The River Fal, had two forts constructed to guard its wide estuary - St Mawes on the east bank and Pendennis on the west. St Mawes had a great deal of effort put into its construction, with quality stone and decorative carvings whilst Pendennis was a simple round tower and gate enclosed by a lower curtain wall. A new and much larger type of defensive rampart was added around the original fort In 1598, during the reign of Elizabeth I.

The castle was strengthened again prior to the Civil War and, in 1646, withstood five months of siege before becoming the penultimate Royalist garrison on the British mainland to surrender; after earlier giving sanctuary to Queen Henrietta Maria, and the Prince of Wales (Charles II), before their escape to France.

During the 18th and 19th century, Pendennis continued to play a vital role in Cornwall's defences as fears of French invasion resurfaced several times. In the early 1890s, Falmouth was designated a “coast fortress”. New barracks were built in 1901.

The castle was in military use until 1920 and became an ancient monument under State care in 1920. Pendennis saw action again as part of Britain’s coastal defences during World War II. I

Troops left the castle for the last time n 1956 and the castle is now administered by English Heritage.

Link English Heritage – Pendennis Castle
Link - Info Britain Pendennis Castle entry


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