The outer curtain wall was started
by King Henry II in the 1180s. The extent of the wall
built during Henry’s reign is unknown but it was unfinished
at his death in 1190. Although the outer defences of
the Castle were incomplete there is no record of any
substantial work at Dover until the reign of King John
(1199-1216). Between 1205 and 1214 John spent over £1000
on Dover, the bulk of this was spent on continuing his
father’s outer defences.
In 1216 the outer defences were tested when the Castle
was besieged by French forces under Prince Louis in
an attempt to depose King John. The gate at the northern
extremity of the outer defences was undermined by the
French and collapsed. The Castle was held for the King
by
Hubert de Burgh,
who with his heroic defenders was able to plug the breach
with timber baulks. In this way they continued to hold
out until the death of King John, and the accession
of his infant son Henry III, occasioned the withdrawal
of Prince Louis and his forces.
The siege had exposed the weaknesses of Dover’s defences
and it was to be the business of Hubert de Burgh and
the new King’s government to make it good. Between 1217
and 1256 some £7500 was spent on the castle. The damaged
gateway was rebuilt, not as a gateway but as a massive
triple tower to strengthen this vulnerable point. The
great outer curtain wall was completed and a new gateway,
the
Constable’s Gate
was built to replace the now blocked northern entrance.
The towers of the outer curtain wall once made a far
more splendid sight than they do today, towering over
the wall itself. In the eighteenth century the towers
were reduced to their present height to make bases for
the new artillery.
