Full Version: Upnor Castle
Some photos of Upnor Castle for Paul from CQ.
A vintage postcard of Upnor Castle.
This aerial view is from a postcard of Upnor Castle.
Another vintage postcard of Upnor Castle, from my collection, showing the back (front) of the castle.
and a selection of old prints and engravings of Upnor Castle.
... and a couple of my photos.
Andrew are there any older prints for this castle?
It looks to me as when it was converted to a canon fort they may have taken out much of the inner domestic ranges making room for the barracks.
Is this right?
It looks to me as when it was converted to a canon fort they may have taken out much of the inner domestic ranges making room for the barracks.
Is this right?
I have no other prints for this place - at least, no earlier ones. I'll have to look into the history with regards to the other info.
This is one of my "local" castles, so I guess I ought to know a bit more about it. It was commissioned by Elizabeth I in 1559 and stone from demolished buildings at Rochester Castle was used in its construction.
I'll get more info during the weekend (if I remember)
This is one of my "local" castles, so I guess I ought to know a bit more about it. It was commissioned by Elizabeth I in 1559 and stone from demolished buildings at Rochester Castle was used in its construction.
I'll get more info during the weekend (if I remember)
No need to go to any trouble. My question was more on the lay out changes which may not be documented any way.
Another old postcard.
Some photos I took at Upnor castle in July 2005.
BBC NEWS
Castle lit up along coastal trail
An Elizabethan gun fort dating to 1559 has become ablaze with light after floodlights were switched on.
The turreted castle at Upnor on the River Medway is now visible at night from Chatham's historic dockyard.
A spokesman said: "The castle has been in darkness after dusk for 450 years so it will make quite a change."
It was part of the Maritime Heritage Trail which aims to protect attractions on the French coast and from Gravesend to Brighton in the UK.
Warships defended
Last year the heritage trail project was given a funding boost of £150,000 from the European Union.
Projects included a virtual tour of HMS Gannet and the restoration of slip number three at the Historic Dockyard, Chatham.
Attractions along the international trail include museums, lighthouses, piers, forts, seafronts and ships, including Upnor Castle.
The fortress was originally built on the orders of Queen Elizabeth I to defend her warships at anchor near Medway and the royal dockyard.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/england/4645046.stm
Published: 2006/01/24 19:47:43 GMT
© BBC MMVI
Castle lit up along coastal trail
An Elizabethan gun fort dating to 1559 has become ablaze with light after floodlights were switched on.
The turreted castle at Upnor on the River Medway is now visible at night from Chatham's historic dockyard.
A spokesman said: "The castle has been in darkness after dusk for 450 years so it will make quite a change."
It was part of the Maritime Heritage Trail which aims to protect attractions on the French coast and from Gravesend to Brighton in the UK.
Warships defended
Last year the heritage trail project was given a funding boost of £150,000 from the European Union.
Projects included a virtual tour of HMS Gannet and the restoration of slip number three at the Historic Dockyard, Chatham.
Attractions along the international trail include museums, lighthouses, piers, forts, seafronts and ships, including Upnor Castle.
The fortress was originally built on the orders of Queen Elizabeth I to defend her warships at anchor near Medway and the royal dockyard.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/england/4645046.stm
Published: 2006/01/24 19:47:43 GMT
© BBC MMVI
Pettifer's entry, From English Castles.
QUOTE
UPNOR CASTLE belongs to the genre of Henrician coastal forts but is an Elizabethan addition to the chain. It was begun in 1559 to guard the approach to the new dockyard at Chatham, lying two miles away near the estuary of the River Medway. Sir Richard Lee interrupted his work on the fortifications at Berwick-onTweed to come and design this fort, but construction dragged on for eight years. In 1599-1601 Upnor was enlarged but it had to wait until 1667 to face enemy action. In that year the Dutch under Admiral de Ruyter sailed into the Medway and set fire to much of the English fleet. The castle was unable to offer any effective resistance and in the following year a new chain of defences was begun, Upnor being relegated to the role of storehouse and magazine. Military occupation of one kind or another continued until the Second World War.
As originally conceived the castle comprised an oblong blockhouse, set in the middle of a curious screen wall terminating at each end in a stair turret. This building provided accommodation for the garrison, defence being concentrated upon the low, pointed bastion facing the Medway. Pointed bastions were devised as a defence against artillery in Renaissance Italy. Sir Richard Lee built several along his new ramparts at Berwick, but the Upnor bastion does not have the characteristic 1 arrow-head' plan resulting from a narrow collar. Its riverside setting made that unnecessary. However, since only one side of the bastion faces upriver, there were insufficient gun emplacements to fire effectively on an approaching fleet - this was the problem in 1667. The late Elizabethan enlargement provided defences on the landward side. Awaited courtyard was created in front of the blockhouse, with towers where the new curtain joins the screen wall. The courtyard is entered through a gate tower retaining the traditional obstacle of a drawbridge. This archaic curtain may have kept out unauthorised personnel but it cannot have had any serious defensive role. Today the exterior of the castle is surprisingly unspoilt but the interior bears the scars of its varied uses.
Access.. Standard opening times in summer (EH). Reference.. EH guidebook. HKW (IV).
Relations: Berwick. Other Elizabethan defences at Carisbrooke and Pendennis.
As originally conceived the castle comprised an oblong blockhouse, set in the middle of a curious screen wall terminating at each end in a stair turret. This building provided accommodation for the garrison, defence being concentrated upon the low, pointed bastion facing the Medway. Pointed bastions were devised as a defence against artillery in Renaissance Italy. Sir Richard Lee built several along his new ramparts at Berwick, but the Upnor bastion does not have the characteristic 1 arrow-head' plan resulting from a narrow collar. Its riverside setting made that unnecessary. However, since only one side of the bastion faces upriver, there were insufficient gun emplacements to fire effectively on an approaching fleet - this was the problem in 1667. The late Elizabethan enlargement provided defences on the landward side. Awaited courtyard was created in front of the blockhouse, with towers where the new curtain joins the screen wall. The courtyard is entered through a gate tower retaining the traditional obstacle of a drawbridge. This archaic curtain may have kept out unauthorised personnel but it cannot have had any serious defensive role. Today the exterior of the castle is surprisingly unspoilt but the interior bears the scars of its varied uses.
Access.. Standard opening times in summer (EH). Reference.. EH guidebook. HKW (IV).
Relations: Berwick. Other Elizabethan defences at Carisbrooke and Pendennis.
Thanks for sharing the great pics Paul! 
Engravings of Upnor Castle recently added to my collection.
From Grose's Antiquities of England & Wales, 1783.
Click to view attachment
From Dugdale's England & Wales Delineated, 1846.
Click to view attachment
From Grose's Antiquities of England & Wales, 1783.
Click to view attachment
From Dugdale's England & Wales Delineated, 1846.
Click to view attachment
Another addition to my collection - a print of the castle from the 1800s.
A steel engraving of Upnor Castle, dated 1820 and recently added to my collection.
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