Fort Charles (Salcombe Castle)

En un regard

Le château en bref

Set on a rocky slate islet at the entrance to the Kingsbridge estuary, the ruins of Fort Charles, also known as Salcombe Castle, are joined to the mainland only at low tide. Built in the 1540s on the orders of Henry VIII, this small artillery battery belonged to the chain of coastal defences that the Crown raised against the French threat. The fort owes its fame to the English Civil War. Restored in 1643 at the initiative of Prince Maurice, it was held for the King by Sir Edmund Fortescue, a local gentleman, with a garrison of about sixty-five men. Besieged by the Parliamentarians from 15 January to 7 May 1646, it was one of the last Royalist strongholds in Devon to surrender, for lack of provisions and of any hope of relief. Today, the silhouette of the great semicircular tower, eaten away by the waves, still dominates North Sands beach. It is reached by a short, slippery walk over the rocks, only when the tide is out. The Salcombe Maritime Museum holds objects connected with the siege, including the fort's key and cannonballs. A listed and protected monument, the site suffers from continuous coastal erosion, which has already destroyed part of the works.