Kingswear Castle

For the paddle steamer based on the River Medway, see PS Kingswear Castle.

Kingswear Castle
Devon, England
Kingswear Castle, 2005
Type	Coastal artillery tower
Coordinates	grid reference SX891502
Construction materials	Stone
Current condition	Intact, used as holiday let
Current owner	Landmark Trust

Kingswear Castle was built between 1491 and 1502 as a coastal artillery tower for use with heavy cannon. It is located in Devon, England.

Owing to the limited range of cannon at the time, the fort at Kingswear was designed to work alongside Dartmouth Castle on the opposite bank, so that between them they could provide complete cover of the narrow entrance through the Dart estuary into Dartmouth Harbour. As gun technology improved and the range of the weapons increased, new gun emplacements were added to Dartmouth Castle, aiming further out towards the estuary mouth. This led to a decline in the defensive role of Kingswear Castle.

Unlike Dartmouth Castle, Kingswear Castle is owned by the Landmark Trust, and is not generally accessible to the public.

See also

• Castles in Great Britain and Ireland
• List of castles in England

External links

• The Landmark Trust
• Details, map and photo
• Map sources for Kingswear Castle