Pevensey Castle
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Pevensey Castle is a castle at Pevensey, near Eastbourne in Sussex, England.
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[edit] Roman fort
It was first built as Anderida or Caer Andred, a Saxon Shore Fort built by the Romans during a time when Britain was still part of the Roman Empire. Recent dendochronological dating of wooden foundation piles have dated this to AD 290. At this time the south and east of the province Britannia were under constant attack from marauding barbarian tribes, namely the Jutes and Saxons. The south and eastern seaboards of Britannia were collectively known as "the Saxon Shore" and several large forts were built to defend it.
The fort was built on what was then an uninhabited peninsula of land rising above the coastal marshes. The sea washed over what is now Pevensey Marshes surrounding Anderida on three sides, so giving a safe and sheltered landing point. This marshy inlet of the sea, extending inland as far as Hailsham, was studded with small areas of high land which remained as islands at high tide so giving the place-names of Rickney, Horse Eye, North Eye and Pevensey. All are derived from the Old English word 'eye' meaning island.
The fort was repaired, probably by the great Roman General Stilicho, about AD 400. The massive Roman enceinte still stands but little damaged.
[edit] Late Saxons and Normans
The site was next occupied in 1042, when an Anglo-Saxon noble (Harold Godwinson, Earl of Wessex - later King Harold II of England) established a strong point here, improving fortifications by digging ditches within the walls of the Roman Fort. The English army remained at the fort during the summer of 1066 before abandoning it to meet the invading Norwegians further north. When the Duke William the Bastard of Normandy invaded Sussex, landing at Pevensey Bay in September 1066, there were no defences at Pevensey or anywhere else on the south coast. Upon landing, the invading Normans created a temporary fortification within the Roman walls.
In 1066 at the ensuing Battle of Hastings on Senlac Hill, Duke William defeated the combined English armies led by King Harold II. In late 1066 the castle at Pevensey was occupied by the Normans. Much of the Roman fort remaining on the castle site is due largely to the work of Robert of Mortain (half brother to William the Conqueror), who was granted Pevensey Castle shortly after the Norman Conquest. De Mortain used the existing fort as the base for building his castle, carrying out only minor repairs to the walls forming the outer bailey, and building a new inner bailey at the eastern end.
A new gateway replaced the original main entrance to the southwest, and the east gateway was repaired. Other alterations made were mainly additions and improvements to existing structures within the original fort. An irregular, rectangular-shaped enclosure was created using part of the Roman wall and two bastions on the southeastern side. Shortly after the inner bailey was created, the rectangular stone keep was erected, incorporating part of the east curtain wall and a Roman bastion. Some time later, three more bastions facing the inner bailey were added to the keep.
The castle was besieged by William Rufus in the Rebellion of 1088 and during a period of civil war by the forces loyal to King Stephen (1135-1141).
[edit] Post Norman
Simon de Montfort, on his way back from taking Lewes, besieged the castle in 1264.
[edit] 1500 to present
During later times the ancient castle nearly did not survive. Queen Elizabeth I ordered the castle to be demolished but this was ignored and during the period of interegnum under Oliver Cromwell efforts were again made to destroy it but luckily only a few stones were removed. As late as 1942 small additions were made to the castle for the defence of Britain when it became a look-out over the channel for invading German warplanes and a pillbox during World War II.
