Dover -- Dover Castle (Part 2 of 2)

 

I promise our day off tours were about more than just "Castles and Cathedrals" in every port as so many European towns revolved around these two. We were encouraged to make an exception for Dover Castle because it had so many layers of history, and, we were told, was more reconstructed and furnished inside so we'd get a better idea of how people lived. It was a steep hike from the port to get to the headland above the town; we left extra time so we wouldn't be tired before we even got there!

The tower that guards the entry to the grounds.

(Reconstructed) drawbridge.

Here's a bit of the historic layering I mentioned. The somewhat lumpy structure on the right is a Roman pharos, or lighthouse. The building next to it is much newer, a Saxon church "only" about 1000 years old. Elsewhere on the castle grounds are brick buildings built as officers' barracks about 200 years ago, that were used right up into WWII.

Following are a set of photos of various parts of the main castle. The contrast between the elaborate living areas of the nobility and the plain wooden structures for the working classes was quite dramatic. The paint colours were interesting, and, we were told, accurate. Remember that back in the day they couldn't just have any colour they wanted; the dyes had to come from plants or minerals in the natural world. Although the blue and green looked somewhat flat, in historic times they would have some sparkle. The blue -- royal blue -- was actually made of crushed lapis lazuli stone from Afghanistan. The semiprecious mineral would have flecks of pyrite in it, so when crushed it would have had a glittery shine. Ditto the green, that would have come from malachite.

drawbridge mechanism

We had to do the tourist thing in the throne room. 

Lots of secret passageways

It's easy to visualize the castle overlooking and protecting the harbour and the town below

an elegant bedchamber

A more humble room, storage, and jugs and bowls

part of the kitchens below

part of the main hall

where the nobility could sleep and relax. Note again the red, blue, and green paint.

Kitchens

Even more kitchens and food and beer storage.

Beer brewing medieval style

Another section of the castle grounds

And an older section of the grounds

A chunk of lapis (from Wikipedia article linked above). I inherited a necklace of lapis beads from my mother and they're beautiful; can't really imagine crushing these sparkly stones to powder.