“That the Watch to be made upon the Sea Coast through the Realm shall be made by the Number of the People, in the Places, and in Manner and Form, as they were wont to be made in Times past and that in the same Case the Statute of Winchester[25] be observed and kept.”
There is every reason to believe that there was a properly organized coastguard force at a much earlier period, although precise information on the subject is not available. Certain manuscripts relating to the defence of the coast of Norfolk, however, indicate the existence of a coastguard in that county as, early as the thirteenth century.[26]
In more recent times the duties of the coastguards included the suppression of smuggling and the aiding of shipwrecked vessels. Another purpose was to serve as a reserve to the navy: but in earlier times the prevention and suppression of smuggling was the main work of the coastguards. Early in the nineteenth century a coast blockade was established on the coasts of Kent and Sussex, and detachments of men and boats were stationed at the Martello Towers on the sea-coast.
It is time, perhaps, to bring these pages on the coast defences of England to a conclusion, and to review very briefly the chief features of the subject. There are one or two points which stand out with peculiar prominence.
Firstly we are struck by the origin, development, deterioration, and final degradation in the methods of coast defence. In the middle and later periods of the Roman occupation of Britain the fortresses for coast defence were built in massive masonry. In the earliest examples reliance was placed alone in mass and weight, and no attempt was made to protect the wall by enfilading. In the works built later on this defect was made good. Protecting bastions gave opportunity of attacking the invaders in flank, and so protecting the wall. In the Norman period, again, and particularly in its earlier part massive keeps of great strength and height were erected for the dual purpose of resisting the enemy by passive force, and of keeping a good look-out over the surrounding country or sea, by means of which movements of the enemy could be discovered.
In the periods which followed, notably from the reign of Henry II to that of Richard II, the art of building castles was constantly being improved and developed. Defensive works were adapted to the new forms and methods of offence.
From that time downward to the first few years of the nineteenth century there is every indication of decadence. The defences became more and more feeble. The “chain,” as a serious bar to the progress of unwelcome shipping, reached its most absurd and ridiculous stage during the time of the Dutch invasion of the Medway in 1667, when the “Chain of Chatham” was snapped without the slightest difficulty by the Dutch ships.
As a matter of fact, as we have seen, the coast blockhouses erected by Henry VIII have never taken any important part in the defence of our coasts. This is mainly due, not to their inefficiency, but to the absence of opportunity. The same is true of the Martello towers erected along our south-eastern coast when invasion from France, under Napoleon I, was anticipated.
History is full of accounts of attempted invasions of England. Up to the period of the Norman Conquest, wellnigh every attempt to land on our shores was eventually, although not always immediately, successful. But from the Norman Conquest downward England has always been strong enough to protect herself from enemies who have attempted to make a permanent settlement. This is due to the fact that whilst we have not neglected our coast defences, we have not relied on castles, forts, and other forms of land defence. We have maintained a powerful fleet of war vessels as our first line of defence. Experience has made it abundantly clear that coast defence without the aid of a powerful navy would be inadequate to protect our shores. Our navy is, and always must be, the first and most important of our defences, and its special business is not to act as a simple coastguard force, but to seek out the enemy’s naval force where-ever it may be, and destroy it.
Alfred, King, 79-80.
Anderida, 17, 58-62.
Angles, The, 75.
Anglo-Saxon buildings, 77-78.
Anglo-Saxon burhs, 88-89.
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, 75, 84-85.
Anglo-Saxon defensive works, 79.
Anglo-Saxon mints, 77.
Appledore, 191.
Arckcliffe Bulwark, 131.
Armitage, Mrs. E. S., 89.
Avon, River (Bristol), 153.
Bamborough Castle, 98-99.
Barbican (Gate), Sandwich, 126-127.
Bayeux tapestry, 89.
Beblowe Fort (Holy Island), 188.
Benfleet, Danish settlement at, 82.
Berwick-upon-Tweed, 97-98.
Black Bulwark, 132, 161.
Booms, 210-211.
Boulogne, 5.
Bradwell-on-Sea, 25-28.
Bramber Castle, 141-142.
Bramber, Danish settlement at, 82.
Brancaster, 17, 19-22.
Branodunum, 17, 19-22.
Breding-Stone, Dover, 201.
Brighton, defences and gates of, 181-182.
British fastnesses, 5.
Broadstairs, 122.
Burgh Castle, 19, 23-25.
Caesar, 5.
Caesar’s Camp, 3-5.
Calshot (“Calste Point”)
Castle, 169-186.
Camber Castle, 119, 177-178.
Camps, prehistoric, 3-5.
Canterbury, 70.
Canterbury, Anglo-Saxon coins, 77.
Canterbury Castle, 119-122.
Carausius, 14.
Cardiff Castle, 67-69.
Carlisle Castle, 154-156.
Carr-nase, 70.
Castles. See
Bamborough,
Bramber,
Burgh,
Calshot,
Camber,
Canterbury,
Cardiff,
Carlisle,
Colchester,
Cowling,
Deal,
Dover,
Dunstanburgh,
Folkestone,
Hastings,
Hurst,
Lancaster,
Liverpool,
Orford,
Pevensey,
Porchester,
Portland,
Queenborough,
Rochester,
Saltwood,
Sandgate,
Sandown,
Sandsfort,
Sandwich,
Scarborough,
Southampton,
Southsea,
Tynemouth,
Walmer,
Walton,
Wareham,
Weymouth,
Yarmouth (Little).
Catamarans, 212.
Chains (defensive). See
Chatham,
Cowes,
Fowey,
Gillingham Reach,
Hull,
Portsmouth,
Yarmouth (Great).
Chanctonbury Ring, Sussex, 5.
Chatham, chain at, 204-208.
Chichester, 70.
Cinque Ports, barons of the, 202-204.
Cinque Ports, Courts of, 201.
Cinque Ports, Lord Warden of the, 201-202.
Cinque Ports, origin and jurisdiction, 196-198.
Cinque Ports, privileges of, 200-204.
Cinque Ports and the Siege of Calais, 200.
Cinque Ports, The, 196-204.
Coast castles and walled towns, 95-156.
Coastguard, The, 212-214.
Colchester, 70.
Colchester Castle, 111-113.
Count of the Saxon Shore, 13-16.
Court of Brotherhood, 201.
Court of Brotherhood and Guestling, 201.
Cowling Castle, 113-116.
Cowes, chain at, 209.
Cowes (West), defences at, 186.
Cumberland (Fort), 185.
Danish
incursions, 79-85.
Danish raids at Canterbury, London, Rochester, Sandwich, etc., 84.
Danish raiders, 99.
Dartmouth, bulwark at, 165.
Dawson, Mr. Charles, 202.
Deal, 5.
Deal Castle, 160, 171-173.
Defensive Chains, 204-210, 215.
Dover, 6, 42-50.
Dover, Anglo-Saxon coins, 77.
Dover, bulwarks at, 166.
Dover Castle, 127-133, 169.
Dover, Straits of, 13.
Dubris, 42-50.
Dunstanburgh Castle, 99-100.
Earthworks, 3-5.
East Mersea, Danish settlement at, 82.
Edward the Confessor, 89.
Edwardian castles, 96-97.
England, attempted invasions, 216-217.
England, Saxon settlement of, 75-80.
English Coast Defences, general conclusions, 214-217.
Falmouth, bulwark at, 165.
Fire-ships, 211-212.
Fisher Gate, Sandwich, 125-126.
Folkestone Castle, 133, 166.
Fort Cumberland, 185.
Fowey, bulwark at, 165;
chain at, 209-210.
Frome, River, 153.
Gariannonum, 19, 23-25.
Gillingham Reach, chain at, 204-207.
Gravelines, fire-ships off, 211.
Gravesend, bulwark at, 165.
“Great Castle,” the, in the Downs, 165.
Gosport, bulwark at, 169.
Harwich, 111.
Hasting, 81.
Hastings, 139-141.
Hastings, Battle of, 87.
Hastings Castle, 139-141.
Haverfield,
Professor, 63, 70.
Henry VIII’s blockhouses, inactivity in coast defence, 188-189, 215-216.
Henry VIII’s blockhouses, influence of gunpowder shown in their plans, 189-190.
Henry VIII, coast defences constructed by, 159-191.
Higham, bulwark at, 165.
Holy Island, defences of, 188.
Honorius, the Emperor, 17, 61.
Hull, 101-102.
Hull, chain at, 209.
Huntcliffe, 70.
Hurst Castle, 183, 185.
Hythe military canal, 191.
Ipswich, 107-108.
Jutes, The, 75.
King’s Lynn, 102-103.
Lambard, W., on coast defences of Henry VIII, 159-160.
Lancaster Castle, 153-154.
Landguard Fort, 180-181.
Lisle, Sir George, 112.
Liverpool Castle, 154.
Lucas, Sir Charles, 112.
Lymne, 17, 50-58, 77.
Martello Towers, 190-191.
Medway Estuary, defences of, 179-180.
Mersea, West, 27-28.
Navy, origin and province of, 195-204, 216-217.
Navy, the English, 80.
Navy, “the first line of defence,” 216-217.
Navy, under Hubert de Burgh, 130, 198-200.
Navy, under King Alfred, 80, 196.
Norman castles built within Roman defences, 90-91.
Norman castles, types of, 89-90.
Norman coast castles in England, 87-91, 96.
Norman fleet, 87.
Norman invasion of England, 86-87.
Orford Castle, 108-111.
Othona, 25-28.
Peak, near Robin Hood Bay, 70.
Pevensey, 17, 58-62.
Pevensey (mediaeval) Castle, 141.
Pharos, at Dover, 45-49.
Pharos, at Richborough, 37-38.
Pharos, at West Mersea, 26-28.
Plymouth, bulwark at, 165.
Porchester, 17, 62-64, 67.
Portland, bulwark at, 165.
Portland Castle, 187-188.
Portsmouth, 142-149, 166.
Portsmouth, chain at, 145, 208-209.
Portsmouth, Tower of, 169.
Portus Itius, 5.
Portus Lemanus, 17, 50-58, 77.
Portus Magnus, 62-64.
Prehistoric camps, 3-5.
Queenborough Castle, 116-119.
Reculver, 12, 17, 19, 28-35.
Regulbium, 12, 17, 19, 28-35.
Richborough, 17, 35-42.
Rochester, 70.
Rochester, Anglo-Saxon coins, 77.
Roman forts, 12, 16-71.
Roman invasion, 5-13.
Round, Dr. J. H., 89.
Rutupiae, 17, 35-42.
Rye, 138, 191.
Rye Castle, 166.
Saltwood Castle, 133-138.
Sandgate Castle, 174-177.
Sandown (I. W.) blockhouse, 186.
Sandown (Kent) Castle, 160, 171, 174.
Sandsfort Castle (Weymouth), 187.
Sandwich, 122-127.
Sandwich, Anglo-Saxon coins, 77.
Sandwich, Anglo-Saxon defences at, 78.
Saxon Shore, Count of the, 13-16.
Saxon settlement of England, 75-80.
Scarborough Castle, 101.
Scottish invasions, 99.
Shoebury,
Danish camp, 81-83.
Silchester, 76.
Southampton, 149-151.
Southampton Castle, 151.
South Coast, defences of, 182-191.
Southsea Castle, 146, 182-185.
Staithes, 70.
Straits of Dover, 13.
Swale, River, 117.
Swanscombe, Danish settlement at, 82.
Thames Estuary, defences of, 179-180.
Tilbury, bulwark at, 165.
Torne Bay, bulwark at, 165.
Tynemouth Priory and Castle, 100-101.
Upnor Castle, 179-180.
Walled Towns:
Berwick-upon-Tweed, 97-98.
Bristol, 152-153.
Canterbury, 119-122.
Carlisle, 154-156.
Colchester, 111-113.
Dover, 132.
Harwich, 111.
Hastings, 139-141.
Hull, 101-102.
Ipswich, 107-108.
King’s Lynn, 102-103.
Lancaster, 153-154.
Portsmouth, 142-149.
Rochester, 117.
Rye, 138.
Sandwich, 122-127.
Southampton, 149-151.
Wareham, 151-152.
Winchester, 138.
Yarmouth (Great), 103-107.
Walmer Castle, 173.
Walmer, early defences of, 161.
Walton, 25.
Wareham Castle, etc., 78, 151-152.
Warkworth Castle, 100.
Welsh castles and walled towns, 153.
Weymouth, or Sandsfort Castle, 187.
White Bulwark, 161.
William, Duke of Normandy, 86.
Winchelsea, 138.
Wolstanbury Camp, Sussex, 5.
Wykeham, William of, 117.
Yarmouth (Great), 103-107.
Yarmouth (Great), boom at, 211.
Yarmouth (Great), chain at, 209.
Yarmouth (Little) Castle, 186-187.