The Discovery of Dover's Lost 'Miniature Castle'

On the hills above East Cliff the Norman Keep of Dover Castle forms part of a famous skyline known throughout the world.

On the other side of the of the Dour Valley, however, very, very few local people - yet alone those from further afield - know that a similar Keep lies hidden on the cliffs of the Western Heights. And even fewer have ever visited it.

The following photos are among the first to be published on the internet of Dover's second, albeit miniature, Castle (click on any thumbnail for a larger view):

Western half of the upper floor

Internal view of the East Tower

Internal view from the Northwest

North Wall showing chimney course

Front upper floor, central section

The 200 year-old building is, in fact, a 'folly'. It was built in the early 1800s by two Wine Merchants, Stephen and Rogers Court, and it was a tourist attraction of its day. For much of its history the miniature castle has been neglected and its ruins are now hidden behind trees and other undergrowth which cover this part of the cliff-face. Access to the site is 'difficult'.

More information on the Court's Folly can be found at this Dover Museum webpage which states:

...As well as leasing the shop and premises from Dover Harbour Board, the Courts' leased 2 plots of land behind, from Thomas Rutley and Thomas Papillon. On this land Stephen and Rogers built terracing for vines, tea gardens, 2 summerhouses, and dug an extensive network of vaults into the cliffs behind, with plastered and painted walls and chalk carvings. The terracing up the cliffs was laid out as gardens, growing the different varieties of grapes that the wines they sold were made from, and also other exotic fruit such as figs and dates. A summerhouse was built at the top of the terracing and further along the cliff-face they built a folly in the shape of Dover Castle silhouetted against the sky. These became tourist attractions and customers could taste-test products sitting on the terracing and have tours of the vaults...

The internal dimensions of the Court's Folly are approximately 10.5 feet by 20 feet. Having said that, the external length of the East Wall is actually about 13 - 14 feet with the last 3 feet or so containing a horizontal oval recess. This extension is probably for cosmetic or structural purposes only because there's no indication of there being anything beyond the inner rear wall. The front wall is 16 inches thick and is over 20 feet high.

Basically, the miniature castle can be described as being two storeys high but only one 'room' deep. The bottom floor faces on to a narrow ledge and there is an upper terrace on the west side (to the left when looking from the front) of the upper floor.

Shots taken below the bottom ledge do show both floors of the structure but those taken from the upper west terrace give the impression it is a single storey building.

Because of the trees and undergrowth - particularly where it has completely engulfed the East Tower - it is impossible to get a shot of the whole of the front of the building. The most you can see is the central section or the western two thirds. These shots (except for close-ups) were taken by standing on the cliff-face itself which made the experience 'interesting'.

The front is largely intact. Only part of the west wall remains but it does so to its full height. The east wall has a doorway and its height - complete with crenellations - decreases progressively from front to rear. It is impossible to stand more than two feet outside of the east wall without employing some form of levitation.

Looking into the 'castle' from the front, only the lower half of the right-hand part of the rear wall is still standing and includes a chimney course (complete with sooty residue).

The roof and first floor have collapsed and in-filled the building almost to the sills of the bottom floor windows.

A video slideshow, titled "Dover's 'Other Castle': The Court's Folly", contains nearly 80 photos of the location and immediate surroundings. It's available on both Google and YouTube, with YouTube giving the better picture.

A number (currently 25+) of still photographs are available at the Images of Dover website (click on the folly tag) including some not shown in the video. More will be uploaded in the near future.

John Latter / Jorolat (UK)