St. Catherine's Castle

https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/st-catherines-castle/

St Catherine’s Castle is an early artillery fort, probably built during the 1530s. A two-gun battery was added below it in 1855 at the time of the Crimean War, and as late as the Second World War the fort was modified again to form part of a more extensive battery. It demonstrates well how military architecture, technology and defensive tactics developed over a period of 400 years. 

The fort consists of a single D-shaped tower looking south-east from the tip of the headland, from which two sections of curtain wall, pierced by musketry slits, extend downslope to the north-east and south-west.

A bastion projects outwards from the north-east stretch of wall and there is a wide gateway near its north-east end. Both stretches of wall terminate in precipitous cliffs, cutting off a near semicircular area at the end of the headland.

The tower is two storeys high, with walls up to 4 feet 6 inches (1.35 metres) thick. There are two rows of gunports, which cover both the approaches to the estuary and the harbour itself. These gunports have been modified over the years but were originally intended for cannon mounted on flat boards, rather than on wheels.

The castle in in the care of English Heritage. Entry is free and the castle is open within daylight hours all year.