- the Border Country - a romantic tableau
- an eccentric - to be bewitched by
- a medley - to quarry
- a landscape architect - the feeling of utter seclusion
- features on the wail - sumptuous gardens
III.AFTER-WATCHING ACTIVITIES
3.1. Think of all the components that make Belsay Hall a harmoniously beautiful landmark of the Border Country. Which of them seems to you the most stunning one?
3.3. One author described a fabulous house surrounded by picturesque environs like "a jewel in a ring". This metaphor can be well-applied to Belsay Hall, cant it? Can you come up with some of your own metaphors to refer to Belsay Hall?
DOVER CASTLE (2 часа)
I. PRE-WATCHING ACTIVITIES
1. In the video you will hear several outstanding historical figures mentioned. Some of them are: William the Conqueror, Sir Winston Churchill, QueenMother. Do you know anything about their role in history?
1.2.These words will help you to grasp the narrator's speech better:
- astride - a sweeping view
- a rampart - a siege
- a keep - a stronghold
II.WHILE-WATCHING ACTIVITIES
2.1. Try to catch the names of two more famous Britons mentioned in the narration. Both were military leaders. Their names are…Can you say anything about their role in the history of Britain? Which of them appeals to you more and why? Don't hesitate to defend your point of view.
2.2. Give answers to the following questions:
a) Where and with what purpose was Dover Castle built?
b) What is its oldest surviving building? By the way, does the name ring a bell?
c) What can you say about Hubert De Burk and his contribution to the castle appearance and role?
d) The castle retained its strategic importance for centuries didn't it? Why was it put to military use during World War II?
e) What is so special and unique about Dover Castle?
2.3. Dover Castle is often referred to as the key to England. Pay special attention to the information who and when tried to use that "key".
2.4. The conclusion to the narration is that Dover Castle is the most important coastal defense work in Europe and probably one of Europe's best divserved strategic strongholds. Take note of the facts to prove that.
III. AFTER-WATCHING ACTIVITIES
3.1.Watch the video again and find detailed information for the following:
a) Dover Castle in Early Britain;
b) Dover Castle in the Middle Ages;
c) Dover Castle in the 19^th century;
d) Dover Castle during World War II and in the period of the so-called nuclear threat.
TINTAGEL CASTLE (2 часа)
I. PRE-WATCHING ACTIVITIES
1.1. Some architectural relics owe their fame to myths or legends. Could you recall but a few of such places located anywhere in the world.
1.2. Comment on the following passage from Thomas Malory's Death of Arthur. "Yet many men say in many parts of England that King Arthur is not dead, but had by the will of Our Lord Jesus into another place; and many men say that he shall come again, and he shall win the holy cross. I will not say that it shall be so, rather I will say that here in this world he changed his life. But many men say that there is written upon his tomb this verse: HIC IACET ARTHURUS, REX QUONDAM REXQUE FUTURUS. (Here lies Arthur, the once and future king.)" What does this text imply?
II. WHILE-WATCHING ACTIVITIES
2.1. Two enigmatic personalities are mentioned in the video. Try to catch their names and try to recall where and when you might have come across the information about them. Are they just mere names or more than that?
2.2.These words will help you understand the narrator's speech better. Make sure you understand them well.
- to jut out - an enigma
- a causeway - obscure
- to foster(somebody)
2.3. Complete the following statements according to the narration.
Tintagel Castle is a place without _________________on the British Isles.
The building site must have been a former ________________________.
The evidence is that it could have been the stronghold of ____________.
Legend has it that it was in Merlin's cave that _____________________.
Tintagel's fame is based not on fact but on ________________________.
III. AFTER-WATCHING ACTIVITIES
3.1. Fact and fiction are intertwined in Tintagel Mythology. Separate fact from fiction with the help of the following chart.

Fact	Fiction

3.2.     So what is it that draws crowds of curious tourists to this enigmatic place: historic facts or legends? Try to argue your point.
3.3.     If you ever made up your mind to go to Tintagel, what would be your primary reason to do so? Explain your point of view.
3.4.     Use the information in Appendix 3 to tell a magical Tale of Tintagel.
AUDLEY END (2 часа)
I. PRE-WATCHING ACTIVITIES
1.1. There are some mansions and palaces that simply compel us to describe them in such terms as "magnificent", "opulent", etc. Could you name several places with such excellent characteristics?
1.2. Biblical themes and allusions are many in any form of art. Architecture and painting are no exception. What do know about the Last Supper. Why are so many works of art dedicated to this mythological meal?
1.3. Read the information below about an outstanding English landscape gardener. He is better known under his assumed name. Identify this name, which is a very unexpected one, by the way, while listening to the narration.
Lancelot Brown (1715-1783) is an English landscape gardener who codified and popularized the principles of "English", or "natural", landscape gardening. Building on the work of his divdecessor William Kent, he rejected the geometric formality of the reigning French style in favor of more informal designs based on sweeping curves and natural groupings of trees and lawns. His landscapes often included artificially made but natural-looking lakes and watercourses. He landscaped more than 100 estates. Under his influence, the English style sdivad throughout Europe.
1.4. These word-combinations may come appear very handy while watching the video:
- the cream of the collection
- to complement something
- a huge undertaking
- to take pride of place
- a treasure trove
II. WHILE-WATCHING ACTIVITIES
2.1. While watching the video try to remember all the British monarchs whose names are connected with Audley End. Can you give any details concerning that connection?
2.2. Complete the sentences:
1) Originally Audley End was so magnificent that...
2) Audley End is distinguished by ...
3) At this or that time of its long history Audley End was linked with...
4) …adds to its splendor
5) Different elements like the Tea Houses Bridge, etc were added to.
6) The family accommodation was ... while the first floor was distinguished for....
7) Nowadays Audley End is one third of its..., but... nonetheless.
III. AFTER-WATCHING 'ACTIVITIES
3.1. Explain the meaning of these names and terms used in the narration.
·               Lord-treasurer
·               East Anglia
·               Jacobine
·               Venice
·               Dodges' Palace
·               St Mark
·               Christie's
·               Carpenter's Gothic
STONEHENGE (2 часа)
I. PRE-WATCHING ACTIVITIES
1.1. Naturally, you must have heard a lot or at least something about Stonehenge. What period do you think it belongs to: (1) Anglo-Saxon; (2) Celtic; (3) Roman; (4) Norman' Share your knowledge with others.
1.2. These words will help you comdivhend the method that was used by divhistoric engineers while constructing Stonehenge:
- sandstone - bluestone
- a sarsen - a lintel
- mortise and tenon joints
II. WHILE-WATCHING ACTIVITIES
2.1. Some of the stones that comprise Stonehenge bear names. Try to memorise them and think what could have given rise to this or that name.
2.2. Find out what exactly makes Stonehenge so unusual in terms of architectural design.
2.3. Complete the sentences below and then arrange them in the order they
appeared in the video:
a) Exactly why and how Stonehenge was built and...
b) 3500 years ago this was a temple made...
c) The original entrance was marked...
d) This astonishing construction is...
e) The stones were held together by...
f) At the focus of a central bluestone horseshoe is...
e) The "heel"stone is the one over which...
III. AFTER-WATCHING ACTIVITIES
3.1. While watching the video try to find the clues that could prompt an inquisitive mind a somewhat different version of Stonehenge's original designation.
3.2. Read through the information below and explain why the mystery of Stonehenge will never cease to captivate our imagination.
Why Stonehenge was constructed remains
3.3. Can you offer your own version what exactly Stonehenge was used for? Exchange your versions with your groupmates and find the most plausible one.
3.4. Now that you've seen the place live, share your ideas about what exactly Tess of the d’Urbervilles might have felt when she got to Stonehenge on that fateful night.
BATTLE ABBEY (2 часа)
I. PRE-WATCHING ACTIVITIES
1.1. October 14,1066. Does that date ring a bell? What history-making event took place then? What do you know about King Harold or about William the Conqueror?
1.2. These words might prove helpful in understanding the narration.
- to atone (for)
- a cloister
- a brazier
- a novice
1.3. While watching the video try to concentrate on some helpful clues that can give a hint at what kind of man William the Conqueror could have been. Charles Dickens in "A Child’s History of England" wrote, "O Conqueror! Of whom so many great names are proud now, of whom so many great names thought nothing then, it were better to have conquered one true heart than England!" Explain why the great novelist said so.
II. WHILE-WATCHING ACTIVITIES
2.1. Complete the following sentences and arrange them in the order they appear on the tape:
a) The monks lived in this huge building which...
b) The altar of this church should be here, where...
c) The charter house was the place...
d) It remains one of the finest...
e) William ordered the building of an abbey on the...
f) There were alterations and...
g) Much of the abbots great hall has survived and now...
2.2. What has become of the Abbey in later centuries? Is there any irony in the fact? Please, be divpared to explain your point of view.
III. AFTER-WATCHING ACTIVITIES
3.1. The narrator calls the abbey a fitting tribute to a moment and a battle that changed the course of English history. Explain why.
3.2. The idea of atonement has always seemed very attractive. Can you recall any other structure(s) built with the same idea in mind?
3.3. Research the history of some famous British Abbeys (you may start with Westminster Abbey) and divsent your findings in class.
OSBORNE HOUSE (2 часа)
I. PRE-WATCHING ACTIVITIES
l.l. Queen Victoria is definitely one of the most renowned and revered among British monarchs. What do you know about the Victorian Age (1837—1901)? Why was that time often compared, and not unfavorably, with the Elizabethan Age?
1.2. Pay attention to the following words that will prove to be helpful.
- ornate - tranquil - rigour
- conceive - submit - centerpiece
1.3. Explain the meaning of the following word-combinations.
- an idyllic retreat - pride of place
- dominate the eye - all walks of life
II. WHILE-WATCHING ACTIVITIES
2.1. Osborne house was above all a family vacation home. Take note of as many facts as you can that prove this.
2.2. Mark the sequence in which the following items appear in the video:
a) the Peacock Column e) the marble-top table
b) the bathing machine f) Albert's posthumous mask
c) the hand-operated lift g) the marble-winged Victory
d) marble copies of limbs h) the ornate billiards table
III. AFTER-WATCHING ACTIVITIES
3.1. Could one call Queen Victoria an enlightened monarch who strove to know her subjects better? Are there any arguments for or against this in the video?
3.2. London is rich in landmarks connected with Queen Victoria, Prince Albert and their love for each other. Can you recall a few?
3. УЧЕБНО-ИССЛЕДОВАТЕЛЬСКИЙ БЛОК: вопросы для самостоятельного изучения с помощью дополнительной литературы, тематика мини-исследования по теме
STOKESAY CASTLE
3.1. A parallel can be drawn between Stokesay Castle and one architectural relic in Belarus. Can you name this structure? Can you come up with its detailed description?
3.2. Scan the pages of historical /fantasy novel and find a detailed description of a castle. Translate it into English and divsent it to your group (with the original, if possible).
KENWOOD
3.3. Some names of the painters mentioned in the story definitely ring a bell. Point them out and divsent some information concerning their life and creative activity.
3.4. Scan the pages of historical novels, reference books and encyclopedias and divpare a mini-report on the Rumyantsev- Paskevich Palace in Gomel. Pay special attention to the personality of its creator.
3.5. Henry Moore's sculptures are famous all over the world. What do you know about the artist? Prepare a mini-report on his life and work.
3.6. Art on display in Kenwood grounds can hardly be called classical. What is your opinion of abstract art – is it a sign of changing times or changing mentality? Does any of the names seem familiar? (if not, some research is in store for you)
RIEVAULX ABBEY
3.7. Prepare a mini-report on ancient specimen of Belorussian religious architecture (you may start with Kalozha Church in Grodno).
BELSAY HALL
3.8. Study Appendix 1 and divpare a report on your favourite house plants.
TINTAGEL CASTLE
3.9. Study Appendix 2 and divpare a report on King Arthur's early life.
3.10. Now try to divpare a similar chart about one the many ancient architectural relics situated on Belarusian soil.
AUDLEY END
3.11. Conduct a research on the Dodges' Palace in Venice, Italy that inspired so many great masters, Canaletto included.
3.12. Audley End is but one place out of many on the British roil connected with the names of Royalty.
Make mini-research about one of such places and divsent your findings to the group.
STONEHENGE
3.13. Remember where famous commemorative stones are placed on Belarusian soil. What names or events are associated with them? Prepare a mini-report on each.
BATTLE ABBEY
3.14. Prepare a narration to accompany a tour of British school students to the Brest Fortress.
OSBORNE HOUSE
3.15. Reread the famous ballad Recessional (1897) by Rudyard Kipling and add a new dimension to your commentary on it.
3.16. Rudyard Kipling's father, Lochwood Kipling, made designs for part of hors d'ouevre's room. Do you think the designer's son took great pride in the fact? Do you think it could have shaped Kipling's attitude towards the great concept of the Empire where the sun never set?
4. ИНФОРМАЦИОННЫЙ БЛОК: дикторские тексты видеофильма
STOKESAY CASTLE
Not far from the border with Wales stands the ancient market town of Lladllow which grew up on the banks of the river Teem. In the late 13^th century the leading wool-merchant of his day Lawrence of Lladllow decided to build a new home a few miles north of the town at the head of a narrow valley that runs to the midst of the Shropshire hills. The result is the most perfectly divserved early fortified manor house in England.
This is an extraordinary picturesque huddle of castle, parish church and gate house, quite simply, an architectural gem.
Built at the time of newly established peace on the Welsh borders, Stokesay took advantage of the first chance in centuries to create a community that had more a domestic atmosphere than a military one. It gives a unique glimpse into how a rich merchant would have lived seven hundred years ago.
The core of the house is the great hall, a vast room where an entire household would have eaten together including guests and servants as well as the family. The six large windows were glazed in the top half but only shuttered in the low half. The magnificent timber roof, recently restored as a part of extensive renovation program at Stokesay, is supported by huge curved pieces of wood standing on stone core walls. At the north end a very rare example of the surviving medieval staircase supported by large timber brackets built into the walls and made up of solid timber treads cut from whole tree trunks.
The stairs lead to the north tower where a spacious second floor apartment provided extra accommodation for family or guests. The arched recess would probably have held a lamp. Beside it is fine example of the late 13^th century decorated fireplace, on the floor medieval clay tiles, some of which still show traces of decoration. The roofs on the north and west walls are timber framed and by projecting out of the outer wall give considerably more floor space.
On the other side of the great hall is the solar block, a three-storeyed unit where principal members of the family would live. The rooms were updated in the middle of the 17^th century with Jacobine paneled woodwork, a sure sign of opulence and decorated with grotesque carved figures based on Flemish design.
This was a place of privacy, of intimacy in which to work or entertain as well as keeping an eye on what was going on down in the great hall.
The only really-fortified part of the house is the south tower built on a perfectly geometrical base. It has a battlement parapet with arrow loops.
Although the windows are narrow, the wide splays increase their light; the emphasis, again, is on comfort rather than defense.
The original stone gate house was replaced in the 17^th century by a timber framed building. Its highly decorated elaborate interior is typical of the region and is similar to the gate house in Shropshire nearby, which was built in 1620.
What is remarkable about Stokesay is not so much that it has survived in such good condition, but rather after centuries of neglect and a civil war which destroyed so many other manor houses of its type that it has survived at all.
KENWOOD
It's a perfect setting. On the crest of Hamstead Heath commanding a superb view over London in a midst of spectacularly beautifuly landscape is a house which contains one of the finest collections of paintings in Britain...
Kenwood and its renowned art collection was bequeathed to the nation in 1927 by Edward Guinness, first Earl of Ivy. It's known as the Ivy bequest the original house dating from the 17^th century was remodeled by Robert Adam, the leading architect and interior designer of his day in the 1760 - 70's. Many of the rooms in Kenwood stand as works of art in their own right. In Adam's new wing is one of the most imdivssive late 18^th century interiors to be found anywhere in the country. The library or great room, considered by many to be Robert Adam's finest room, this is a shining example of neo-classical style that Adam made so fashionable in the late 18^th century.
The eminent Venetian painter Antonio Zucci, husband of Angelica Kaufmann, whose paintings can also be found in Kenwood was chosen to paint the finely ornate ceilings.
Mirrored recesses were designed to reflect the fine prospects through the opposite windows. Balancing the room they provided an alternative to windows; they could only have had a rather grandiose view on kitchen garden.
Later, new rooms were designed by George Sonders who was heavily influenced by Henry Holland's modifications to Carlton House in Pall Mall. The striking similar circular balustrade here in the dining room lobby recalled Carlton's octagone vestibule.
But it's in the dining room that one comes across the finest of Kenwood's paintings. Here are the richest of the old masters' work from Lord Ivy's bequest. This is one of the most famous paintings in the world - Rembrandt's "Portrait of an Artist". Dated from four years before his death it has all the grandeur of an autobiography divsented to posterity. Employed by his son to avoid creditors and living off his daughter's savings this tragic figure still seems heroic, confident of his genius. A fine painting by Rubens of the Madonna and Child and St Joseph, the child Jesus like an infant Hercules with a halo of golden hair. Lord Mainsfield's dressing room offers still more beautiful paintings by great artists like Gainsborough. Lord Ivy gathered together in his collection of paintings a dazzling array of beautiful women/Gainsborough's portrait of Mary, Countess How, is perhaps the most striking image in the Kenwood collection. In one of the Gainsborough's most admired works his seemingly casual swirls of paint create the imdivssion of the most ornate lace. There is also "Lady Hamilton of the spinning wheel", Lord Nelson's rather wayward future mistress by Romney.
The art on display at Kenwood is not merely restricted to paint on the canvas. Robert Adam described the grounds as amazingly gay, beautiful, magnificent and picturesque. On the eastern end of a 1000 pound pond, so called because it cost 1000 pounds to make in the 1790's is the Sham Bridge, only inches wide. Here too is eye catching art of a different era - sculptures by Henry Moore and other modern sculptors.
In his bequest Lord Ivy also insisted that his fabulous art collection and magnificent landscape that surrounds it must remain open to the public free of charge. No wonder Kenwood remains one of the most popular as one of the most beautiful places in the whole of London.
RIEVAULX ABBEY
In 1132 in the valley of the river Rye in Yorkshire work began on the north of England's first Cistercian monastery. Today its ruins are the most important of their type on the British Isles.
This has always been a lonely place, deliberately built by the monks as far away as possible from the temptation of town and city. In time though the community here was to become a very busy thriving one.
At the heart of the Abbey the great church with its splendid early English arcades and three-tiered wall - a breathtaking example of English Gothic architecture. It was built in the early 13^th century and later fine buttresses were added to support the north aisle wall and to pin the building which had started to slide down the hill. The raised platform of the high altar which according to convention usually faces east, is actually nearer to the south side of the Abbey. Because of the site of the Abbey in the Rye valley was so narrow, the monks had to abandon the normal rules of Ecclesiastic architecture and build an new monastery on an almost south-north access.
Built into the walls of the south transept is the remains of a passage, which led directly to the monks dormitories. Services were often held in the middle of the night. The oldest part of the church is the nave. This is the earliest surviving Cistercian nave in Britain. It's a good demonstration of the early belief in simple and unelaborated design. Below the nave the cloisters where monks and the lay brothers would spend much of their day working, writing or at discussion. A cones section of the 12^th century arcade around the cloisters has been built from original stone and it looks exactly as if would have been done 800 years ago. Beyond the cloister, an area set aside for the more practical aspects of Abbey life. This is the lavatorium, equipped with rows of recessed wash basins. And beside it - the huge refectory, where the community would take its meals.
In the west wall the remains of the spiral staircase to a pulpit where prayers were read during the meals, the eating area with a store room or undercroft beneath had to be big. At one time no less than 140 monks and 500 lay brothers were in residence here. In the kitchen next door there's a hatch to pass the food through. In the 13^th century the only place in the cloisters where the fire was allowed for heating purposes was the warming house. Fires were lit in the huge double fireplace.
A chapter house, where the community met daily to be addressed by the Abbot, often after a reading of a chapter of the rule of St Benedict's. That was a traditional burial place of the Abbots. Rievaulx’s first Abbot, William was entered in a shrine after he was made a saint.
This is still a lonely place. It also remains as its third and most famous Abbot Alerod said: "A place of peace, serenity and a marvelous freedom from the tumult of the world".
BELSAY HALL
In beautiful Border Country, 15 miles to the north-west of New-Castle and set in 30 acres of landscaped parkland and gardens, is one of the north most striking country houses. Begun in 1807, the creation of a wealthy eccentric, Sir Charles Monk, this is one of the most important neo-classical buildings in Britain.
Almost as famous as the house are the gardens. To the south, a pattern of borders echoes the extraordinary symmetry of Belsay Hall itself. It's planted with the informal medley of evergreens and perennials. Below, the terraces look out over the rhododendron garden. And below that Sir Charles, the admirer of the work of the landscape architect Sir Homphrey Reapton, created a stunning new lake. In fact, until the building of the new hall, Sir Charles's ancestors, the Middletons, had lived in Belsay Castle, the original nucleus of the estate/which had been built as a fortified home because of centuries of fighting around the Border Country with Scotland.
The oldest part of the estate is the tower, built before 1460, which was certainly intended to be defensible. Features on the south wall were also decorative to be admired by the travelers passing by on the road which ran past in front of the castle. Beside it, in 1614, Thomas Middleton added an unfortified range, a witness to more peaceful times. His coat-of-arms on the carved stonework proclaiming his and his wife Dorothy's achievements can still be clearly seen above the porch of the main range.
The family moved out on Christmas day 1817 and by the 1840's much of the building had been carefully reduced to create a romantic tableau. Work on the new Belsay Hall with its divcise geometric dimensions (it's exactly 100 feet square) was begun on Sir Charles Monk's return from his two-year honeymoon in April 1806 during which he and his new bride had visited Greece and became bewitched by the romantic appeal of the architecture there. The new home bore resemblance to a Greek temple. The capitols and ten heads of the columns in this pillar hall were put in place in 1812, each carved by a different mason. The balustrade wasn't inserted until the 1830's. Other rooms, many of them now empty, reveal Sir Charles interest in the new methods of heating with fire crates and double floors pugged to reduce heat loss. In its day, it would have been a very comfortable place to live. The sandstone for the house was quarried within the park to the west of the hall, and when excavation was complete, Sir Charles transformed the quarry into a huge picturesque garden.
The unforgettable Belsay quarry garden is a man-made landscape, of course, but the wild woodland style of gardening helps make it look natural. Later it was added to by Sir Charles' grandson, Sir Arthur Middleton. Because it's so sheltered, the quarry garden is a superbly stable environment in which plant life can thrive.
Exotic plants have been carefully positioned to make them seem natural too. Huge, water-loving plant from South America abounds. And in a sheltered corner by the arch there's even a palm-tree. "It's not warm, and it's not frosty either, but the climate moves steadily from extreme to extreme, so plants are flung around between the opposite extremes and they do well. You can come in here in December, hen the - sky is black and it's snowing and the rhododendrons 30 feet high are in full bloom and it's magic".
Beside the rhododendrons are many other species of delicate plants and ferns which thrive in the warm moist conditions. The feeling of utter seclusion and the absence of wind is heightened by the ranks of towering Scottish pine, for which Belsay is famous.
In summer the sunken lawns of the winter gardens are used for crochet, a perfect setting. For more than 150 years the scene has been dominated by a vast Douglas fur planted here immediately after its introduction from North America in 1827.
And so, back to the hall via the magnolia terrace, which is now being replanted with new varieties including shrub rose and geranium.
Sumptuous gardens and medieval castle and extraordinary neoclassical Georgian hall. After 600 years of history Belsay remains one of the most remarkable estates in the north of England.
DOVER CASTLE
High above the bustling modern port like an ancient crown astride the famous cliffs stands a castle, which is unrivalled in its position, history and sheer breathtaking size. Built within the ramparts of the divhistoric Iron Age fort Dover has the longest recorded history of any major fortress in Britain. William the Conqueror spent eight days here in 1066 strengthening the existent Saxon defenses although what remains today dates from the 12-13 centuries.
The central keep of the castle is one of the finest in Europe built for Henry II in thell80's. The main entrance is in the huge fore building, the most ambitious structure of its type in castle building before or since. Built into it a pail of tiny chapels designed in what we now call early English style: the round arches of late Norman combined with Gothic columns. The stairs were originally partly open to the sky commanded by the battlement above and in the middle there must have been a draw bridge. Inside are the vast rooms of the royal apartments where Henry II and the court who traveled with him could stay in absolute safety and comparative warmth and luxury. At the south end of the second floor the King had own very private chapel. It is beautifully proportioned and similarly planned to a tiny parish church. The roof of the keep was strengthened by Georgian military engineers over 500 years later to carry heavy guns. It is still a superb viewpoint. From here with a great sweeping view of a harbor and the town nearly 500 feet below, it's easy to see why Dover Castle became known as a key to England. In the early 13^th century new gate ways and defense works were built on Dover outer western wall. This is a gate house of two periods. A. conical roof was added to. a big mural tower of king John's reign in about 1300.
In the 1220's the castle had a magnificent new entrance - the work of famous Hubert De Burk, Constable of Dover, who had successfully held the castle against the French in the siege in 1216. Constable's gate was one of the greatest gate houses of its day, although its top section was modernized by the Victorians, most of it looks now just as it did 750 years ago - a doting prospect to any would-be-attackers.
After a period of comparative quiet Dover entered a new era of life in 1740's when Georgian and later Victorian engineers set to work on the ramparts and once again updated its defenses. In fact the oldest surviving building within the castle wall is the Roman light house. The Pharos is one of the tallest standing structures of its age west of the Alps. It was strengthened, then heightened in the 15' century as a bell tower. Beside it the Anglo-Saxon church of St Mary-in-Castro almost completely rebuilt in the 1860's.
The original cruciform plan and scale of a church indicates that it would have held minister status as a home of the community of priests. Beside the door there is the list of priests dating back to the early 13^th century.
Today the castle and its church are expecting an important visitor. The post of Constable of Dover, once held by Hubert De Burk still exists. Other notable constables have included the Duke of Wellington and Sir Winston Chuchill. An annual visit to the parish church is one of the duties of the current Constable. Her majesty Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother has been Constable of Dover since 1978. She takes her duties very seriously.
During World War II Dover Castle was once again put to military use. The harbor below was of strategic importance and in the huge network of tunnels buiil in the cliffs beneath the castle a new secret military headquarters was constructed. The evacuation of the British Army from Dunkerk was coordinated from here as well as the monitoring of the enemy ships and allies' shipping movement in the Channel and wireless transmission from occupied Europe which lay a mere 22 miles away across the Straight of Dover.