One of the Cinque Ports, Deal is today a seaside
resort with a natural harbour, shingle beach,
promenade and myriad tales of smuggling and
shipwrecks on the nearby Goodwin Sands. Its rich
history is typified by the town’s low, squat
castle which survives as a remarkable example of
the defensive system built along the south coast
by Henry VIII in the 16th
century. Shaped like a Tudor Rose, it was created
in response to the Pope’s enthusiasm for a crusade
against England and had no less than 145 openings
for guns. Julius Caesar is also supposed to have
landed here on a reconnaissance mission prior to
the Roman invasion.
