Moats Bulwark was constructed between 1539 and 1541 under Henry VIII to further strengthen the area outer defences of the Castle. The bulwark is located at the base of the cliffs on the far south eastern side of the castle and was designed to counter a sea-borne assault. It was the first (known) fixed gun position established at Dover Castle and has gone through various stages of alteration and modernisation, most notably in the early 18th century when a new gun battery (known as Guilford battery) was constructed below and to the east of the Bulwark.

Moat’s Bulwark was not well documented during its construction or earliest use, although an illustration of 1541 which is thought to depict the bulwark shows it to have had a substantial gun platform with gun ports, and a long timber building to its rear (which may pre-date the fort and is no longer visible today). (1) It is one of three Henrician Bulwarks built between March 1539 and the summer of 1541. Originally known as the turf bulwark under Dover Castle it later became known as Moat's Bulwark after its second captain Stephen Moat. There was a timber revetted platform with a roughly circular front with embrasures, approached by tunnels in the cliff. The site continued to be updated during the Elizabethan period and was still manned in the 17th century. (2-3) The original gun platform is rectangular in shape and constructed of ragstone with some Tudor brick detail, and is not dissimilar in general shape from the Tudor Bulwark in the castle ditch. The most identifiable feature of the bulwark today is the brick revetted upper platform and the zig-zag brick and stone steps leading down to the 18th-cent. semi-circular gun battery. The stone gatehouse is of 16th-century date and probably a later addition to the bulwark. Today this is a roofless ruin, with two small chambers (probably a store room and a guardroom), and may largely be in its original state, though there is some uncertainty about the use of Portland Stone and the possibility of a later rebuilding. (4-5) (summarised from sources) additional references (6-7)

<1> Unknown, 1541, The Bulwark under the Castle Clyff (Map). SKE31980.

<2> Bennett, D., 1977, A Handbook of Kent's Defences 1540-1945 (Monograph). SKE7811.

<3> Victor Smith and Andrew Saunders, 2001, Kent's Defence Heritage (Unpublished document). SKE6956.

<4> Johnathan Coad, 1995, English Heritage Book of Dover Castle and the Defences of Dover (Monograph). SKE52106.

<5> English Heritage, 2014, Dover Castle Conservation Management Plan Volume 2 Gazetteer (Unpublished document). SKE52105.

<6> Royal Archaeological Institute, 1969, The Archaeological Journal (Article in serial). SKE55368.

<7> Andrew Saunders and Victor Smith, 01/01/2000, Kent's Defence Heritage (Miscellaneous Material). SKE24108.