BAYARDS COVE CASTLE

ALTERNATIVE NAME:

BAYARDS COVE, BEARSCORE CASTLE, BAYARDS COVE FORT

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Bayards Cove Castle is a small artillery blockhouse built to protect the town quay. Possibly built 1509-10 based on documentary evidence, it was certainly in existence by 1537. An irregular shaped platform cut into the cliff face is enclosed by a 1.5 metre thick and 4.9 metre high local limestone rubble mortared wall. The original access to the blockhouse was through an entrance situated in the northern wall and this survives as a distorted arched passageway. The interior measures 16 metres east-west by 15.5 metres north-south and is defined on the western side by a 6 metre high cliff. At ground level the wall is pierced by 11 gunports. Access to a wall walk was gained by a stone stairway built against the inner face of the northern wall. The wall walk itself is protected by a projecting parapet providing shelter for musketeers. During the English Civil War, the blockhouse was held by both sides and it was also pressed into active service for a short time during World War II, when it was used as a machine gun post.

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(SX 87855098) Bayard's Cove Castle (NR)
(remains of) (NAT) (1)

Bayard's Cove or Bearscore Castle possibly dates to 1509/10 when a tower was ordered to be built and furnished with artillery to protect the harbour mouth. The form of the structure agrees with this dating. It was certainly in existence by 1537 when it is mentioned as "New Castle" in a Corporation lease, and Leland in 1539 described it as "as fair bulwark, built of late."

It is irregular in plan and consists of thick walls pierced by a single line of eleven gunports, with a wall-walk and parapet above. The parapet, which is now mostly missing, projected outwards on corbel-table.

Traces of lean-to structures survive in the rock face against which the fort was built.

The fort was adapted as a machine-gun post in the Second World War, and was put under guardianship in 1954. (For general description of Dartmouth defences, see SX 85 SE 51) (2-3)

SX 87865096. Bayard's Cove castle consists of an irregular rectangle. The W and N sides cut out of the bedrock are roughly straight, the E side is gently curving, whilst the SE corner is in the form of an arc. The S side has the appearance of two conjoined angle towers. The walls are of rough coursing and are 1.6 to 2.0m thick. There are eleven arched entrances at ground level with rectangular external parts. The surviving entrance is on the N side. A parapet walk survives at the top of the surviving fabric (c.40m high). It is reached by two staircases. In external elevation the fort has a projecting parapet with corbels. (4).

Additional references. (5-9)

SOURCE TEXT

( 1) Ordnance Survey Map (Scale / Date)

OS 6" 1963

( 2) Society of Antiquaries of London Archaeologia : or miscellaneous tracts relating to antiquity

85 (1935) Page(s)142

( 3) General reference

Saunders AD. 1965. Guide to Dartmouth Castle Page(s)14-15

( 4) Field Investigators Comments

WR Wilson-North 25/10/1991

( 5) Scheduled Monument Notification

20/05/1996

( 6) List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest

South Hams 23/02/1994 673-1

(7) General reference

Freeman R. 1990. Dartmouth and its Neighbours Page(s)54

(8) David J Cathcart King 1983 Castellarium anglicanum : an index and bibliography of the castles in England, Wales and the Islands. Volume II : Norfolk-Yorkshire and the islands

Page(s)116

(9) Fortress Study Group Fort : the international journal of fortification and military architecture

4, AUTUMN 1977 Page(s)76

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DARTMOUTH DEFENCES
DARTMOUTH

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The defences of Dartmouth are first mentioned in the 14th century. In 1374 the citizens were instructed to "survey and correct all defects in the said...

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