Pendennis Castle, Falmouth, Cornwall

Setting the scene

The most westerly of Henry VIII’s chain of forts, Pendennis Castle stands proudly on a rugged headland overlooking the entrance to the Fal. Built to guard Cornwall from invasion, its central gun tower is the oldest part challenging all comers for over four centuries. The Castle is said to have been last armed during the English Civil War in the 1640s when the Royalists bravely stood out against a five month siege.