Key facts about Pendennis Castle

• Pendennis Castle overlooks Carrick Roads, an important anchorage in the River Fal estuary. Controlling this area was critical to defending England, to prevent its use by an enemy intending to invade.
• The castle was part of national defensive preparations under Henry VIII, from 1539-47. It is one of a small group of artillery forts with a distinctive circular shape designed for 360° defence. 
• With its small garrison of gunners and soldiers, Pendennis Castle kept watch over the Fal estuary and the emerging port of Falmouth for over 400 years. 
• In 1646, an 800-strong Royalist force withstood a bitter siege during the English Civil War, finally surrendering to Parliament with honour after 5 months of fighting.
• The castle was an important supply base for the British Army in France and Portugal during the Napoleonic Wars of the early 1800s.
• In the First and Second World Wars, the castle was the headquarters of the Falmouth defences. Its concealed Battery Observation Post controlled Half Moon Battery’s guns, which could fire up to 14 miles out to sea.
• Pendennis Castle has many spectacular guns. Some can be seen in action on firing days. These include replica Tudor ‘sakers’ (named after a falcon), Edwardian quick-firing guns for fighting torpedo boats and Second World War coast, field and anti-aircraft guns.