Located near the mouth of the River Dart, Dartmouth Castle was constructed to fight against French raids in 1388 during the Hundred Years War. In 1486, England’s King Henry VII demanded the completion of a gun tower with ‘all godly haste’. The tower’s construction finished in 1493 – making it the first purpose built coastal artillery in Britain and becoming the heart of the castle. In 1909 the War Office gave the gun tower over to the Office of Works for display as a historic monument. During the First World War two quick firing guns were installed on Dartmouth Point Battery to prevent gunboats from entering the harbour. In 1922 it was leased as a tourist attraction, with a tearoom in the battery.

However, when war broke out again in 1939, the castle was reactivated. The Harbour became a haven for merchant convoys, and the Philip’s shipyard was commissioned to build boats and ships. Two quick firing guns were added which could be fired up to 3 miles out to sea. These were protected from air attack by concrete gun houses, one of which serves as the ticket office for the tourist attraction it is today.

An anti-aircraft battery was also established on Jawbones Hill. On the opposite side of the River Dart, Kingswear Castle was equipped with a machinegun post and a land-based torpedo launching site This is still there to this day and is one of two left remaining. Dartmouth battery operated until 1943, when its duties were replaced by Brownstone battery.

After the Second World War, the War Office finally withdrew from Dartmouth Castle. Since 1984 it has been under the care of English Heritage, with the site of a large coast defence gun now replaced by a shop and the site a museum open to visitors.