Pendennis Castle is an artillery fort constructed by Henry VIII near Falmouth, Cornwall, England between 1540 and 1542. It formed part of the King's Device programme to protect against invasion from France and the Holy Roman Empire, and defended the Carrick Roads waterway at the mouth of the River Fal. The original, circular keep and gun platform was expanded at the end of the century to cope with the increasing Spanish threat, with a ring of extensive stone ramparts and bastions built around the older castle. Pendennis saw service during the English Civil War, when it was held by the Royalists, and was only taken by Parliament after a long siege in 1646. It survived the interregnum and Charles II renovated the fortress after his restoration to the throne in 1660.
16th-century keep and gun platform
Tudor gun crew in action in the keep
The classically styled gatehouse, built in 1700
Early 20th-century barracks
Falmouth is a town, civil parish and port on the River Fal on the south coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It has a total resident population of 21,797.
Falmouth viewed from Pendennis Castle
Falmouth, Cornwall
Killigrew monument in Arwenack Street
The Falmouth Lifeboat moored by the docks with the old town and The Penryn River in the background