Kingswear Castle

Kingswear Castle was built between 1491 and 1502 as a coastal artillery tower for use with heavy cannon. It is located in Devon, England.

Owing to the limited range of cannon at the time, the fort at Kingswear was designed to work alongside Dartmouth Castle on the opposite bank, so that between them they could provide complete cover of the narrow entrance through the Dart Estuary into Dartmouth Harbour. As gun technology improved and the range of the weapons increased, new gun emplacements were added to Dartmouth Castle, aiming further out towards the estuary mouth. This led to a decline in the defensive role of Kingswear Castle.

Unlike Dartmouth Castle, Kingswear Castle is owned by the Landmark Trust, and is not generally accessible to the public.

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Kingswear

Coordinates: 50°20′53″N 3°34′23″W / 50.348°N 3.573°W / 50.348; -3.573

Kingswear is a village and civil parish in the South Hams area of the English county of Devon. The village is located on the east bank of the tidal River Dart, close to the river's mouth and opposite the small town of Dartmouth. It lies within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and has a population of 1,332, reducing to 1,217 at the 2011 census.

Kingswear is noted for being the railhead for Dartmouth, a role continued to this day by the presence of the Paignton and Dartmouth Steam Railway in the village. Two vehicle ferries and one pedestrian ferry provide links to Dartmouth.

The village itself contains several small tourist-oriented shops and public houses, and is home to the Royal Dart Yacht Club. Kingswear Castle, a privately owned 15th century artillery tower is situated on the outskirts. Kingswear also contains the Church of St Thomas, which is a member of the Anglican Diocese of Exeter and whose patron saint is Saint Thomas of Canterbury.