Deputy Constable Dover Castle – a wife’s perspective

We are delighted to acknowledge Mrs. Wendi Atherton, Honorary Vice President of The Friends of Dover Castle, who resided in Constables Tower between 1976 and 1981 as the wife of the then Deputy Constable, Brigadier MA Atherton CBE, JP, DL.

Throughout the years, Wendi has been a dedicated and ardent supporter of the Friends, showcasing her profound interest and passion for the Castle through extensive research on its fortifications, history, and military presence. Her publication, Soldiers of the Castle: Dover Castle Garrisoned, provides a comprehensive account of the fortress’s guards, gunners, and personnel across the centuries.

We are thrilled to announce an upcoming series of personal anecdotes from Wendi, offering a unique glimpse into life within Constables Tower. This six-part series, written in her own words, will be released over the next few months.

Please join us as we embark on this extraordinary journey, beginning with part 1 of this exclusive insight into life at Dover Castle.

© [2026] [Friends of Dover Castle]. All rights reserved.

Part 1

When we first heard Maurice was to be posted to Dover, and our home would be in the Castle, I didn’t know what to expect in the way of accommodation – “a flat in the Castle” we were told – well, some flat, and quite the grandest “army quarter” we had ever had! The official handover day was at the end of April 1976, and within two days of our moving in, a BBC team wanted to talk about being handed the Key of the Castle, and living in one of England’s oldest houses, and the local papers made much of him being the 200th Deputy Constable, and no-one being able to find which door the enormous key fitted! By tradition, the key is handed to the next incumbent at his installation as Deputy Constable, on a blue velvet cushion, along with a copy of Stephen de Penchester’s Statutes of Dover Castle, dating from 1267.

As an army quarter Constable’s Tower must be unique, and surely the most ancient and historic that was then occupied by a serving officer! It is certainly a tremendous privilege to have lived in such a place. I am probably a little out of date on the more recent happenings, as it is well over forty years since we lived here. I will give you a brief outline of the history of Constables Tower later in this series of blogs, but for now, I recall some of my most treasured memories of life during our residency.

Maurice did not actually move to Dover until early May 1976, as his predecessor wanted time to move out, and I was not intending to move until July and the end of the summer term, when our daughter was due to move schools; however, this arrangement did not apparently suit the powers that be, and we were told my presence in Dover was also required! I therefore had to board my daughter out with a friend during the week, whilst I collected her (from Hampshire) each weekend – which complicated life a bit, as we were plunged into official functions pretty much straight away; by September, we had both children at boarding school – having always felt that if we could not give them a settled home, at least they should have some continuity in their education; had we known we would be here over five years, we might have planned differently, but the normal posting was two and a half to three years at the most.

Two days later our first VIP (VCGS [Vice Chief of the General Staff] – No 2 in the Army – [Bill and Jean Scotter, who luckily we knew, and this was an informal visit to hear their King’s School daughter sing in the Cathedral) came for the night, and we had neither unpacked properly, nor did we yet really know our way round either the house nor the Castle – and they wanted a tour of the Castle; needless to say, I had not even had time to read the guide book – but Bill knew his history rather better than I did!]. Arthur Rogers, the head custodian, stepped into the breach for us; and when we got up onto the roof of the Keep, he amused us by telling of two American visitors he had had two days earlier: on a sunny day, with France clearly visible, they had asked about “that little island over there”; Arthur could not resist at first saying “oh, just one of our minor possessions”, before coming clean and saying “actually, it’s France”, whereupon husband turned to wife and said: “Gee honey, we done France too”!

To be continued……………