Pevensey Castle began as a Roman Saxon Shore fort, dated to about 290 from wooden piles in a 1994 excavation. The infobox names Carausius as builder with a question mark. The oval plan measures about 290 by 170 meters, and the article calls it the largest of the nine Saxon Shore forts. William the Conqueror built a temporary fortification inside the Roman walls in 1066, and a permanent castle with two baileys followed in the 1070s.
The keep dates to the 1190s, though an 1130 reference suggests an earlier stone structure. It has an unusual design, a rectangular block with seven projecting towers. The castle withstood sieges in 1088, 1147, 1264 to 1265 and 1399.
The 9th Duke of Devonshire gave it to the state in 1925. English Heritage manages it, and it is a scheduled monument.
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