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Hubert de Burgh
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When the French tried to invade England during King John’s reign it wasn’t some fictional Robin Hood who neatly fended them off in one fell swoop on the beach. It was this man, Hubert de Burgh, who was the victorious defender of Dover Castle against the French in the Siege of 1216.
This was a display inside the keep of Dover Castle back in 2001.
In 1216 Prince Louis of France invaded England at the invitation of disgruntled English barons who chafed under the corrupt rule of King John. "Lackland John", successor to King Richard Lionheart who was killed by a crossbow bolt while sieging a castle in France, was forced by the leading barons to sign the Magna Carta at Runnymede in 1215 which limited his absolute power as king. John did not honor the "great charter" and incurred further anger of the barons who welcomed a French king in his place. (This obscure corner of history is soon to be dramatized by the upcoming 2010 film "Ironclad".)
Remember, these men were Normans who probably held as much title in France as in England. A strict sense of English "nationality" did not emerge until the Hundred Years War.
During the months long siege, Hubert de Burgh and 140 knights defended Dover Castle against the French invaders and rebel barons. The castle barbican and a tower toppled down to the sappers mining beneath the walls, but the defenders held the castle firm.
Louis abandoned the siege and John died shortly after. Louis’ support from the barons diminished once John’s nine-year-old son Henry III was on the throne. He attacked the castle again but failed. England has never been successfully invaded since the Norman Conquest of 1066.
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