fresh concerns of a French attack. Around 1570, the main bastions were filled with earth, probably to allow heavier guns to be mounted on them, and Queen Elizabeth I inspected the castle in 1573. The defences along the coast were mobilised in 1588 in response to the threat posed by the Spanish armada and were probably kept ready for action throughout the rest of Elizabeth's reign. 17th century During the first decade of the 1600s, England was at peace with France and Spain and coastal defences received little attention. By 1615, Deal Castle was in a poor state, its outer walls damaged by storms and coastal erosion, while a survey suggested repairs estimated at £396 were necessary. The Captain of the castle, William Byng, wrote numerous letters to his superiors, claiming winter storms had filled the moat with water and stones from the beach and undermined the castle foundations. By 1618, he reported most of the garrison were living in the nearby town, with only a small guard force manning the castle at night. As its condition deteriorated, fighting between Dutch, French and Spanish ships in the Downs became common, increasing the strategic importance of fortifications along the Kent coast. A new survey in 1624 estimated the cost of repairs had escalated to £1,243 and George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, suggested nearby Camber Castle be demolished to provide materiel for the work. This does not appear to have been acted on, although some repairs were probably completed in the late 1630s. The castle was seized by Parliamentarian forces at the start of the First English Civil War in August 1642, with William Batten replacing William Byng, who was suspected of Royalist sympathies, although the castle played little part in this conflict. When the Second English Civil War broke out in 1648, the Parliamentarian navy was based in the Downs, protected by Walmer and the other Henrician castles, but by May a Royalist insurrection was under way across Kent. The previous year, Batten had been forced to resign as Commander of the Fleet and he now encouraged elements of the navy to switch sides. Sir Henry Palmer, a former sailor, accompanied by other members of the Kentish gentry, also called on the fleet to revolt, taking advantage of the many fellow Kentish men in the crews. Walmer and Deal Castle declared for the King, shortly after the garrisons at Sandown.