I recently ‘did the rounds’ at Deal Castle.
That, the nice English Heritage people told us, was where the phrase originated. The castle, built in 1540 to a design personally approved by Henry VIII – which may explain why its plan looks like a Tudor rose – has three floors, and the basement is called The Rounds.
From here, soldiers would patrol in conditions that were probably cold and dank – to judge by our experience on a benign spring day – ready
