Heritage

The Grand Shaft

"Such a union of elegance and convenience might have reflected credit even upon the genius of Sir Christopher Wren". W.H. Ireland 1829

Set back to one side of Snargate Street, Dover, its entrance barred by iron gates is a sloping corridor which leads to the Grand Shaft, a unique 19th Century triple staircase built during the Napoleonic Wars. This fact sheet tells you the history of this monument and how you can gain access to it. Grand Shaft, Western Heights, Dover.

Brief DescriptionThe shaft is an ingenious construction of brick measuring 26 feet (8 metres) in diameter and 140 feet (42 metres) in height. It was built between 1806 – 1809. It has three staircases of Purbeck limestone which wind clockwise one above the other down a central brick light and ventilation shaft lit by an occasional window. At the bottom the three staircases meet in the sloping corridor which leads to Snargate Street. There are 200 steps in all separated by several landings.

Brief History

The shaft was built to provide a short cut for soldiers based in barracks and forts on the Western Heights of Dover. At the time of the French Wars in the late 18th and early 19th Centuries it was generally feared that Napoleon would invade Britain and that Dover as the nearest English port and town to France would be a prime target. Observers at Dover could see Napoleon’s great armies massing at Boulogne and since 1779 defences had been under construction on the Western Heights to defend this 'front line' town.

The complete defensive works which ultimately consisted of two detached forts connected by 4 miles of dry ditches, barracks and a hospital were not completed until the middle of the 19th Century (see 'The Western Heights' fact sheet for full details). The Grand Shaft was first considered in 1804.

The Building of The Grand Shaft

The shaft was first proposed by Brigadier General Twiss, a talented engineer who was in charge of the Southern District Engineering Department. In 1804 he wrote to Lt. General Morse proposing the construction of 'a shaft with triple staircase the chief object of which is the conveniency and safety of the troops'.

Up until now troops had to reach the town by Chalk tracks, which formed dangerously slippery routes in wet weather.

As a bonus Twiss considered that the shaft would be in the event of an attack

"the shortest and securist communication with the town” and that it “may eventually be useful in sending reinforcements to Troops employed in the defence of the Beach and Town or in affording them a secure retreat".

By 1806 the construction of the shaft was underway. It was difficult to build particularly as the weather was poor making the earthworks in the chalk and clay dangerous. On many occasions great weights of earth fell from the side of the shaft although miraculously no workmen were killed during the 3 years it took to complete the work. By 1809 the shaft was ready to use, built at a cost of £3,221. 2s. 10¾d. (£700 less than the original estimate).

The Use of The Grand Shaft

Within 3 years the shaft had become a local attraction used by military and civilian alike. In 1812 a Mr Leith of Walmer rode up the shaft on horseback for a bet. Cells in a guardhouse at the bottom of the shaft (long since removed) catered for soldiers too drunk to negotiate the stairs after a night in some of the Snargate Street Pubs.

Later, after the fear of invasion had subsided the three staircases, which had been designed initially to allow the maximum number of troops to descend or ascend as quickly as possible, became segregated. Notices which changed slightly over the years were erected at the top of each staircase stating who was entitled to use which set of stairs. The best remembered of them all is as follows:-

1. Officers and their ladies
2. Sergeants and their wives
3. Soldiers and their women

The Restoration of The Grand Shaft

After the second World War the Grand Shaft became more and more derelict. Much rubbish including cars was dumped into the centre of the Shaft. The old Barracks were demolished in the 1950's but happily in the late 1970's Dover District Council with the help of the Department of the Environment restored the Shaft. Further restoration was carried out in 1986 and the Shaft opened to the public on a regular basis in that year during the summer months.