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.