The Western Heights
In 1779 England was at war with America and her allies France,
Spain and the Netherlands in the American War of Independence. An
army of 50,000 waited across the channel, ready to invade. To
defend the vitally important town and port of Dover, simple
earthwork batteries were thrown up around the town and on the
Western Heights to supplement the now much outdated Medieval
Castle. From this simple and inexpensive beginning grew a massive
fortified complex of brick and stone consisting of two massive
forts, miles of dry ditches, barracks and a hospital which were not
finally completed until over ninety years later.
This fact sheet gives a brief history of the main features to be
found on the Heights and provides a map for you to use showing the
location of these fortifications. All the Western Heights Barracks
were demolished in the 1960’s. Of the remainder the two forts may
be viewed from the outside, but not entered.
Two Forts - The Drop Redoubt and The Citadel
The wars of 1779-83 saw the beginning of fortifications on these
two sites, but what remains today dates to two periods, the early
19th Century and the late 19th Century. Construction began in 1804
in response to the threat posed to Britain by the French Napoleonic
Wars. The Drop Redoubt was built between 1804-8 (a Redoubt is a
detached fort, the ‘Drop’ refers to the remains of Dover’s second
Roman Lighthouse, referred to locally as the ‘Devil’s Drop of
Mortar’) but the Citadel, a much larger fort was still under
construction in 1815 when peace was declared and all work on the
Heights ceased. Both forts were surrounded by deep defensive
ditches revetted with flint or brick. A renewed threat of war in
Europe in the mid 1850’s encouraged the government to complete and
modernise the fortifications at great cost building ‘a honeycomb in
a hill’ capable of housing over 4,000 soldiers, whose role was to
‘hide’ in the forts and attack any invader from the rear once they
had passed Dover. Today the Drop Redoubt is owned by English
Heritage and is occasionally open to the public. The Citadel is now
used as a Youth Custody Centre and is not open.
The Military Barracks
There were two main sites of barracks on the Heights. The first
date to 1804 and were known as the Grand Shaft Barracks, being
located at the top of the Grand Shaft Staircase. They provided
accommodation for 59 Officers, 1,300 NCO’s and privates and eight
horses. They were renowned for their light and airy situation, and
close to them near Archcliffe Gate was a Military hospital, with
beds for 180.
The second large set of barracks was the South Front Barracks,
constructed in the 1860’s. These were constructed in a huge trench,
facing the sea with different floor levels connected to the hill
behind by cast iron bridges and galleries. These were not such
pleasant barracks to live in being cold and dark.
The North Centre Bastion
This is a defensive work which projects into the line of the
ditch and was built to defend the area between the Redoubt and the
Citadel. It was completed between 1860/74.
St Martin’s Battery
Situated on high ground overlooking the Grand Shaft this battery
was used not only in Napoleonic times but in World War One and Two.
It commands unrivalled views of the harbour and town and was
reached from the Grand Shaft stairway by means of steps known as St
Martin’s steps. Many of these have survived and can still be
used.
(St Martin is the patron saint of Dover, and he is depicted on the
Town Crest).
Further Information
For further information try:
J Welby “Dover’s Forgotten Fortress”
(Kent County Library)
J Coad “Later Fortifications of Dover”
(in Post Medieval Archaeology 16 (1982) 141-200)
Dover Museum, Market Square, Dover also holds a substantial
amount of information on the Western Heights including plans, maps
and photos, and stocks both of the above books in the museum
shop.
"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.
For more information and
photos visit the website for the Western Heights Preservation
Society