Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

A set of temporary hutment camps were constructed at the Citadel in 1805, they occupied a central location and were of timber construction with the exception of the kitchens, which were of brick. With the advent of peace in 1815 the Citadel garrison was withdrawn, and the temporary buildings were dismantled, probably before 1821. Later garrisons were house in more permanent accommodation provided in the casemates etc. (location accurate to the nearest 2m based on available information)

Monument Types

• BARRACKS (Demolished, Post Medieval - 1805 AD? to 1821 AD?)
• COOKHOUSE (Demolished, Post Medieval - 1805 AD? to 1821 AD?)

Full description

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Summarised from report:

A set of temporary hutment camps were constructed at the Citadel in 1805, they occupied a central location and were of timber construction with the exception of the kitchens, which were of brick. The core of the complex was formed by five Soldiers’ Quarters, two of eight bays and three of four bays, which formed two interlinked courtyards. Each bay formed a barrack room intended for twenty men ‘in double Births’, i.e. sleeping two to a bed, with heating from a fireplace set back-to-back with that of the next room. Placed within each courtyard was a Cooking Kitchen, the easterly one attached to a Canteen Yard and Cellar. No internal details are shown. North and south of the Soldiers’ Quarters, and facing away from them, were two Officers’ Quarters. Each consisted of six rooms for officers, with three rooms for their servants occupying the greater part of three rear ranges. The officers’ rooms, designed for ‘either One Captain or Two Subalterns’, each incorporated a lobby inside the entrance, which had the effect of screening one end of the room. At the opposite end, the room turned into the rear range for a short distance. Both spaces might facilitate the informal segregation of sleeping or eating space. North-west and south-west of the main complex, two small blocks may have contained Latrines. Although the necessity for temporary barracks would have diminished as the casemates became available for occupation, their retention might suggest that the casemates were not all finished. There may also have been a need to retain them as long as war continued. With the advent of peace in 1815 the Citadel garrison was withdrawn, and the temporary buildings were dismantled, probably before 1821. (1)

A detailed plan of these structures was produced in 1817 (2)

A plan dating to 1811 of the whole fort also shows these structures (3)

<1> English Heritage, 2004, The Western Heights, Dover, Kent: Report No. 2: The Citadel (Unpublished document). SKE17690.

<2> Hastings F Murphy, Lt RE, 1817, Plan of the temporary barracks as built in the Citadel (Map). SKE51522.

<3> Major W H Ford, Royal Engineers, 1811, Plan Shewing the Appropriation of the Ordnance Lands on the Western Heights Dover 1811 (Map). SKE51523.

Sources and further reading

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