Exploring Kent's Past

It should not be assumed that this site is publicly accessible and it may be on private property. Do not trespass.

Monument details

Summary

The main magazine, which is no longer extant, was constructed in the south eastern corner of the citadel. It was constructed under the 1853-55 scheme of works, possibly replacing an earlier magazine (1805?) located where the Officers Quarters is now situated. It had numerous alterations including the addition of a ramped approach in the 1860’s. The magazine was demolished when the fort was converted for use as a prison, though it is likely that substantial below ground remains survive. (location accurate to the nearest 1m based on available information)

Monument Types

• MAGAZINE (Demolished, Post Medieval to Modern - 1859 AD? to 1945 AD?)

Full description

If you do not understand anything on this page please contact us.

Summarised from report:

The need for a main magazine re-emerged with the completion and re-arming of the Citadel between 1853 and 1855. It was completed by 1859 at the latest when it was called the ‘New Magazine’. It was a freestanding building within a rectangular cutting, excavated in the moderate slope on the southern fringe of the Parade Ground, and lined by a vertical blast wall such that it only just projected above ground level. A lighting passage around the magazine was linked to a ramped passage along the north-east side leading up to ground level. A separate shifting room - a simple rectangular room with one entrance and a semi-circular vault - was built underground at the foot of the ramp. The magazine was a strong structure with thick walls, particularly along the shorter north-west and south-east end walls, it had a flattish roof with a very slight pitch. The entrance lay in the south-east end, through a small rectangular porch into the first of two identical magazine chambers, the second entered through a doorway in the party wall aligned with the porch. By June 1860, alterations had been made to the ramped approach by the closure of its northern end and its diversion by a right-angled turn into a new ramped section alongside the north-west wall of the cutting. By 1877, the main magazine could hold the enormous quantity of 1400 barrels of black powder. In 1893, by which time a small room had been added on the south-west side of the porch, the whole structure was covered by a large profiled earthwork mound which projected up to 3.05m over the original roof. The magazine was partially damaged and infilled as part of works by HMPS, although it may be reasonably well preserved underground. (1)

Detail of this structure appears on a plan dating to 1871 which shows all of the works which were undertaken under the reccomendations of the Royal Commission, though this structure likley pre dates this plan by about 10 years. (2)

A plan of this structure was drawn up either before or shortly after its construction in 1859, this shows detail of all of its interior features as well as elevations and a cross section. (3)

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

<2> Captain H S Palmer (?), 1871, War Department OS 1:2500 Sheet LXVIII.15, revision of 1871, annotated with positions of magazines in the Citadel in 1877 (Map). SKE51524.

<3> Unknown, 1859, Dover Citadel. Plan, Elevations and Sections of New Magazine (Map). SKE51526.

Sources and further reading

Related records