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Monument details

HER Number:TR 34 SW 653
Type of record:Listed Building
Name:SOUTHERN BREAKWATER, INCLUDING KNUCKLE AND SOUTHERN BREAKWATER LIGHTHOUSES

Summary

The Southern Breakwater was constructed between 1898 and 1909 and was part of the huge and impressive engineering project to provide refuge to the British fleet. It was the first artificial harbour to be constructed in the C20th and is built using large granite blocks. It extends for 65m in length and is about 6m wide. There are two lighthouses, one at the far south western end of the breakwater and another towards the north eastern end. Two Coastal batteries were also constructed at either end of the breakwater during WWI. These survive substantially intact though the guns have been removed. (location accurate to the nearest 1m based on available information)


Grid Reference:TR 33624 40543
Map Sheet:TR34SW
Parish:DOVER, DOVER, KENT

Monument Types

  • BREAKWATER (Modern - 1909 AD to 2050 AD)
  • COASTAL BATTERY (Disused, Modern - 1909 AD to 1956 AD?)
  • LIGHTHOUSE (Modern - 1909 AD to 2050 AD)
Protected Status:Listed Building (II) 1393607: SOUTHERN BREAKWATER, INCLUDING KNUCKLE AND SOUTHERN BREAKWATER LIGHTHOUSES

Full description

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The Southern Breakwater was begun in 1898 and completed by 1909 as part of the Admiralty Harbour, which also included the Eastern Arm and an extension to the Admiralty Pier. In an era of torpedo assaults this harbour was designed to provide a protected anchorage for the naval fleet and increase the protection of the already existing commercial harbour. Admiralty Harbour was constructed by the firm of Coode, Son and Mathews, the successor firm to Sir John Coode, probably the greatest harbour engineer of the C19. Each of the three component parts of the Harbour had defences; the Southern Breakwater receiving two six-inch guns installed in concrete emplacements with associated accommodation and magazines. The defences were installed to the far west end of the breakwater, and became known as the Breakwater Battery.

During the First World War the Harbour protected the Dover Patrol, a fleet of about 40 warships, motor boats and fishing vessels which kept control of the English Channel. Following the end of the War, in 1926, it was decided that the harbour had limited military use and the three component structures were handed over to the Dover Harbour Board for administration as a commercial undertaking. With the outbreak of the Second World War, however, the harbour once again became a naval base. The breakwater batteries were reinforced, the Southern Breakwater receiving a new twin six-pounder battery in May 1940. The 'Knuckle', as the curved east end of the Southern Breakwater was known, was equipped with searchlight emplacements and towards the end of the war two four-inch guns were added. During the Second World War, the harbour was particularly important in the 1940 Dunkirk evacuation as 200,000 men were returned from Dunkirk to Dover in eight days. After 1945, the Navy withdrew and the harbour was once again returned to commercial activity. (1-3)


<1> Victor Smith and Andrew Saunders, 2001, Kent's Defence Heritage, KD107 (Unpublished document). SKE6956.

<2> English Heritage, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest (Map). SKE16160.

<3> C. Dobson, 2000, Twentieth century fortifications in England: Coast Artillery 1900-1956 (Monograph). SKE52187.

Sources and further reading

Cross-ref. Source description
<1>Unpublished document: Victor Smith and Andrew Saunders. 2001. Kent's Defence Heritage. KD107.
<2>Map: English Heritage. List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest.
<3>Monograph: C. Dobson. 2000. Twentieth century fortifications in England: Coast Artillery 1900-1956.

Related records

TR 34 SW 2747Parent of: Dover Breakwater Knuckle Lighthouse (Building)
TR 34 SW 2748Parent of: Dover Breakwater west Lighthouse (Building)
TR 34 SW 654Parent of: Knuckle Battery, Dover Harbour (Monument)
TR 34 SW 655Parent of: South Breakwater Battery, Dover Harbour (Monument)