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

Early plans were drawn up for the Drop Redoubt Fort following the advent of war between England and France in 1778. The extent of these earthen defences, the first to be built on the Western Heights, is not clear due to the scant nature of documentation but it has been assumed that they were on a small scale. The eastern fort - on the site later taken by the Drop Redoubt - is depicted on a plan dating to 1787 as an irregular four-sided work surrounding a central guardhouse. (location accurate to the nearest 50m based on available information)

Monument Types

• DITCH (Possible, Post Medieval - 1784 AD? to 1804 AD?)
• GUARDHOUSE (Demolished, Post Medieval - 1784 AD? to 1804 AD?)

Full description

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

Summarised from report (2)

Early plans were drawn up for the Drop Redoubt Fort following the advent of war between England and France in 1778. Attention was called to the poor state of the Dover defences and a small sum of money was released to improve them. The extent of these earthen defences, the first to be built on the Western Heights, is not clear due to the scant nature of documentation but it has been assumed that they were on a small scale. The eastern fort - on the site later taken by the Drop Redoubt - is depicted on a plan dating to 1787 (1) as an irregular four-sided work surrounding a central guardhouse. The ground outside was to be scarped into an irregular work with a glaçis, guarding the approach from the west and taking up the remaining level ground at the end of the ridge. The same plan notes that the ground had been broken; probably meaning that the outline of the redoubt had been roughly established. That the guardhouse was built is confirmed by its appearance on a number of later plans. Its construction probably occured after the resumption of hostilities in 1793. (2)

Further information about this early phase of works at the fort is provided in the Conservation Framework (3)

<1> Lieutenant Lewis Hay, 1787, Plan of the Citadel dating to 1787 showing the defences built on the Western Heights (Map). SKE51520.

<2> English Heritage, 2000, The Western Heights, Dover, Kent. Report No 3 The Drop Redoubt: A 19th-Century Artillery Fortification (Unpublished document). SKE13677.

<3> Liv Gibbs, 2012, Built Heritage Conservation Framework for Dover Western Heights (Unpublished document). SKE17708.

Sources and further reading

Related records