Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

The long gun magazine, which is located on the western side of the officers new barracks, at the southern end of the Castle complex, was originally constructed in the late 18th century as a simple rectangular magazine with a small entrance lobby on its southern side. In 1888-1889 changes were made to the magazine for the storage of shells for coastal artillery. The roof was recovered with concrete and asphalt and tunnels were added to the north and south of the rectangular magazine. The structure was covered with earth banking and a blast bank was added to the south, presumably for added blast protection. (location accurate to the nearest 1m based on available information)

Monument Types

• MAGAZINE (Disused, Post Medieval to Modern - 1790 AD? to 2050 AD)
• TUNNEL (Disused, Post Medieval to Modern - 1790 AD to 2050 AD)
• AIR RAID SHELTER (Modern - 1939 AD to 1945 AD)

Full description

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The long gun magazine, which is located on the western side of the officers new barracks, at the southern end of the Castle complex, was originally constructed in the late 18th century as a simple rectangular magazine with a small entrance lobby on its southern side. In 1888-1889 changes were made to the magazine for the storage of shells for coastal artillery. The roof was recovered with concrete and asphalt and tunnels were added to the north and south of the rectangular magazine. The structure was covered with earth banking and a blast bank was added to the south, presumably for added blast protection.

It is a rectangular stock brick-vaulted building with double-skin walls and tunnels extending to the north east and south, which is covered by an earth mound which infills the primary phase surrounding earthen blast banks. The main entrance is located on Queen Elizabeth Road in the south of the saluting platform and is of brick construction with a concrete lintel above the entrance doorway. Through this door is a passage leading to the southern tunnel and to the west of this tunnel is a wooden door marked ‘Explosives’ leading to a rendered vaulted room with concrete floor. The tunnel on the north eastern side is of brick construction and a mixture of whitewashed and rendered with more services pipes fixed to the eastern wall. Summarised from sources (1-2)

<1> English Heritage, 2014, Dover Castle Conservation Management Plan Volume 2 Gazetteer (Unpublished document). SKE52105.

<2> Johnathan Coad, 1995, English Heritage Book of Dover Castle and the Defences of Dover (Monograph). SKE52106.

Sources and further reading

Related records