Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

A passage from the eastern side of the terreplein descends to a rectangular lobby, the southern part of which was an expense magazine in 1881, though no evidence of this remains. From the lobby, the gallery leads through four casemates to both north and south of the lobby. The casemates are mainly of brick laid to English bond, with axial vaults of stretchers and the rear walls are of chalk ashlar. In 1867, in order to arrest movement of the gallery, an additional battered wall was been built against the exterior of the vertical scarp revetment, thus sealing the loopholes and rendering them useless. (location accurate to the nearest 1m based on available information)

Monument Types

• CASEMATE (Disused, Post Medieval to Modern - 1860 AD? to 1945 AD?)

Full description

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Summarised from report:

A passage from the eastern side of the terreplein descends to a rectangular lobby, the southern part of which was an expense magazine in 1881, though no evidence of this remains. From the lobby, the gallery leads through four casemates to both north and south of the lobby. The casemates are mainly of brick laid to English bond, with axial vaults of stretchers. The rear walls are of chalk ashlar, a detail seen at no other place in these bastions. The gallery lies along the rear of the casemates, passing through square-headed openings in the party walls capped by large gritstone lintels that appear to be cut by semi-circular brick relieving arches. The arches are themselves cut by the line of the vaults. Each casemate has the usual smoke vent and two horizontal musket loops, except the southern casemate, which has only one; all loops have sandstone lintels. To the north, the gallery does not cover all of the east ditch, ending short in a blocked semi-circular arch; perhaps more casemates lie beyond. In addition, the southern four casemates have significant cracking to the walls and vaults, repaired with a hard, dark grey mortar, revealing similar structural problems to those experienced in the east gallery of North Centre Bastion in 1863. In 1867, in order to arrest movement of the gallery, an additional battered wall was been built against the exterior of the vertical scarp revetment, thus sealing the loopholes and rendering them useless. From this time, the gallery was not used for its intended purpose and this is the reason for the three artillery emplacements on the North Lines just east of North Centre Bastion, so that the east ditch of Detached Bastion could be covered. Further evidence for closing of the east gallery occurs in the southern casemate, where there is a sharp turn to the west, as if signalling the intention to extend the gallery along the gorge face. It ends abruptly in another semi-circular arch blocked in brickwork. (1)

A plan dating to 1863 shows these casemates and gallery, including details of the improvements which were made to them in that year. (2)

<1> RCHME, 2001, The Western Heights, Dover, Kent. Report No 7: North Centre and Detached Bastions: 19th-century fortifications (Unpublished document). SKE17503.

<2> Office of Works, 1863, Plan, elevation and sections of the escarp gun casemates at the Detached Bastion, Western Heights, Dover (Plan). SKE51592.

Sources and further reading

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