Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

A set of 12 casemated musket rooms, connected by a gallery, are situated behind the western face of the Detached Bastion at the Western Heights. The first nine casemates have two horizontal loops each, looking straight out into the west ditch, while the last three casemates have three vertical loops each. The eighth casemate gives access to the terreplein and the last one to the first floors of the north-west caponier and west gallery via a ramp. The southern end is accessed via the South caponier. (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:

The entrance to Detached Bastion was through the south caponier from North Centre Bastion, proceeding through a dog-legged passage into the west gallery. The gallery passes into the first of 12 casemates through an inserted red-brick wall with flat-headed doorframe and concrete lintel, identical to the one at the entrance to the south caponier. Thereafter, the gallery extends along the west face of the bastion down a moderate incline, through semi-circular arches in the centre of the party walls. Only the top casemate has a rear wall finished in brick; the others have bare chalk on which are several relief carvings of faces and figures, of unknown date. The first nine casemates have two horizontal loops each, looking straight out into the west ditch, while the last three casemates have three vertical loops each. The eighth casemate gives access to the terreplein and the last one to the first floors of the north-west caponier and west gallery via a ramp, guarded by a wrought iron handrail in a stone base. The ramp leads up to a landing at first floor level, serving both the north-west caponier and the west musketry gallery. The latter is reached through a semi-circular arched opening up a flight of seven brick steps. The gallery ascends a moderate slope through semi-circular arched openings in the centres of the party walls of three casemates. Each casemate, with the usual form and details, has three vertical musket loopholes angled to cover the curved section of ditch flanking the north-west caponier. (1)

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 Report No 7: North Centre and Detached Bastions: 19th-century fortifications (Unpublished document).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

Sources and further reading

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