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Monument details

HER Number:TR 34 SW 2111
Type of record:Monument
Name:Ditches and Tenaille at the North Entrance of the Western Heights, Dover

Summary

The North Entrance to the Western Heights was situated at a narrow point of the ridge towards the north-eastern end of the fortress, where the North Military Road completed its more moderate ascent from Dover town. The earliest phase of works on this entrance dates to the Napoleonic period, it was located at the top of a slight combe, which was flanked by the North Centre Bastion on the west and by the North-East Flank of the Lines on the east. Further work on the North Entrance began in in March 1860 and it was completed in February 1864 this created a more elaborate defensive scheme and perhaps reflects a greater concern with a potential assault from the north. A major aspect of the 1860s improvements was the twin ditches and the tenaille which were connected at the north-eastern end to the North Lines and at the south western end, to the ditch surrounding the North Centre Bastion. (location accurate to the nearest 1m based on available information)


Grid Reference:TR 3125 4091
Map Sheet:TR34SW
Parish:DOVER, DOVER, KENT

Monument Types

  • DITCH (Altered, Post Medieval - 1815 AD? to 1860 AD?)
  • BASTION OUTWORK (Disused, Post Medieval to Modern - 1863 AD? to 1945 AD?)
  • DITCH (Disused, Post Medieval to Modern - 1863 AD? to 1945 AD?)
  • SCARP (Disused, Post Medieval to Modern - 1863 AD? to 1945 AD?)

Full description

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Summarised from report:

The North Entrance to the Western Heights was situated at a narrow point of the ridge towards the north-eastern end of the fortress, where the North Military Road completed its more moderate ascent from Dover town. The earliest phase of works on this entrance dates to the Napoleonic period, it was located at the top of a slight combe, which was flanked by the North Centre Bastion on the west and by the North-East Flank of the Lines on the east. Further work on the North Entrance began in in March 1860 and it was completed in February 1864 this created a more elaborate defensive scheme and perhaps reflects a greater concern with a potential assault from the north. A major aspect of the 1860s improvements was the twin ditches and the tenaille which were connected at the north-eastern end to the North Lines and at the south western end, to the ditch surrounding the North Centre Bastion.

The tenaille was formed partly from a long rectangular island of natural chalk, left from the excavation of the twin ditches: the inner ditch follows the Napoleonic line, the outer ditch dates to the 1860s. The ditch sides are revetted in brick or coursed flint with a slight batter. Above the revetment of the tenaille an earthwork capping is profiled to create a banquette at the rear and a shallow scarp at the front. The North Military Road crosses the tenaille in a deep cutting describing an elongated ā€˜Sā€™ in plan, with revetted brick walls in English bond. The road across the tenaille has been resurfaced but the granite kerbstones are almost certainly part of the original construction and are similar to those used elsewhere in the North Entrance. The colour, bond and rough finish on the inner ditch side suggest that it was originally built against the natural chalk and therefore acted as a retaining wall. A flight of steps into the inner ditch was constructed in brick and incorporated a removable landing spanning two brick piers, an obvious security precaution if the inner ditch fell into enemy hands. The steps formed part of a route to the postern gate for both reinforcement and withdrawal. The tenaille would have played a major role in defending the North Entrance. In the event of a determined attack, the defenders could abandon the outwork: any troops there could descend the steps and retreat to the postern gate. An attacking force in the outwork, attempting to take the outer bridge or establish positions along the top of the counterscarp would come under volley fire from the tenaille, while the drawbridge of the outer bridge could be dropped. (1)

A plan dating to 1815 shows the original layout of the north entrance before any of the 1860's works were completed on it. (2)


<1> RCHME, 2000, The Western Heights, Dover, Kent. Report No 6: The Entrances to the Fortress: 19th-century artillery fortifications (Unpublished document). SKE17501.

<2> Captain Robert Thomson, 1815, Kent: Dover. Sketch plan and sections, on a single sheet, of fortifications on the Western Heights. (Plan). SKE51619.

Sources and further reading

Cross-ref. Source description
<1>XYUnpublished document: RCHME. 2000. The Western Heights, Dover, Kent. Report No 6: The Entrances to the Fortress: 19th-century artillery fortifications. [Mapped feature: #92887 Ditch and tenaille of the North entrance to the Western Heights, ]
<2>Plan: Captain Robert Thomson. 1815. Kent: Dover. Sketch plan and sections, on a single sheet, of fortifications on the Western Heights..

Related records

TR 34 SW 2798Parent of: Napoleonic layout of the north entrance to the Western Heights (Monument)
TR 34 SW 82Part of: Western Heights, Dover (Monument)