Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

A battery built before the 20th century and used as a practice battery. Observed in military aerial photographs and mapped as part of the South East Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment.

Monument Types

• COASTAL BATTERY (Post Medieval to Modern - 1897 AD? to 2050 AD?)

Full description

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Early Coast Battery mounting three 9 inch R.M.Ls at the turn of the century. Battery consisted three gun emplacements and magazines on the upper level and four emplacements on the lower level. Demolished when the A20 was upgraded.
Owner :
Publicly accessible :
How accessed for survey :
Tourism Potential :
Condition : Destroyed
Date of visit : 23/05/85

This lay above Archcliffe Fort and was a significant element of the 19th century fortifications upon the Western Heights overlooking Dover. Examination of the battery during the course of its destruction provided some interesting details about the structural history of the site. Of particular interest was the survival of several metal lighting 'ducts' fixed to the internal walls of the associated magazines. The most significant discovery made, however, was that of four previously unknown gun positions at the western end of the battery complex. Below these emplacements an earlier gun position was revealed, represented by a curved iron rail set into granite blocks.

There were four magazine buildings set between the main gun positions. During demolition it was possible to enter and make plans of these. Examination suggested that they included at least two distinct phases of work. The outer walls were of substantial construction and made of yellow stock bricks and concrete. The inner walls were built of red brick. The outer faces of the inner walls were neatly pointed as if they had been originally intended to be exposed. This suggests that the original red brick magazines were free standing and that they were subsequently covered with soil then enclosed within new walls of concrete and yellow stocks.

From the observation of this 19th century battery site it has been possible to define a series of development phases using standard archaeological procedures. Although some contemporary military records survive they have yet to be fully analyzed; however, it may well be that the field evidence contains otherwise unrecorded information and it should be possible to combine the available information to produce a detailed history of the battery. (3)

The Southern Lines battery, consisting of a total of five structures of differing shapes and dimensions, was mapped as part of the SE Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey from military aerial photographs of April 1947 [1]. They were first observed from military aerial photography in February 1941 [2] and constructed from west to east adjacent to the Old Folkestone Road to the north and seafront and railway lines 20 metres to the south. The structures are no smaller than 3.5m by 4.5m and no larger than 38m by 13m. There is also banking attached to four of the main battery structures facing seaward as viewed from military obliques in August 1947 [3]. The furthest structure to the west was observed to be standing double the height of the other buildings and may have been an operations tower or viewing platform [3]. The furthest building to the east is the smallest and outside the main battery and may be used for storage or personnel. The battery still remains by July 1983 [4] but by 2007 [5] the battery was demolished.
A transcription of the features recorded from aerial photographs exists within a GIS layer held by this HER.

Verbal Communication (Verbal communication). SKE14147.

Verbal Communication (Verbal communication). Ske14147.

<1> H'book of Kent's Defences,1540-1945,1977 17 24 (D Bennett) (OS Card Reference). SKE43753.

<2> Southern Water Services, 1993, Dover & Folkestone Wastewater Treatment scheme Environmental Statement (Unpublished document). SKE6815.

<3> Keith Parfitt, 2014, Verbal communication from Keith Parfitt, 2014 (Verbal communication). SKE31541.

<5> Google Earth, EARTH.GOOGLE.COM 21-APR-2007 22-JUN-2010. (Graphic material). SWX15704.

Sources and further reading

Related records