A lot of you good folks will have seen the excellent photos taken by Newage, King Al etc of the detached bastion at Dover, but did you ever wonder how they got all that stuff (including soldiers etc) down from the top of the Western Heights to the docks where all the action was? Well the answer to that question was the Grand Shaft. Very rarely opened at all these days (twice a year currently), the Grand Shaft is a triple helix staircase that descends through the cliffs at Dover from the Western heights down on to Snargate Street, which up until the 20th century was the main drag in Dover. At the top of the Shaft is the Drop Redoubt, still the largest and most solid of the Napoleonic fortifications. The shaft itself consists of three 140 step staircases built around a central light well. The idea worked - when the Western Heights were at their busiest 4000 troops could descend down in about 20 minutes. At the top of the shaft is another staircase and then a short walk across what are the remains of the old shaft barracks, brings you to a small access tunnel which is probably the easiest way of getting to the bottom of the Drop Redoubt. The Drop Redoubt is an absolutely huge Georgian fortress shapped like an irregular pentagon with five massive Caponiers which are filled with gun embrasures. After the French threat retreated at the end of the 18th century, it became a sort of tourist attraction, (some bloke rode a horse up it for a bet in 1812!) until it was pressed into service again during WW1 and WW2. So, on with the photos!
The entrance - this was built by the Preservation people and so is a modern add on
The entrance tunnel with mini-godzilla doing his thing ("Dad, why are we looking in ANOTHER tunnel?")
The central light well of the shaft
Some views of the three staircases
Looking down from the site of the old barracks on to the top of the shaft
This is the access tunnel from the top of the shaft to the Drop Redoubt
Inside the tunnel
...and now some views of the Drop Redoubt
You know the worst thing is, I lived in Dover for a long time, and I never got round to climbing the Shaft. Just goes to show that a lot of this stuff is under your nose and you don't know about it!!
Enjoy!
GDZ
The entrance - this was built by the Preservation people and so is a modern add on
The entrance tunnel with mini-godzilla doing his thing ("Dad, why are we looking in ANOTHER tunnel?")
The central light well of the shaft
Some views of the three staircases
Looking down from the site of the old barracks on to the top of the shaft
This is the access tunnel from the top of the shaft to the Drop Redoubt
Inside the tunnel
...and now some views of the Drop Redoubt
You know the worst thing is, I lived in Dover for a long time, and I never got round to climbing the Shaft. Just goes to show that a lot of this stuff is under your nose and you don't know about it!!
Enjoy!
GDZ
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