I said I would do some more from this very interesting site when I got my camera fixed, and so on a crisp quiet Sunday morning not so long ago I schlepped it back up to the Western Outworks. The Outworks were a battery built to defend one side of the fort and the fort itself was built to defend the so-called North Spur of Dover castle, which was seen as a weak spot, where the ground was higher than the castle itself.
I took some photos of the gatehouse in my last post, so these photos mainly focus on the inside. As you go in you can see that part of the eastern wall of the outworks was converted during WW2 by blocking up the firing slits and putting a metal roof on it. This is one of several modifications that was made when, like most of the rest of the fortifications in Dover it was used to house troops.
There is a stone sink in this part of the building
As well as this building there is also a surface magazine, which interestingly, is exactly the same design as the surface magazines that were added to Dover Castle at about the same time as the Fort was built. There is an old water tank here and someone had decided to erect a washing line!
To the left of this there is the magazine tunnel. This was original built to lead out to a caponier in the moat ditch of the outworks. Unfortunately, the end of this has pretty much collapsed., but there are three rooms along its length which are all pretty much intact. The second and third of these were magazines but it is a bit unclear what the first one was - perhaps a sentry post? There is also a small aperture in the wall of the tunnel that looks like the kind of place where you would put a fire extinguisher, but I assume this was not its original purpose!
As you come back to the gatehouse
This is a really interesting site and one not often visited. If anyone would like to visit or some info about how to do so, please PM me.
Enjoy!
GDZ
I took some photos of the gatehouse in my last post, so these photos mainly focus on the inside. As you go in you can see that part of the eastern wall of the outworks was converted during WW2 by blocking up the firing slits and putting a metal roof on it. This is one of several modifications that was made when, like most of the rest of the fortifications in Dover it was used to house troops.
There is a stone sink in this part of the building
As well as this building there is also a surface magazine, which interestingly, is exactly the same design as the surface magazines that were added to Dover Castle at about the same time as the Fort was built. There is an old water tank here and someone had decided to erect a washing line!
To the left of this there is the magazine tunnel. This was original built to lead out to a caponier in the moat ditch of the outworks. Unfortunately, the end of this has pretty much collapsed., but there are three rooms along its length which are all pretty much intact. The second and third of these were magazines but it is a bit unclear what the first one was - perhaps a sentry post? There is also a small aperture in the wall of the tunnel that looks like the kind of place where you would put a fire extinguisher, but I assume this was not its original purpose!
As you come back to the gatehouse
This is a really interesting site and one not often visited. If anyone would like to visit or some info about how to do so, please PM me.
Enjoy!
GDZ
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