Subterranean History

Eperlecques Blockhouse, Calais

2011-12-04T10:59:00.004Z

Eperlecques Blockhouse is a large German WW2 concrete bunker, built between 1943-44. It is located on the outskirts of the village of St. Omer near Calais in Northern France. The bunker was designed as a launch base for V2 rockets, but was heavily bombed by the allies and therefore never completed or made operational. The evidence of the bombing can be clearly seen today and the large holes in the reinforced concrete help to show the true scale of the blockhouse. The main bunker is now open as a museum, although the lower level is flooded, and the woods around the bunker house a collection of artillery and other WW2 relics.

This bunker is open to the public and well worth a visit!

Exterior view of the huge bunker

Concrete platform at the rear of the bunker

Another view

Bomb damage

Twisted rebar damage

Rear of the bunker

Rooms beneath the concrete platform

Damage to some of the rooms

Inside the bunker

Looking down to lower level of the bunker

Replica V-2 Rocket in the launch position

La Coupole, Wizernes

2011-11-15T18:50:00.005Z

La Coupole or 'The Dome' is a V2 rocket base built near Wizernes, Nord-Pas-De-Calais in 1943. It was constructed by the Nazi Organization Todt in an old chalk quarry. A huge concrete dome was was built for deployment of the rockets along with a network of tunnels to be used for storage. La Coupole was heavily bombed by the Allies in 1944, and as a result never became operational. The site remained abandoned until the 1990s, and opened as a tourist attraction in 1997. The Dome itself now contains museum exhibits, and a section of the tunnels can be visited.

This site is open to the public and a visit highly recommended. Many thanks to the staff for allowing us past the public areas to the derelict tunnels, and onto the roof of the dome.

Plan of La Coupole underground workings

Entrance to the tunnel system, and the dome

Main tunnel

End if the public access area

Tunnel leading to derelict workings

Looking towards the derelict tunnels

Further in...

One of the eight unlined side tunnels

Unlined, unfinished passages

Far end of the underground tunnels

On the roof of the dome

Batterie Lindemann, Calais

2011-10-30T08:44:00.004Z

Batterie Lindemann was the largest of the Nord-Pas-De-Calais gun batteries. It consisted of three 40.6cm guns in 17 metre high concrete emplacements, named Anton, Bruno and Casar. The battery was located on high ground above the town of Sangatte and became operational in 1942. Over 2,200 shells were fired at Dover from Lindemann Battery during WW2 and part of the armoured plating from one of the guns remains on Dover seafront as a memorial. Unfortunately, when the Channel Tunnel was built, the battery site was used as a settling pond for the slurry produced and the emplacements are now covered by a lake. However, number of bunkers associated with the battery still remain, including the plotting room and observation post.

The plotting room is now on open land, but entry is not recommended as the floor is missing and lower level flooded. There are also deep, narrow shafts in the grass around the plotting room.

Ditch passageway to bunker

Entrance to the plotting room

Looking inside, note huge hole in the floor!

Looking back to entrance

Passage inside

Inside the main plotting room

Another view

Passage

Ship mural in one of the smaller rooms

Emergency exit

Fort Pitt, Chatham

2011-10-17T16:56:00.005+01:00

Fort Pitt was constructed on a hill overlooking Chatham between 1805 and 1819. It was a polygonal shape with five large bastions, and had 9 canons, 4 caronades and 3 motars mounted as armament. It didn't last long as a fort, and became a military hospital in 1828, party adapted as an asylum for mentally ill soldiers, and in 1860 became an army medical school. In the first half of the 20th Century, parts of the fort were demolished, the ditch filled and remaining buildings adapted for use as a school. Fort Pitt Grammar School has occupied the site since the 1930s, and during WW2 some of the underground tunnels were used as air raid shelters. The University of Creative Arts, built in 1968, now covers much of the site, but some remains of the fort can be seen. The tunnels remained sealed for many years, until 2011 when a joint project between Kent Underground Research Group and Fort Amherst took place to locate and open them up.

The tunnels were opened for this KURG visit, and have now been resealed.

Plan of Fort Pitt

Just inside the entrance

Brick partitions inside the tunnel

Curved tunnel

Inside the Main Magazine

Another magazine

Tunnel

Large chamber

Doorway between two rooms

Looking back to entrance

Dorking Caves, Surrey

2011-10-03T18:55:00.003+01:00

These caves, located in South Street in the centre of Dorking, date back to at least the 17th Century. It is apparent inside the caves that they have had many uses over the years, although much of the their history is shrouded in mystery. It is certain, however, that two of the upper level passages were used as wine stores during the 19th Century. There is evidence of a number of original entrances to the caves, including two shafts, but all but one have been sealed, this now has a door fitted to allow access. In the centre of the upper level of the caves is a staircase leading down to a landing, then a further set of stairs lead down to a lower passage. At the far end of this passage is a curious circular room with a bench cut out of the sand stone. There is much speculation about the reason for such a feature, such as a meeting place for secret societies, but it is just as likely that it was simply a folly. There is extensive graffiti in the caves, largely from the 18th and 19th Centuries, but the oldest recorded is dated 1666. In recent years the caves were opened as a tourist attraction but they are currently closed.

The South Street caves are now opened as part of Heritage Open Weekend, many thanks the Mole Valley Council for their permission to publish these photographs.

Entrance passage

One of the two Victorian wine vaults

This led to another entrance, now sealed

One of the shafts

The second wine vault

Stairs to the lower level

The oldest graffiti in the caves '1666'

More graffiti

On the lower level, the mark is the water level from when the caves flooded.

The 'secret chamber' room on the lower level

Brean Down Fort, Somerset

2011-08-21T11:13:00.006+01:00

Brean Down Fort was built in the 1860s as part of the Bristol Channel defences. Along with Flat Holm and Steep Holm islands and batteries on the Wales side, a direct line of defences was formed to protect the docks. Brean Down Fort is located at the furthest point of Brean Down, just South of Western-Super-Mare in Somerset. It was originally armed with seven 7-inch guns, and later re-armed in WW2. It was partially destroyed at the beginning of the twentieth century by an explosion in the magazine, leaving some parts derelict.

The fort now remains National Trust property and is free open access, with some interpretation boards installed.

Plan courtesy of the PFS

View from the top of Brean Down

Entrance to the Fort

View down the ditch

Inside the fort

View inside the barracks

Derelict barrack block

Steps down to magazine

Looking into the magazine

One of the gun positions

Remaining buildings

Loop-holed casemate protecting the entrance

Searchlight position

The fortified Steep Holm Island

WW2 Battery Oberservation Post above the Fort

Postojna Caves, Slovenia

2011-08-06T11:05:00.006+01:00

These caves were discovered in 1818, and opened to the public the following year. They consist of 20 Kilometres of passages, which are accessed by a 10 minute train ride through an adit, railway lines having been installed in 1872. Inside, there are many impressive formations of stalactites and stalagmites in large caverns with an easy walkthrough route. There are bridges over large gorges and some cave wildlife can be seen, including the cave salamader.

These caves are well worth visiting, and are available as an excursion from Croatian travel agents.

Entrance to the caves

Iron gate at entrance

Beginning of the train journey

Inside one of the galleries

Calcium deposits

Stalagmites

Looking up to the bridges

Stalactites in another gallery

Large column

Another view

Large gorge with water at the bottom

Brixham Battery, Devon

2011-07-16T14:35:00.004+01:00

This emergency coastal battery was built in 1940 and remains largely complete and in good condition. Many of the batteries of this type have been demolished, but fortunately this was retained, and has now become a scheduled ancient monument. It is maintained by the Brixham Battery Heritage Group, and open to the public. The battery site covers 14 acres, and is partly in a wooded area, but the gun emplacements, searchlights, B.O.P and other buildings can be found. A small WW2 museum is also located on the site.

This site is well worth a visit, but check opening times for the mueseum.

Sandbagged small emplacement

Battery Observation Post

Inside the BOP

Tunnel leading to one the gun emplacements

Gun emplacement, with magazine behind

Magazine

The other remaining gun emplacement

Rail for one of the guns

Camoflaged building

Searchlight bunker, one of two

Berry Head Forts, Brixham

2011-06-27T17:34:00.010+01:00

Berry Head, located west of Brixham in Devon, has been fortified since the Iron Age. It is a strategic high point covering the harbour of Brixham and the rest of Torbay. This was realised during the Napoleonic Wars, and three forts were constructed. They consisted of ramparts with long rows of guns, protected by a dry ditches, and sheer cliffs (although one fort no longer exists). Today, the North Fort is complete with some of its guns, the powder magazine, guard room and other remaining buildings. The buildings on the South Fort, however, remain only as ruins, and the ramparts largely grown over with vegetation. A nearby quarry, which can still be seen, provided the stone for building the forts.

The forts are now part of the Berry Head nature reserve and can be visited at any time, and the North Fort has a coastguard lookout station and an underground Cold War Royal Observer Corps Post located within its grounds.

View of Berry Head, from the South Fort to the North

Entrance to the North Fort

Guard Room

Looking across the Fort

Guns on the Ramparts

Sentry Box

Magazine

Inside the walled area above

Ramparts of the South Fort

Ditch

Entrance to the Powder Magazine

Inside

Brownstone Battery, Kingswear

2011-06-13T19:44:00.010+01:00

Over 100 Coastal Artillery Batteries were established along the South Coast at the beginning of the Second World War. Unfortunately, after their active service most were demolished, in many cases just a few fragments of concrete remain marking their locations today. Some however, have survived, and remain complete with their observation post, gun positions, magazines, search light emplacements and other associated buildings. Brownstone Battery in Devon is one such example. Located at Froward Point, on the cliffs between Kingswear and Brixham, the battery was built in 1940 and armed with two 9.2" guns. An interesting feature of this battery, worth noting, is the remaining rail which brought the shells from the magazine to No.2 gun.

Today, the battery site is located in a public open space, the BOP being used as a Coastguard lookout, and interpretation boards have been installed with information about the site's use.

Plan of Brownstone Battery

Battery Observation Post

Trench leading to No.1 Gun position

No.1 Gun Emplacement

Magazine for No.1 Gun

Shell rail from No.2 Magazine to No.2 Gun

No.2 Gun position

No.2 Gun Magazine

Looking down to No.1 Search Light

Looking out of the Searchlight towards Dartmouth

Inside the Generator House

Some of the remaining buildings

Inside the Officers' Mess

Stokes Bay Lines, Gosport

2011-05-29T12:53:00.006+01:00

With the threat of a French invasion in the mid 19th Century, the wide Stokes Bay area was seen as a possible landing site, particularly with its close proximaty to the important naval base of Portsmouth. It was decided that the area would be protected by a series of open batteries, which were later replaced by a system of moats and five separate batteries numbered 1 to 5. A large, two tiered casemated fort known as Fort Gilkicker was also constructed at the far East of the lines. The batteries have largely been demolished but the moats can still be seen in part. No.2 Battery still survives, and was later convertered into a nuclear bunker; it has been retained and has recently opened as a small diving museum. Fort Gilkicker remains in good condition, but is in private hands, although part of the inside can be seen from the fence. It is intended to be converted into residential properties in the near future.

This area is well worth a visit, and although most parts are closed off a large amount can be seen from the outside.

Plan of the Stokes Bay Lines, courtesy of the PFS

Stokes Bay No.2 Battery

Inside the casemates

No.1 Shell Recess

Gun port

Blast door from the bunker conversion

Passage between the casemates

Looking out of the gun port

Gun emplacements

Browndown Battery

Facade of Fort Gilkicker

Another view

Looking into the fort from the fence

Emplacement on the roof of the fort

Nearby Gosport No.1 Bastion

Magazine for No.1 Bastion

Whitehawk School Air Raid Shelter, Brighton

2011-05-14T21:19:00.008+01:00

Air Raid Shelters were hastily constructed at many schools throughout Kent and Sussex in the the first few years of WW2. The designs varied from simple concrete lean-to buildings to more elaborate tunnelled or 'cut-and-cover' style passages, often under playgrounds. Many were demolished after the war, but fortunately, some have survived. One of the most extensive and well-preserved is located within the grounds of Whitehawk School in Brighton. It is of the 'cut-and-cover' form, having been excavated as a trench, supported with a concrete roof and brick walls, then finally covered with earth. The shelter originally had seven entrances, including two emergency escape shafts and was thought to have been designed to accommodate around 500 pupils. It was sealed for many years, but has now been restored as an educational aid, known as 'The Trenches' and contains many artefacts relating to the war years.

Many thanks to the school for allowing access.

Main entrance

Just inside

Blast wall, and escape ladder

Capped emergency escape

Restored seating area

Passage

Another view

Only original lamp fitting (on left of pic)

Looking towards secondary exit

Secondary exit

Full length of the shelter (same as green fence)

Elham Valley Line Tunnels, Kent

2011-04-30T16:01:00.006+01:00

The Elham Valley Line operated between Canterbury and Folkestone from 1887 to 1947. Landowners originally proposed the idea in 1830, but due to a failure to convince the main railway companies to support them, it was delayed for some years. South Eastern Railway eventually took over the work on the line and built the Folkestone to Barham section. The work was further delayed when the residents of Bourne Park objected to the railway spoiling their view, and this resulted in the building of the Bourne Park Tunnel. When completed the line had stations in the villages of Bridge, Bishopsbourne, Barham, Elham and Lyminge. During WW2, the line was requisitioned by the military, and the 'Boche Buster' railway gun operated from the Bourne Park Tunnel. The line was returned to public use until its closure in 1947,, and the track was removed during the 1950s.

Today, large parts of the dismantled line remain and can be followed through modern public footpaths, and the overgrown tunnel portals can still be seen acting as reminders of this once popular railway.

'Boche Buster' in 1940 (P.D Image, source: wikimedia.org)

North Portal of Bourne Park Tunnel today

Looking into the tunnel

A typical section of the dismantled line today

South portal of Etchinghill Tunnel

Looking into the Etchinghill Tunnel

Zoomed-in view of North Portal

North Portal of Sandling Tunnel

Looking into Sandling Tunnel

Zoomed-in to South Portal

South Portal

Pierremont Air Raid Shelter, Broadstairs

2011-04-06T18:58:00.006+01:00

This Air Raid Shelter is located within the grounds of Pierremont Park, a public recreation garden next to Pierremont House in Broadstairs, Kent. The shelter was was built to accommodate around 150 people, and there are two clearly defined phases of construction. The first part is lined with smooth rendered concrete and the second, obviously a later addition, is lined with pre-formed concrete sheets. A bricked up secondary entrance can be seen from the inside and two emergency escape shafts can also be found, although they have been capped and the ladders removed. The shallowness of the shelter, shown by the depth of the manholes, suggests that it was probably constructed in the 'Cut and Cover' style, rather than being tunnelled. Strangely, the tunnels are lacking in any old graffiti or any other evidence of their use as a shelter.

This was a privately organised visit, many thanks to the owners for allowing access.

Entrance (the day I visited a new door was being fitted!)

Measuring up for the new door

Inside (the dog belonged to one of the workers!)

Side tunnel

Concrete lined section

This piece of equipment is the pump for the garden's fountain

Rendering on the ceiling and vent

Concrete lined tunnel

Emergency escape shaft

Lydden Bunkers, Dover

2011-03-19T21:43:00.005Z

These bunkers appear to have been an ammunition depot for the Dover gun batteries during WW2, although there does not seem to be any documentry evidence of their use. They are located in a remote location at Lydden Hill, a few miles west of Dover. There are three identical semi-sunken concrete bunkers on the site, each containing two rows of numbered ammunition bays, with a dividing wall between. There is extensive graffiti in the bunkers, with some interesting examples from the army, probably dating from around the 1970s. The site still remains in MOD hands and is used occassionally for TA training.

This visit was with MOD permission and they discourage unauthorised access, thanks to Andy Kershaw for organising.

Exterior view of the bunkers

Another view

Entrance to one of the bunkers

Another entrance

View inside one the bunkers

Another view

Graffiti

Numbered ammunition bays

Noice on one of the bunkers

View of the rear of the bunkers

Verne High Angle Battery, Portland

2011-03-01T20:46:00.008Z

This battery was constructed in the 1890s on the high ground between the Verne Citadel and the stone quarries on the penninsula of Portland in Dorset. It was armed with six 9-inch guns in concrete emplacements which are located in a sunken area with surrounding earthworks. The guns were served by three underground magazines, which still retain the rails used to carry the shells. A few small surface buildings also remain, which were presumably stores, as the barracks for the battery were located within the nearby Citadel.

The battery is now a semi-tourist attraction, being shown on sign posts and guide books etc, but remains derelict and has unfortunately suffered at the hands of vandals due to its exposed position.

Plan, courtesy of the PFS

View across the battery

Gun emplacements

Another view

Entrance to one of the magazines

Looking inside

Another view

Another magazine entrance

Looking inside

Buildings

Another emplacement

The Verne Citadel, Portland

2011-02-23T15:29:00.007Z

The Verne Citadel dominates the highest point of the peninsula of Portland, just west of Weymouth harbour in Dorset. Construction on the Citadel began in 1857, mainly by prisoners, and a number of modifications were made after the Royal Commission of defences in 1859. It is surrounded by a dry ditch, flanked by caponniers and built using the stone from the quarries on top of the Verne. It's main armament was 7-inch Rifled Muzzle Loading Guns, and it formed the barracks for East Weare 'A', 'B', 'C' and 'D' batteries and the nearby High Angle Battery. The Citadel itself is now used as a prison, and therefore the inside cannot be viewed, but some interesting features can be seen from the coastal path which follows the perimeter of the fort. There are also the remains of a WW2 emergency battery, Anti-Aircraft battery and a Cold War ROTOR site which can be seen nearby, showing that the site was of military importance for over a hundred years after the Citadel's construction.

Although, the Citadel is a prison and cannot generally be visited, the view from the perimeter is impressive, and worth the walk!

Plan of the Citadel & Batteries, courtesy of the PFS

Main entrance to the Verne Citadel

Defensive positions protecting the entrance

Inside the ditch

Entrance to cistern

Secondary entrance

Ditch and flanking gallery above

Caponnier under the bridge

Yeates' Incline (leading to the quarries and High Angle Battery)

Looking down the incline

Remains of WW2 battery in front of the Citadel

Looking down to 'A' Battery below

Casemates of 'A' Battery, from the Verne

Tip of the ditch of the Citadel

Looking down to one of the Portland Breakwater Forts

Merstham Mobilisation Centre, Surrey

2011-02-12T21:17:00.006Z

East Merstham Mobilisation Centre, also known as Alderstead Fort, is one of a line of 13 fortifications built for the defence of London at the end of the 19th Century and beginning of the 20th Century. They stretch from North Weald in Essex to Guildford, most being located high up on the Surrey downs, and varied in form. They were basically a row of casemates, which were the ordnance stores, with surrounding earthworks and a fortified entrance. The fort at East Merstham is little altered, but is now in a wooded area and largely overgown. The casemates are in good condition, with doors remaining and a number of stencilled signs above doorways. Unfortunately, there is water ingress and the shell stores and their lighting passages were too flooded to enter when visited.

This site is private land, many thanks to the owner for allowing me to visit.

Left flank loopholed wall

Casemate block

Entrances to the casemates

Looking into one of the casemates

Passage between the casemates

Passage leading to the magazines

Looking back the other way

Lighting passage around the magazine

(Fuze and)? Tube Store

Metal door into

Inside another casemate

Original doors remaining

Right flank loopholed wall

Canterbury Battle Headquarters

2011-01-23T18:47:00.007Z

These tunnels were constructed in 1941 by 171 and later 172 Tunnelling Companies of the Royal Engineers. They were designed as a regional headquarters associated with a requisitioned house on the outskirts of Canterbury. Other similar tunnel systems exist in Reigate, Tunbridge Wells and Sarre, but it is unknown if they became operational. They were however, completed and appear to have been fitted out ready for use, as remains of electrical cables can still be seen. The tunnels take the form of two parallel galleries, linked by four interconnecting spurs. Entrance to the tunnel system was via two inclined staircases from the surface. Unfortunately, the main portion of the complex has collapsed, leaving only the two staircases, one of which is now blocked by debris. The tunnels remained sealed for many years, and were partly excavated by KURG in 2007, however digging was abandoned due to the collapses.

These tunnels are on private land, many thanks to the owners for allowing access.

Plan of Canterbury Battle HQ

West Entrance

Looking down the staircase

Looking back at entrance

Door at the bottom of the stairs

Looking towards the collapse

Further in

Looking back up the stairs

Door

Looking into the collapse

Toilet area

Looking back to door

Blocked Eastern entrance

Western Heights, Dover

2011-01-12T16:57:00.030Z

The fortification of the hills known as the Western Heights in Dover began in the 18th Century. Beginning with simple earthworks, they were upgraded during the Napoleonic Wars. Two main detached forts were built, the Drop Redoubt to the East and Citadel to the West (both surrounded by dry ditches, with another linking the two). At the turn of the 19th Century, the Grand Shaft (a triple helix staircase Sally port) along with the North Centre Bastion (a prominent earthwork projecting into the ditch between the Redoubt and Citadel) were built. The fortifications were left largely unfinished after a truce was established with France and were abandoned for some years. During the 1850s, a new threat occurred with Napoleon III, and after a Royal Commission of the country's defences in 1859, the Heights were redesigned as a state-of-the-art complex of gun batteries and barracks, surrounded by over four miles of dry ditches, the largest in the country. As Napoleon never invaded, and the fortress was never attacked, the great expenditure was seen by many as a folly, but its success as a deterant can also be argued. The Heights remained under military occupation until after WW2, with St. Martin's Battery continuing to form part of coastal defence. Some of the barracks continued to be used, many of the old casemates however, had been condemned by this time and were falling into disrepair.

Plan / map of the Western Heights (Citadel pixelated for security)

Unfortunately, since the army vacated in the 1950s, the fortress began to decline, the council proposed the filling in of the ditches with household waste and the demolition of the main structures. Most of the barracks were demolished, a new road cut through the North Lines, a double caponnier in the far West buried, and Archcliff Gate demolished. Following protests, further destruction was eventually prevented on the grounds of the historical importance of the site, but after this, little work was done to prevent the effects of nature and vandals. The Citadel has remained in good condition, due to it being retained by the Home Office as a prison (although the unauthorised demolition of the Main Magazine took place), but the rest was mainly left to decay. Restoration work did take place in the 1990s on the walls of the Drop Redoubt and the Grand Shaft was also restored. Work on the Redoubt, Grand Shaft, and the surrounding area has been continued by the Western Heights Preservation Society, who are now regularly opening it to the public. Part of the North Lines and slopes of the Heights are open to the public for walking at all times, and interpretation boards have been installed. Most of the Heights is now owned by English Heritage and they plan to invest money to remove it from their 'At Risk' register.

Please see separate pages for Citadel, Grand Shaft, St. Martin's Battery, Citadel Battery and Drop Redoubt.

Re-enactors at the annual Western Heights Open Day

The North Lines

North Centre & Detached Bastions

The North Centre and Detached Bastions are located in an area of the North Lines between the North Entrance and the Citadel. Work began on them in 1804, but they were left largely unfinished and their completion was proposed after the Royal Commission, although in an altered form. Detached is polygonal fort, completed surrounded by a ditch, in front of a long musketry gallery of the NCB. This would have enabled protection of the main fortress, if Detached was lost to the enemy. A two-storey caponnier is located on the North West corner of Detached for protection of the ditch, and a loopholed passage links the two bastions and would have enabled protection of the ditch between them. Chichane drawbridges in underground passages provided access to the tereplein of Detached, where the guns were mounted, and another drawbridge provided access from NCB. Two staircases led down from the surface of NCB, to access the gunrooms, musketry gallery and passage to Detached, but the entrances to these were demolished when the tereplein was converted into a playing field. The bastions have been open for many years, and have sadly suffered from excessive vandalism, as well as natural decay.

Caponnier of Detached Bastion

Overgrown Tereplein of Detached from North Centre

Entrances to the Western Heights

As well as pedestrian access the Heights, there were two main road approaches. North Military Road, which rises steadily from the town, led up to the North Entrance. This intricately designed entrance consisted of an outer fixed bridge, central Tennaille in the ditch, an inner draw bridge, tunneled road and then an inner entrance and guard room. The South Entrance was formed of bridge across a ditch and the formidable Archcliffe Gate, which was located at the top of South Military Road, on the Aycliffe side. Both the North & South Entrances were defended by underground gun rooms at ditch level. The North Entrance still survives, although it has now been replaced by a road intersecting the ditch, but has been sealed in recent years. Archcliffe gate was demolished in the 1960s, but the gun rooms and guardroom cells still remain, although buried from the infill on the ditch.

Remains of outer drawbridge, North Entrance

Inner gateway

The now sealed North Entrance Guard Room

Looking into the Tunnel through the hole in the door

Drawing of demolished Archcliffe Gate, the South Entrance

Buried gun rooms flanking the South Entrance

Gun Batteries

As well as the guns mounted on the ramparts and in the casemates of the forts, independent batteries were built. These were:

Drop Battery (8-inch guns c1850, demolished);
North Lines Battery (5x64-pounder RML, 1892, partly demolished);
South Lines Battery (Barbette style, c1880, demolished);
South Front Battery (3x6-inch Breech Loaders, demolished);
St. Martin's Battery (AKA Western Heights Battery, 3 x 10" RML guns, 1870s);
Citadel Battery (3 x 9.2" BL guns, c1901).

North Lines Battery emplacement

Passage to magazine of Drop Battery

Barracks / Military Hospital

Along with barrack accommodation in casemates and huts at the Citadel and Drop Redoubt, the Grand Shaft Barracks and South Front Barracks were built. The South Front Barracks were constructed in 1860 on the slope South East of the Citadel, at the bend in South Military Road. The Soldiers' Quarters were a casemated block built in the middle of a large excavated ditch, with iron gangways and steps providing access to the upper levels. The Married Quarters were located further up the hill, just below Citadel Road. The barracks were demolished in the 1960s, the Married Quarters now built on and the site of Soldiers' Quarters forming a lorry park. A few fragments of the barracks remain in the far Western part, along with some casemated gun rooms which protected the half buried/half destroyed Barrier Ditch. East of the barracks, at Archcliffe, was the Military Hospital which served the Dover Garrison. This was also demolished in the 1960s, but an underground passage from within the fortress, known as the Hospital Postern, still remains. Many other surface buildings have been demolished over the years, to make room for housing for prison officers', these include the chapel and school, and various stores and workshops. The gun shed, Victoria Hall and the Warrant Officer's house on Citadel Road still exist, however.

Remains of the South Front Barracks

Photo showing Hospital (centre) and South Barracks above,

Hospital Postern

Caves, close to the South Front Barracks

Links

2011-01-12T16:57:00.029Z

Organisations, which one can join to learn more about defence and underground structures, and take part in organised visits.

Subterranea Britannica

http://www.subbrit.org.uk/

Kent Underground Research Group

http://www.kurg.org.uk/

Friends of Dover Castle
http://www.dover-castle-friends.org/

Western Heights Preservation Society
http://www.dover-western-heights.org/

Palmerston Forts Society
http://www.palmerstonforts.org.uk/

Fortress Study Group
http://www.fsgfort.com/

Personal websites featuring pictures and information about underground and defence sites.

Kent History Forum
http://www.kenthistoryforum.co.uk/

Underground Kent
http://undergroundkent.co.uk

South Coast Martello Towers
http://www.martello-towers.co.uk/index.html

Fort Warden Heights
http://fortwardenheights.com/

Medway Lines
http://www.medwaylines.com

White Cliffs Underground
http://www.castlekas.freeserve.co.uk/home.htm

South East Defence Photos
http://www.southeast-defencephotos.com/

Portsdown Tunnels
http://www.portsdown-tunnels.org.uk/

ROC Remembered
http://www.rocremembered.com/

Bunker Pictures
http://www.bunkerpictures.nl/

Isle of Wight Forts & Batteries
http://www.fortsandbatteries.co.uk/

HMS Forward - South Heighton Tunnels
http://www.secret-tunnels.co.uk/

Underground History
http://underground-history.co.uk/front.php

The Verne Citadel, old photos
http://www.isleofportlandpictures.org.uk/Verne/

Here are some links to the websites of underground and defence sites, which are open to the public. Please check opening times as some sites can be seasonal, or have limited opening times.

Dover Castle & Wartime Tunnels (Kent)
http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/dover-castle/

Stockport Air Raid Shelters (Manchester)
http://www.airraidshelters.org.uk/

Newhaven Fort (East Sussex)
http://www.newhavenfort.org.uk/

Landguard Fort, Felixstowe (Suffolk)
http://www.landguard.com/

Bembridge Fort (Isle of Wight)
http://islandupdate.org/bembridgefort.aspx

Fort Victoria (Isle of Wight)
http://www.fortvictoria.co.uk/

Needles Batteries (Isle of Wight)
http://www.theneedlesbattery.org.uk/

Brean Down Fort, Burnham-On-Sea (Somerset)
http://breandownfort.co.uk/

Hurst Castle
http://www.hurstcastle.co.uk/

Fort Amerst, Chatham (Kent)
http://www.fortamherst.com/

Fort Nelson, Portsmouth (Hampshire)
http://www.royalarmouries.org/visit-us/fort-nelson

Southsea Castle, Portsmouth (Hampshire)
http://www.southseacastle.co.uk/

New Tavern Fort (Magazines), Gravesend (Kent)
http://www.gravesham.gov.uk/index.jsp?articleid=960

Cabinet War Rooms (London)
http://cwr.iwm.org.uk/

Crownhill Fort, Plymouth (Devon)
http://www.crownhillfort.co.uk/

Tilbury Fort (Essex)
http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/tilbury-fort/

Nothe Fort, Weymouth (Dorset)
http://www.nothefort.org.uk/

Eastbourne Redoubt (East Sussex)
http://www.eastbournemuseums.co.uk/

Fort Paull, Hull (Yorkshire)
http://www.fortpaull.com/ccm/navigation/home/

Online mapping and research websites.

Bing Maps

http://www.bing.com/maps/

Google Maps
http://maps.google.co.uk/

National Archives
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/

Elgin - Highly detailed Ordnance Survey mapping
http://www.elgin.gov.uk/

Calais Fortifications - Aerial Photos

2011-01-05T20:32:00.002Z

Aerial Photos - Nord Pas De Calais Fortifications

Fort Risban

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The Citadel

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Fort Nieulay

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Atlantik Wall - Batterie Oldenburg

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Atlantik Wall - Batterie Waldam

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Atlantik Wall - Batterie Lindemann

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Atlantik Wall - Batterie Todt

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Isle of Wight Fortifications - Aerial Photos

2011-01-05T20:14:00.002Z

Aerial Photos - Isle of Wight

Ryde - Puckpool Mortar Battery

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Bembridge - Culver Down Battery

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Bembridge - Bembridge Fort

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Yaverland - Yaverland Battery

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Sandown - Sandown Fort

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Sandown - Sandown Barrack Battery

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Freshwater - Freshwater Redoubt

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Needles - New Needles Battery

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Needles - Old Needles Battery

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Totland - Warden Point Battery

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Totland - Golden Hill Fort

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Solent - Cliff End Battery & Fort Albert

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Solent - Fort Victoria

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Solent - Hurst Castle

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Portsmouth Fortifications - Aerial Photos

2011-01-05T19:47:00.002Z

Aerial photos - Portsmouth Area

Eastney - Fort Cumberland

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Eastney - Eastney Fort East

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Eastney - Eastney Fort West

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Southsea - Lumps Fort

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Southsea - Southsea Castle + Wing Batteries

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Old Portsmouth - King's Bastion

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Old Portsmouth - Point Battery

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Portsmouth - Hilsea Lines

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Portsdown Hill - Fort Purbrook

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Portsdown Hill - Fort Widley

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Portsdown Hill - Fort Southwick

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Portsdown Hill - Fort Nelson

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Fareham - Fort Fareham

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Gosport - Fort Elson

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Gosport - Fort Brockhurst

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Gosport - Fort Rowner

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Gosport - Fort Grange

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Gosport - Stokes Bay Lines

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Gosport - Fort Gilkicker

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Gosport - Fort Monkton

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Gosport - Fort Blockhouse

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Thames Fortifications - Aerial Photos

2011-01-05T18:19:00.003Z

Aerial photos - Thames Fortifications

Sheerness - Centre Bastion Battery

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Sheerness - Albemarle Battery

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Sheerness - Garrison Point Fort

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Grain - Tower Battery

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Grain - Dummy Battery

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Grain - Grain Fort

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Shoeburyness Battery

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Allhallows-On-Sea - Slough Fort

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East Tilbury - Coalhouse Fort

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Gravesend - Cliffe Fort

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Gravesend - Shornemead Fort

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Gravesend - New Tavern Fort

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Tilbury - Tilbury Fort

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Medway Fortifications - Aerial Photos

2011-01-05T18:06:00.004Z

Aerial Photos - Medway Fortifications

Sea Fort - Darnet Fort

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Sea Fort - Hoo Fort

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Chatham - Fort Amherst

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Chatham - Fort Luton

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Chatham - Fort Horsted

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Chatham - Fort Borstal

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Rochester - Fort Clarence

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Aerial Photos of Forts

2011-01-05T17:28:00.010Z

Here are some collections of interactive aerial photos of fortified areas featured on this website, supplied by Google Maps. Hopefully, these should give a better idea of the scale of these impressive forts, which is often best appreciated from above. One can zoom in, or view a larger version, if required. I have tried to make the order logical, i.e. the Wight fortifications go clockwise around the island. I will add more as time allows. Please click a photo below to select the area.

Dover Defences

Horseshoe Bastion

Medway Defences

Fort Clarence Gun Tower, Rochester

Thames Defences

Cliffe Fort, on the Thames Estuary

Portsmouth / Gosport Defences

Fort Southwick, Portsdown Hill

Isle of Wight Defences

Golden Hill Fort, Totland

Nord Pas De Calais Defences

Stp. Dresden, Sangatte

Coming soon...

Plymouth Defences

Egg Buckland Keep, Plymouth

Dover Fortifications - Aerial Photos

2011-01-05T17:28:00.004Z

Aerial Photos - Dover Fortifications

Western Heights - Drop Redoubt
&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;
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Western Heights - North Centre & Detached Bastions

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Western Heights - St. Martin's Battery

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Western Heights - The Grand Shaft

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Western Heights - South Front Barracks

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Western Heights - Citadel & Western Outworks

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Western Heights - Citadel Battery

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Archcliffe Fort

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Fort Burgoyne

Dover Castle - The Redan

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Dover Castle - Hudson's Bastion

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Dover Castle - Horseshoe Bastion

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Dover Castle - East Demi & East Arrow Bastions

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Langdon Battery

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Glossary of Terms

2011-01-05T16:22:00.006Z

Fortification

Banquette - a firing step behind the parapet
Battery - a series of gun emplacements
Bastion - an earthwork projecting from the main fortification
Barracks - housing for soldiers
Breech Loading Gun - a gun loaded from the rear (breech)
Caponnier / Caponniere - a structure projecting into (or passage flanking) a ditch, allowing fire
Carnot Wall - a wall with loopholes
Casemate - a bomb-proof vault in a fortification, usually a gun room or barrack room
Citadel - the last point of retreat in a fortification
Countermines - underground tunnels dug from the counterscarp to prevent enemy mining
Counterscarp - the outer wall of a ditch
Covered Way - a passage protected by a parapet, usually on the counterscarp of a fort
Ditch - a defensive trench around a fort, also known as a 'line', often called a 'moat' if filled with water.
Encente - an area enclosed by fortified lines
Embrasure - See 'Loophole'
Escarp or 'Scarp' - the inner wall of a fort
Expense Magazine - magazine located close to the gun, used when the gun is in use
Gallery - an underground passage in a fort
Glacis - the area in fron of the counterscarp
Haxo Casemate - casemate on the terreplein housing a gun
Loophole - a gap in the wall of a fort allowing gun fire
Lighting passage - area around a magazine allowing lights to be placed in recesses behind glass
Magazine - the place where ammunition, or gun powder is stored
Merlon - raised earth banking on a parapet between gun positions
Muzzle Loading Gun - gun loaded from the front
Parapet - a wall on edge of a fort's rampart, built for protection
Postern - a passage leading from a fort into the ditch
Rampart - the top of a fortification, often where the guns are located
Redan - an angluar earthwork projecting into a ditch
Redoubt - a self-contained fortress
Sally Port - a passage, often including a staircase, providing quick access out of a fort
Shifting Lobby - area where soldiers changed clothes before entering the magazine
Side-Arms - items used during the firing of a gun, often stored nearby on the rampart
Terreplein - part of the rampart of a fort where the guns are located

World War II & Cold War

BOP - Battery Observation Post
ROC - Royal Obesrver Corps
ROTOR - 1950s British Radar defence system.
GCI - Ground Control Interception (Radar communication system)

Mining / Other

Adit - Horizontal mine entrance
Dene Hole - A small chalk mine style, dating back the Medieval times accessed by a shaft
Drift - Vertical / inclined entrance to a mine or tunnel
Opencast Mining - Mining from the surface rather than underground
Stope - Removed area of rock in a mine taking the form of a large step

Fort Victoria, Isle Of Wight

2010-12-27T16:19:00.006Z

Fort Victoria was built in the 1850s, around the same time as nearby Fort Albert. It was designed to defend Sconce Point at the Western entrance to the Solent, opposite Hurst Castle. The fort comprises a triangular set of casemated gunrooms facing out to the sea, with barracks to the rear. It was originally armed with ten 68 Pounders, six 32 Pounders and eleven 10-inch guns. It was disarmed by the end of the 19th Century, became a submarine mining depot, and continued to be used through WW2, although its use was mainly as a barracks. In the late 1960s, the rear barrack section was demolished, but fortunately the casemates were spared.

The remains of the fort now form part of the Fort Victoria Country Park, with some of the casemates being utilised as an aquarium, cafe and archeology centre.

Plan, courtesy of the Palmerston Forts Society

View across the parade ground

View of some of the casemates

View of the West Wing (from the roof)

View of the East Wing (from roof)

Underground Passage

Casemate
Coal Store

Inside on the the gun casemates

Exterior of the East Wing Casemates

Exterior of West Wing Casemates

Concrete Gun Position

Nearby Fort Albert, now a private residence

Bowaters Farm AA Battery, East Tilbury

2010-12-13T16:52:00.004Z

This battery is one of a number of Heavy Anti-Aircraft (HAA) batteries, built at the outbreak of the Second World War. The design was very similar, with concrete shell lockers around a central gun pit, and other related semi-sunken bunkers. Most batteries of this type have been demolished, but good remaining examples can be found in Dover, Portland and at Maker Heights near Plymouth. This battery is located on farm land, near East Tilbury. It was built in 1939 and originally mounted with four 3.7-inch guns then later upgraded to four 4.5-inch guns. Although complete, the site is now very overgrown and some of the bunkers are used as horse stables.

This is on private land, thanks to the owners for allowing access.

One of the gun pits

Entrance to the magazines

Inside

Another view

Another gun pit

Semi-sunken Control bunkers

Inside

Surface buildings

Another view

Inside, still retaining original paint

Drakelow Tunnels, Staffordshire

2010-11-23T19:20:00.005Z

The Drakelow Tunnels were excavated into a wooded hillside near Kinver in Staffordshire between 1941 and 1943. They were originally dug as an underground shadow factory for Rover, who were at the time producing aircraft engines for the war. The labyrinth of tunnels stretches between 3 and 4 miles and was equipped with offices, dorms, workshop areas, communication facilities and everything else required. During the Cold War, a portion of the tunnels was fitted out as a RSG (Regional Seat of Government) and this continued to be adapted until the 1980s. After this the site was sold to a private buyer and the Drakelow Preservation Trust set up to try to protect the tunnels from further damage, or complete destruction! They are now used for Airsoft and it is unknown whether there will ever be public access.

This visit was orgainsed by Subterranea Brittanica.

Entrance in the quarry face

One of the main long tunnels (Tunnel 4)

Tunnel 1

WW2 kitchen area

Remaining supports (most have been removed)

Brick walled tunnel

Lined tunnel

Fan

Another long tunnel

Tunnel leading the the bunker area

Battery charging room

1980s kitchen area

Toilets

Bore-hole supplying the water

Ventilation ducting

Decontamination showers

One of the generators

Warden Point Battery, Isle of Wight

2010-11-14T12:03:00.008Z

Warden Point Battery (also known as Fort Warden) was built after the Royal Commission of Defences in 1860, on the site of an earlier battery. Located near the town of Totland, it formed part of the Needles Passage defences. It was originally mounted with 8 Rifled Muzzle Loading guns, but these were later replaced by Breech Loaders, Quick-Firing and some experimental guns, until disarmament in the 1930s. The emplacements were protected from the landward side by a loopholed wall with three small caponniers, much of which still survives. There were no barrack facilities at the battery, this being provided at the nearby casemated Golden Hill Fort. The emplacements at Warden Point have been partially demolished (some have been built over as part of a housing development) but the magazines remain in good condition below. Many of the original stencilled signs are still exant, as are the shell hoists and the bench in the shifting lobby.

Many thanks to Robin Homden of the Fort Warden Heights Management for showing me the battery. You can visit his own webpage here: http://fortwardenheights.com/page11.htm.

Plan, courtesy of the Palmerston Forts Society

Central caponnier in the loopholed wall

View across the battery

One of the emplacements

Another view of the emplacements

Interior of central caponnier

9.2" gun pit

Passage linking the magazines

Passage (Issue hatch on left)

Entrance to Shifting Lobby

Shifting Lobby

Entrance to No.5 Magazine

Magazine

Passage

Shell hoist

Golden Hill Fort, the barracks

Fort Rowner, Gosport

2010-11-02T19:55:00.005Z

Fort Rowner was built after the Royal Commission of the country's defences in 1859. It forms part of the Gosport Advanced Line, of forts which protected Gosport from the West. The Line was made up of Fort Elson, Fort Brockhurst, Fort Rowner, Fort Grange and Fort Gomer (from North to South). Forts Brockhurst, Rowner and Grange were all built to the same design, each with a polygonal shape, 'keep of last resort', and central caponnier protecting the surrounding ditch. Around the central parade ground is a seemingly endless row of barack casemates, above which are Haxo Casemates for the guns. Half the barrack rooms in Fort Rowner remain in good condition and are used, the other half are derelict, some even lacking their front walls. The fort remains today within the HMS Sultan Naval Base, but is mainly left to nature and a group of goats which graze the ramparts.

Fortunately, the Fort Rowner is opened for tours on Heritage Open Days, and one of the casemates contains a small museum of plans and old photos of the fort.

Plan of the Fort

Entrance

Casemates by the entrance to the Fort

Inside one of the gun rooms

Passage behind the casemates

Underground vaulted passage
Inside the double caponnier

Maintained casemates

Looking back

The derelict side of the fort

Looking back (with Haxo Casemates over)

The Keep of Last Resort, in its own moat

Passage inside

Gun room inside

Air Raid Shelter, Dover

2010-10-19T20:27:00.009+01:00

During the Second World War many existing caves and basements were re-used as air raid shelters. New tunnels were also excavated, some linking old cave systems and others being dug for the sole purpose of providing shelter. Many of Dover's tunnels, particularly those in the cliffs, are well known and have been visited by numerous casual visitors after the war, many of whom have left their marks on the walls! This tunnel is largely free from any graffiti, from either during, or indeed after, the War. It is well constructed, with a vaulted ceiling and rendered walls, both still retaining their white paint. There were originally four entrances, but three have now been sealed.

Many thanks to the owners for allowing me to visit this tunnel.

View into the tunnel
Further in, showing blast wall

Looking towards entrance

Looking up the ladder

Manhole cover on the top

This appears to have been a sign stencilled on the wall

Looking towards another entrance

Ladder

Looking back to main tunnel

Blast wall at entrance

Sealed entrance

Fort Cumberland, Portsmouth

2010-10-04T17:28:00.011+01:00

Fort Cumberland, as it appears today, was built between 1785 and 1810 in the far East of Portsmouth at Eastney Point on the site of an earlier fort. It was designed to defend the entrance to Langstone Harbour and was built in a star plan bastioned style (it was the last of this type of fort to be built in the UK). The fort was originally armed with 64 guns on the terreplein (the embrasures for which can still be seen in the parapet), but in the late 19th Century these were replaced by Rifled Muzzle Loaders and Breech Loaders. The 41 casemates surrounding the parade ground provided barrack accommodation for over 700 troops. Surrounding the fort is a dry ditch with many embrasures in the thick walls to allow gun fire into the ditch.

Fort Cumberland is currently owned by English Heritage, but is largely in a state of semi-dereliction and is unfortunately not often open to the public.

Plan, courtesy of Palmerston Forts Society

Entrance to the fort

Corner of one of the bastions

Casemates inside the fort

Inside one of the barrack rooms

More casemates

Passage inside

Steps up to the ramparts

Looking down at some condemned casemates

Gun pit

Elevation rails for the gun

View across centre of the fort from ramparts

Looking down into the ditch

Entrance into underground magazines
Partially flooded magazines

Shifting lobby

Casemated gun room

Passage between the gun rooms

Another gun room

Sandown Barrack Battery, Isle of Wight

2010-09-16T16:38:00.007+01:00

Sandown Battery is one of the many fortifications built on the Isle of Wight after the Royal Commission of the country's defences in 1859. It was completed in 1863 and armed with 5 64-pounder Rifled Muzzle Loading guns, which were later replaced by Breech Loaders. The battery was protected by a Carnot Wall, dry ditch and two caponniers and was similar in design to Yaverland Battery, which is located East of Sandown. The gun positions themselves have been demolished, but the magazines and passages still exist underground as do the surrounding walls and caponiers.

The battery now forms part of a public garden and can be easily visited.

Entrance to the battery

One of the caponniers

Entrance into the rear of the Carnot Wall

Loopholed gateway

Looking down into the caponnier

Inside the caponnier, which has lost its roof

Steps up to the top of the battery

'Shell Store' sign

Inside the other caponnier

Another fortified gateway

Yaverland Battery, Isle of Wight

2010-09-04T08:50:00.008+01:00

This battery is one a number built after the Royal Commission of the country's defences in 1859. It is located on the cliffs at Yaverland, just East of Sandown on the Isle of Wight. It was originally designed for, and mounted with eight 7-inch Rifle Breech Loading guns, but these were shortly replaced by Rifled Muzzle Loaders, and during the early C20th these were replaced by Mark VII Breech Loaders. The battery was defended with a dry ditch, protected by four small musketry caponiers. It was maintained by the Homeguard in WW2, but by the mid 1950s had been decomissioned. The battery now remains in private owership, within the grounds of a campsite. The site has been excavated in the last few years, unearthing the emplacements and magazines below, which appear in remarkable condition. The ditch however, has been filled in and much of the surrounding wall destroyed, although it was possible to enter one of the remaining caponiers.

Many thanks to the owners for allowing me to visit the battery site.

Plan, courtesy of the Palmerston Forts Society

Caponnier, and part of remaining ditch wall

Inside the caponnier

Roof of caponnier from the battery

View of the emplacements

Demolished expense magazine

Gun pit

Another gunpit

Doors from the shell lockers

One of the three sets of magazines

Issue hatch and lamp recesses in the magazine

Shifting lobby

Shell lift

Top of the shell lift

Croucher's Tunnels, Dover

2010-08-22T14:37:00.009+01:00

These tunnels are known as 'Croucher's Tunnels' after the Croucher & Co Shipwrights, who operated from premises in front of the tunnels in the 1960s & 70s, and used the tunnels as a store. Prior to this they seem to have been known as 'Bushell's Caves', presumably after Bushell & Co. who previously occupied the site. The tunnels themselves form the centre section of a series of tunnels in Dover's Snargate Street. The three sets of tunnels from West to East are the Court's Wine Vaults (Barwicks Caves), Croucher's Tunnels and Soldiers' Home Caves. They were all linked during WW2 to create a large Air Raid Shelter, but since the war have reverted to different private ownerships. This section takes the form of three parallel tunnels dug into the cliff at an angle, which are interconnected at the far end. They are still used to this day as a storage area. See my other pages for pictures of the other Snargate Street tunnels.

Many thanks to the owners for allowing me to visit these tunnels.

Plan of the tunnel system

Entrances to the three tunnels

Inside one of the tunnels

Interconnecting passage linking the main tunnels

Inside another tunnel

Far end of the tunnel

One of the three alcoves off the West tunnel

Blocked entrance to Barwick's Caves

Blocked entrance to Soldier's Home Caves

Looking along the passage

Culver Down Battery & Bembridge Fort, Isle Of Wight

2010-08-14T15:57:00.006+01:00

On Culver Down, near Bembridge on the Isle of Wight, are the concrete emplacements for two 9.2" Guns. The battery was constructed in 1906 and was known as Culver Down Battery. The battery remained operational throughout WW2 until it was disarmed in 1956. Directly above the Battery, is Bembridge Fort. This hexagonal fort, surrounded by a dry ditch was built in the 1860s. It provided barrack accomodation and was armed with a series of Breach Loading Guns until its decomission in 1907. The ditch was protected by three two-storey caponiers. The Fort and Battery remain in good condition and are currently owned by the National Trust.

The battery is open access all year round (but the underground magazines are sealed) and the fort is open for tours during the summer.

Plan of the Battery, courtesy of the PFS

View of the Culver Down Battery emplacements

View of one of the emplacements

Shell hoist to underground magazines

Another view

View of the second emplacement

Spigot for Mortar

Plan of the Fort, courtesy of the PFS

Entrance to Bembridge Fort

Winch for drawbridge

Casemates and parade ground

Covered Way on the Glacis

Allen Williams Turret on the top of the Fort

Steps down the Counterscarp into the ditch

Caponnier in the ditch

Puckpool Mortar Battery, Isle Of Wight

2010-08-01T13:49:00.008+01:00

This battery was built in 1863 to defend the Eastern most part of the Solent between Ryde and Seaview at Puckpool Point, on the Isle of Wight. 30 13-inch mortars were orignally mounted at the battery, but this was later reduced, and by the beginning of the 20th Century they had been replaced by 10-inch and 11-inch Rifled Breech-Loading guns. The battery was last armed with 9.2-inch guns, which had be removed by the 1930s.

The emplacements remain in good condition, and form part of a public garden, but all of the magazines and associated rooms are locked to prevent access.

Plan, courtesy of the Palmerston Forts Society

View across the battery

9.2" emplacement

Magazine below

Inside one of the rooms

6-inch emplacement

Shell store below

Main magazine

Shell store

Looking inside

Armstrong Protected Gun on Barbette emplacement

Magazine for the above

Ellington School Air Raid Shelter, Ramsgate

2010-07-08T21:58:00.006+01:00

This air raid shelter was discovered after the demolition of Ellington Girl's School in Park Place in Ramsgate. The school was built in 1914, and it is possible that the shelter was used in both the First and Second World Wars. It is surprisingly well constructed for a school shelter, being hewn from chalk beneath the school playground and takes the form of two parallel tunnels, accessed from three entrances on the surface. Inside, the toilet recesses remain, with corrugated tin cubicles; along with remnants of wooden benches and some interesting examples of WW2 graffiti are present on the walls. It is likely that the tunnels will be filled in as the site is currently being redeveloped, but fortunately I was able to visit as part of a trip with KURG and Sub Brit.

Update: I believe these tunnels have now been filled in.

Entrance

Looking down the stairs to tunnels

The first of the two parallel tunnels

Air shaft to surface

Second main tunnel

Popeye graffiti on the wall

'Girls' sign painted on entrance to toilets

Corrugated tin toilet cubicles

Steps up to another entrance

Newhaven Fort Counterscarp Galleries

2010-06-20T16:21:00.007+01:00

These two-level casemated gun rooms protect the North West Flank of Newhaven Fort. They are some of the oldest parts of the fort, but were unfortunately buried when the ditch was filled in and cannot be seen from the outside. They remain in poor condition, but retain some extensive murals on the walls, which appear to have been painted by soldiers just after WW2, when the tunnels were used as a recreation area. A secondary entrance to the North galleries, from outside the fort, was also created around this time as a quicker point of entry.

Unfortunately, these tunnels are not open to the public and due to the deterioration occurring to the murals, it is unlikely that they ever will be; so many thanks to the staff at Newhaven Fort for allowing access on this occasion.

Model of the fort, showing the galleries

Steps down from the fort

Underground passage beneath the ditch

Steps up to the galleries

One of the gunrooms

The second gun room

Ship painting on the wall

Passage between the first set of gun rooms

Steps up to second set of gun rooms

Small alcove

Passage between second set of gun rooms

Looking back between the rooms

Rear of gun room, with nautical theme mural

Steps to upper level of casemates

View across upper level of gun rooms (floor is missing)

La Mola Fortress of Isabel II, Menorca

2010-06-07T18:53:00.010+01:00

The Fortress of La Mola is located on a peninsula off Mahon harbour on the Balearic island of Menorca. The area was occupied by the British in the late 17th and early 19th centuries, who moved the capital from Citudella (on the West of the island) to Mahon in the East, to accomodate the British naval fleet in its large harbour. During this time, the British built Fort Marlborough, a polygonal redoubt which still stands, but the island was returned to Spain in 1802. The threat of re-capture by the British led to the building of the fort at La Mola between 1848 and 1875. The fort consists of extensive fortified lines, protected by underground galleries and casemated gun positions, open gun batteries as well as barrack accomodation. La Mola was fortified during WW2 with two 15" guns mounted on the highest geological point of the fort and it remained in military hands until the 1990s.

The fort is now a tourist attraction and can be easily visited by taxi or water taxi from Mahon.

View of La Mola from Mahon Harbour

Entrance to the fort (via two drawbridges)

Courtyard of casemated gun rooms

View between the casemates

Passage below linking the magazines

Inside one of the magazines

Fortified area close to the Hornworks

The Hornworks Redoubt
Underground loop holed gallery

Storage tank in underground gallery

Sallyport and gunports from the ditch

Inside the lower level gun rooms

Fortified area on the Glacis & the exterior of the loop holed gallery

The loop holed gallery (approx 400 metres long)

The Cistern

Looking up towards the barrack blocks

One of the barrack blocks

Entrance to one of the blocks

The 15-inch Vickers Armstrong Gun

Pett Emergency Coastal Battery, Sussex

2010-05-20T22:09:00.007+01:00

This typical example of a World War II coastal battery was mounted with two 6-inch guns. It is located on Toot Rock, a rocky mount at the Western end of the Royal Military Canal (a Napoleonic defence along the coast between Pett and Hythe in Kent). Many other batteries of this type have been demolished, but this one survives in reasonable condition, with the Battery Observation Post, Crew Shelter, No.1 gun position (and its underground magazines) still extant. No.2 gun position was located East of the remaining parts of the battery, but was demolished and now forms the foundations of a house.

No.1 gun position is on open land, and can be visited.

Battery Observation Post

The Western end of the Royal Military Canal

Rear of the B.O.P.

Interior of the B.O.P

Concrete platform and B.O.P

Ladder down the the underground magazines for No.1 Gun

Passage between the two stores

Inside one of the stores

Magazine ammo bays

Roof of the crew shelter

Interior of the shelter

Nothe Fort, Weymouth

2010-05-02T09:43:00.010+01:00

Nothe Fort is typical of the Royal Commission coastal defence forts, constructed in around 1860. It takes the form of a crescent of granite faced casemates, each originally housing Rifled Muzzle Loading guns with a caponnier protecting the rear. Beneath the casemates, an underground passage runs the whole length of the fort, providing access to the magazines. The RMLs were later replaced by Quick-Firing guns, and the fort was re-used in WW2 when an Anti Aircraft battery was established nearby. It was disarmed after the war and became a tourist attraction in the 1980s.

The fort remains in excellent condition and is open to the public all year round.

Plan, courtesy of the Palmerston Forts Society

Exterior of the fort, showing caponnier

Double gateway entrance to fort

View from the tereplein, showing the shape of the fort

Casemates from the central parade ground

Gun inside No.11 casemate

View across the parade ground from a casemate

Covered area of the casemates

Steps down to underground passages

Passage linking the magazines

One of the many shell hoists

This area used as a cold war bunker (note door)

Inside the caponnier

Shell lift

Gun position on the tereplein

RAF Wartling R3 Bunker, Sussex

2010-04-21T20:17:00.006+01:00

RAF Wartling is located in East Sussex and originally became operational during World War II as a Ground Controlled Intercept (GCI) early warning radar site, supporting the nearby Chain Home station at Pevensey. As with a number of WW2 Radar sites, Wartling was again used as part of the ROTOR radar programme during the Cold War. The bunker at Wartling is a standard, completely underground, R3 type. It is accessed through a concrete blockhouse on the surface (the emergency exit) and is on two levels with over thirty rooms in total. Unfortunately, the lower level of the bunker was flooded (although it was pumped out by Sub Brit some years ago, and the main corridor is now passable). However, the flooding has caused much deterioration of the bunker and weakened the wooden floors making them very dangerous.

The bunker is privately owned, this trip was specially arranged for Sub Brit & KURG.

Emergency Exit

Steps down into the bunker

Passage on the upper level

Fans
Rooms on the upper level

Passage between the rooms

Steps down to the lower level

Passage on the lower level

Flooded room

Another flooded room

Dunkirk Beaches Bunkers

2010-04-11T20:21:00.006+01:00

These bunkers are the remains of a WW2 Nazi coastal gun battery, known as M.K.B Malo Terminus. They are located near Leffrinckoucke, on a long beach area which stretches between Northern France and the Belgian border, between Dunkerque and Bray Dunes. The remains of four concrete 671 type gun emplacements lie toppled on the beach, behind which is a large three storey observation post. Various other buildings, including accommodation, shelters and other gun emplacements can also be found. There are also the remains of a 19th Century French fortification with casemated barracks and tunnels (which have been sealed to prevent access as the site is a bat reserve). Unfortunately, as the site is open access, it has been heavily vandalised and there is graffiti everywhere.

This site can be easily visited, but the appropriate care must be taken.

671 Gun emplacements on the beach

19thC French casemated barracks

Bunkers on the beach from the dunes

Inside one of the 617 Gun emplacements

Barbed wire entanglement

Obeservation Post

Another view of the Observation Post

Looking down the the accommodation area

Looking across the battery

Inside one of the two shelters

Looking into one of the 19thC Casemates

Looking out of one of the casemates

Inside the WW2 accommodation area

Tunnel entrance

Looking through the bat hole

Hope Cove R6 Rotor Bunker, Plymouth

2010-03-30T16:14:00.006+01:00

This site at Hope Cove, near Plymouth in Devon, was first used as a WW2 RAF station. Like many others of its type, it was later reused as the site for a Rotor bunker. The Rotor early warning Radar project began in the early 1950s as a result of the perceived threat of nuclear war. A series of Radar stations were constructed, which covered different sectors of the country. Standard types of bunker were built on these sites, named R1 to R11, some being surface bunkers, others being semi-sunken or completely underground. The bunker at Hope Cove is a R6 type, and therefore consists of a concrete structure above ground, with steps down to a semi-sunken level. In the late 1950s, the bunker was converted into a RSG (Regional Seat of Government), intended to be utilised if an attack had been made on the capital. Today, the interior of the bunker remains in excellent condition, and the filtration plant, generator and other items remain. It was sold to a private buyer in around 2003, and it is unknown what the intentions are for its future use.

Many thanks to the owners for allowing access to the bunker.

Exterior view of the bunker

Entrance and ladder to roof

Corridor on the top level

Original sign inside the bunker

One of the many rooms on the top level

Documentation and plans of the bunker

Toilets

Steps down to the lower level

Passage to generator house, on the lower level

Air conditioning unit

The generator

Spares for the generator, still on the shelves

Emergency ladder to plant room

Mount Wise MHQ, Plymouth

2010-03-18T17:25:00.008Z

As a main Naval base, a WW2 Headquarters in Plymouth was necessary. It was sited within the grounds of Admiralty House, a 19th Century house within the garrison area of Plymouth docks, and became known as Mount Wise. Construction of the main, two level sunken concrete bunker began in 1939 but the site was extended with a series of underground tunnels in 1942. This was known as the Plymouth Underground Extension, and it is located under the grounds of the house. The main bunker area was fitted and operational with many rooms, and remained in MOD use throughout the Cold War, until it was decommissioned in 2004. It is obvious, however, that the tunnels were abandoned long before this time, although some operational equipment still remains within them. The bunker is currently being refitted as a secure storage data centre, and fortunately, the renovation plans seem to be sympathetic with the site's history.

Many thanks to the owners for allowing a visit to this facility, and Mr John Sar for arranging.

Entrance to the bunker in the C19th Ditch

Corridor in the bunker

One of the rooms

Inside the plant room

Concrete tunnel passage
Long access tunnel to Underground Extension

Inside the main tunnels

Another tunnel
Compression unit

One of the higher ceiling tunnels

Large tunnel with two spurs at standard tunnel height

Another view in the main passage

Hurst Castle, Hampshire

2010-03-08T17:05:00.007Z

Hurst Castle is located on a 1.5 mile shingle spit jutting out from Keyhaven into the Solent, less than a mile from the shoreline of the Isle of Wight. The fortification originally began as a Tudor round tower, but two large casemated wing batteries were added after the Royal Commission of defences in 1859. Positions for over 60 RML and QF guns were created in the old tower and granite faced wing batteries. Anti-aircraft guns were also mounted on the roof of the battery during WW2.

Hurst Castle is now open to the public and can be reached by walking the shingle spit from New Milton or by ferry from Keyhaven. It is an impressive fortification, and well worth the visit!

Plan, courtesy of the Palmerston Forts Society

The granite faced casemates

Looking from the West Battery across to the East

Casemates of the West Battery

Inside one of the casemates

Inside another casemate

The 21 Pounder

One of the original RML guns in its position

Magazine
Looking from the West Battery to the Tower

The Caponnier

The lower level of the Tower

Fort Albert on the Isle of Wight, from Hurst

The South Bastion

The East Wing Battery

Inside one of the East Wing Casemates