Long Forgotten Casemates

Located on the South Western corner of a larger fortification, the casemates purpose was to provide defence of the ditch at the South Western end of the Tenaille.

By December 1808 the Casemates were in an advanced state of construction although only two of the four sets covering the ditch were complete.

In total there were two pairs of two-storeyed Casemates that were on a north-south orientation, the area formerly served as a light well. The levels of the Casemates were numbered in a clockwise fashion beginning in the North West corner of the lower level. There were three access routes into the Casemates one from the east via a brick lined gallery, the second from the west via a vertical stair shaft and gallery and the third from the north via another stair shaft.

The lower Northern sections of the Casemates were used in varied roles such as cooking with the upper sections being used as accommodation with 23 men in each room. The Southern sections of the Casemates accommodated 34-35 men apiece and also had a Sergeants bunk that was partitioned off from the rest of the bunks in the corner of at least one room.

By 1853 new works that were proposed included subdividing the upper level of the Northern Casemates which at that point were being used as stores.

In 1897, all four of the rooms situated within the Southern Casemates were still in use for accommodation. The upper pair housed 31 men each and the lower pair 28 men each. The upper rooms of the Northern Casemates housed 17 men apiece although these were condemned in 1898 due to the commissioners insistence 40 years earlier “The casemates that do not have windows at both ends should not be used for quarters.” Due to demand these rooms were still occupied in March 1901. By 1911 the lower rooms of the Southern Casemates formed a basement with the upper rooms still accommodating 31 men apiece. The upper rooms of the Northern Casemates had been partitioned into smaller rooms for stores with small rooms at the Southern end forming a Signal Store and Lecture Room.

By 1929 the entire lower level of the Casemates was disused apart from the Ablutions Room which was located in the Northern Casemates. The upper rooms of the Southern Casemates still house 26 men apiece.

The Casemates were backfilled and it’s entrances were blocked in 1967 with the only visible trace being the Souther elevation of the Southern Casemates.