Crownhill Fort
Encyclopedia
Crownhill Fort is a Royal Commission
fort built in the 1860s in Crownhill
as part of Lord Palmerston's ring of land defences for Plymouth
. Restored by the Landmark Trust
, it is now open to the public.
's North Eastern defences, whose purpose was to defend the Royal Dockyard at Devonport
from the possibility of a French
attack, under the leadership of Napoleon III.
Construction began in April 1863, with Crownhill Fort being at the cutting edge of fortress design, although it does conform to the standard polygonal design of its contemporaries. It was built 400 metres in front of the defensive line, in an exposed position, and is therefore designed for all round defence, with each of its seven sides having massive ramparts and being surrounded by a deep ditch. All sides were also protected by gunfire, with the fort having around 350 built-in rifle loopholes. It was designed for an armament of 32 guns on the ramparts and 6 mortar
s built into the north and north west ramparts. A year later, in 1864, Russia
n commander General Todleben was shown the building works, and he complimented them.
In 1866, after a strike, George Baker, the building contractor, went bankrupt and so the work was finished in 1869 by the Royal Engineers
, who would later occupy the fort. The total cost of the construction was £76, 409 which was a large sum at the time, but a lower cost than other Palmerston forts.
In 1881, the Director of Artillery and Stores recommended that two forts, Fort Widley in Portsmouth
and Crownhill Fort, be armed with complete peacetime armaments. This explains the impressive range of artillery on show at the fort today.
However, fortresses soon became obsolete, due to advances in weaponry and warfare and many Victorian
forts were abandoned by the army. Fortunately, Crownhill Fort wasn't and was instead used by many different infantry
regiments as HQ Plymouth Garrison.
In the First World War, Crownhill Fort was used as a recruitment and transport centre for troops being sent to the fronts in Turkey
and Africa
. It was then used as a de-mobilisation depot before becoming a base for the newly-created Royal Signals Corps.
The last time Crownhill Fort was actively used in a military situation was during the Second World War, when anti-aircraft guns were positioned in the fort. Following the war, in the 1950s, it had a Gun Operations Room built on the parade ground, incorporating part of the Officers barrack. It then continued as a home for the 59 Independent Commando Squadron Royal Engineers until 1983, despatching 647 troops and 1,897 tonnes of war material during the Falklands War
http://www.palmerstonforts.org.uk/pdf/crown.pdf. The fort was purchased 3 years later by the Landmark Trust
, who have restored Crownhill Fort to be the best preserved example of Palmerston's forts. In completing this task, Landmark Trust have received much assistance from grant aid courtesy of the European Committee, English Heritage
and the Heritage Lottery Fund
.
firings, designed to represent the life of men based there in the 1890s by following the exact gun drill of the day. In total, the fort has 32 guns on its ramparts (including 5 Haxo
casements and 2 Moncrieff
pits) and 15 in its caponiers. Some of the guns that can be found at Crownhill Fort include:
Crownhill Fort also contains recreated Victorian and World War II barrack rooms, Victorian sergeant quarters and a guard room.
The fort was open to the general public only on the first Tuesday of the month and may now be only by request.
In 2010 The landmark trust began an operation to remove the dozens of trees that have grown within the walls of the fort by helicopter, given that the forts layout prevented the setting up of large-scale cutting and chipping machines.
Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom
In 1859 Lord Palmerston instigated the Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom because of serious concerns that France might attempt to invade the UK...
fort built in the 1860s in Crownhill
Crownhill
Crownhill is an area of northern Plymouth, in the English county of Devon.-Overview:It was originally known as Knackersknowle, meaning "the hill of the knacker's yard". In 1860 a fort was built on a high piece of land, just to the north west of the village, on the site of a building called Crown...
as part of Lord Palmerston's ring of land defences for Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
. Restored by the Landmark Trust
Landmark Trust
The Landmark Trust is a British building conservation charity, founded in 1965 by Sir John and Lady Smith, that rescues buildings of historic interest or architectural merit and then gives them a new life by making them available for holiday rental...
, it is now open to the public.
History of the fort
Crownhill Fort was designed by Captain E.F. Du Cane as one of Lord Palmerston's last forts and was the largest of the forts of PlymouthPlymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
's North Eastern defences, whose purpose was to defend the Royal Dockyard at Devonport
HMNB Devonport
Her Majesty's Naval Base Devonport , is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy . HMNB Devonport is located in Devonport, in the west of the city of Plymouth in Devon, England...
from the possibility of a French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
attack, under the leadership of Napoleon III.
Construction began in April 1863, with Crownhill Fort being at the cutting edge of fortress design, although it does conform to the standard polygonal design of its contemporaries. It was built 400 metres in front of the defensive line, in an exposed position, and is therefore designed for all round defence, with each of its seven sides having massive ramparts and being surrounded by a deep ditch. All sides were also protected by gunfire, with the fort having around 350 built-in rifle loopholes. It was designed for an armament of 32 guns on the ramparts and 6 mortar
Mortar (weapon)
A mortar is an indirect fire weapon that fires explosive projectiles known as bombs at low velocities, short ranges, and high-arcing ballistic trajectories. It is typically muzzle-loading and has a barrel length less than 15 times its caliber....
s built into the north and north west ramparts. A year later, in 1864, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n commander General Todleben was shown the building works, and he complimented them.
In 1866, after a strike, George Baker, the building contractor, went bankrupt and so the work was finished in 1869 by the Royal Engineers
Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army....
, who would later occupy the fort. The total cost of the construction was £76, 409 which was a large sum at the time, but a lower cost than other Palmerston forts.
In 1881, the Director of Artillery and Stores recommended that two forts, Fort Widley in Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
and Crownhill Fort, be armed with complete peacetime armaments. This explains the impressive range of artillery on show at the fort today.
However, fortresses soon became obsolete, due to advances in weaponry and warfare and many Victorian
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
forts were abandoned by the army. Fortunately, Crownhill Fort wasn't and was instead used by many different infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
regiments as HQ Plymouth Garrison.
In the First World War, Crownhill Fort was used as a recruitment and transport centre for troops being sent to the fronts in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
and Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
. It was then used as a de-mobilisation depot before becoming a base for the newly-created Royal Signals Corps.
The last time Crownhill Fort was actively used in a military situation was during the Second World War, when anti-aircraft guns were positioned in the fort. Following the war, in the 1950s, it had a Gun Operations Room built on the parade ground, incorporating part of the Officers barrack. It then continued as a home for the 59 Independent Commando Squadron Royal Engineers until 1983, despatching 647 troops and 1,897 tonnes of war material during the Falklands War
Falklands War
The Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict or Falklands Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands...
http://www.palmerstonforts.org.uk/pdf/crown.pdf. The fort was purchased 3 years later by the Landmark Trust
Landmark Trust
The Landmark Trust is a British building conservation charity, founded in 1965 by Sir John and Lady Smith, that rescues buildings of historic interest or architectural merit and then gives them a new life by making them available for holiday rental...
, who have restored Crownhill Fort to be the best preserved example of Palmerston's forts. In completing this task, Landmark Trust have received much assistance from grant aid courtesy of the European Committee, English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
and the Heritage Lottery Fund
Heritage Lottery Fund
The Heritage Lottery Fund is a fund established in the United Kingdom under the National Lottery etc. Act 1993. The Fund opened for applications in 1994. It uses money raised through the National Lottery to transform and sustain the UK’s heritage...
.
Structure of Crownhill Fort
The basic shape of Crownhill Fort is a heptagon, incorporating many advanced Victorian fort design ideas.The Ditch
The main fort is surrounded by a dry ditch, defended by caponiers, which is hewn from solid rock. 200 000 tonnes of material had to be moved to create the ditch, which is 30 ft deep and 30 ft wide http://home.clara.net/sjtammadge/crwnhll.html.The Caponiers
Crownhill Fort has six three-storey caponiers. The first floor was for infantrymen, the second was for gun casements each housing Smooth-Bore Breech-Loading guns and the third connects with the Chemin de Ronde, the parapeted walkway circling the fort. The Northern caponier is double-sided.Crownhill Fort's guns
Crownhill Fort is famous for its collection of artillery and its regular cannonCannon
A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
firings, designed to represent the life of men based there in the 1890s by following the exact gun drill of the day. In total, the fort has 32 guns on its ramparts (including 5 Haxo
François Nicolas Benoît, Baron Haxo
François Nicolas Benoît, Baron Haxo was a French Army general and military engineer.-Biography:He was born at Lunéville and entered the Engineers in 1793....
casements and 2 Moncrieff
Disappearing gun
A disappearing gun is a type of heavy artillery for which the gun carriage enabled the gun to rotate backwards and down into a pit protected by a wall or a bunker after it was fired...
pits) and 15 in its caponiers. Some of the guns that can be found at Crownhill Fort include:
- a Moncrieff Counterweight Disappearing GunDisappearing gunA disappearing gun is a type of heavy artillery for which the gun carriage enabled the gun to rotate backwards and down into a pit protected by a wall or a bunker after it was fired...
, the only one of its kind in the world – the carriage uses a unique counterweight system to rise above the parapet to fire and then descend in a controlled manner, powered by the recoil. - two 13-inch MortarsMortar (weapon)A mortar is an indirect fire weapon that fires explosive projectiles known as bombs at low velocities, short ranges, and high-arcing ballistic trajectories. It is typically muzzle-loading and has a barrel length less than 15 times its caliber....
, on loan from the Royal ArmouriesRoyal ArmouriesThe Royal Armouries is the United Kingdom's National Museum of Arms and Armour. It is the United Kingdom's oldest museum, and one of the oldest museums in the world. It is also one of the largest collections of arms and armour in the world, comprising the UK's National Collection of Arms and...
, which were designed to fire 200-pound explosive shells. It is believed that they were used in the Crimean WarCrimean WarThe Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
, against RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects... - 15 32-pound smooth-bore breech-loadingBreech-loading weaponA breech-loading weapon is a firearm in which the cartridge or shell is inserted or loaded into a chamber integral to the rear portion of a barrel....
guns from the 1880s, designed to fire case shot - two Armstrong 7-inch rifled breechloaders. These guns were first issued to the Navy in 1858, but were found to be not powerful enough, and so were sent instead to be mounted on the ramparts of land fortifications, such as Crownhill Fort.
- two muzzle-loading 32-pound cannon, which were rescued from Tregantle Fort in CornwallCornwallCornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, where they were being used as gateposts. - a muzzle loading 2-pound cannon, from the 1790s
- a carronadeCarronadeThe carronade was a short smoothbore, cast iron cannon, developed for the Royal Navy by the Carron Company, an ironworks in Falkirk, Scotland, UK. It was used from the 1770s to the 1850s. Its main function was to serve as a powerful, short-range anti-ship and anti-crew weapon...
made by the foundryFoundryA foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal in a mold, and removing the mold material or casting after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals processed are aluminum and cast iron...
Bailey, Pegg and Co Ltd, from StaffordshireStaffordshireStaffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
The fort today
The fort was first opened to the public in 1995 and now offers unrestricted access to all parts, including the miles of underground tunnels. There are also four fighting levels and 32 gun positions, featuring many working cannon.Crownhill Fort also contains recreated Victorian and World War II barrack rooms, Victorian sergeant quarters and a guard room.
The fort was open to the general public only on the first Tuesday of the month and may now be only by request.
In 2010 The landmark trust began an operation to remove the dozens of trees that have grown within the walls of the fort by helicopter, given that the forts layout prevented the setting up of large-scale cutting and chipping machines.