Model-tower, 1811 type
Encyclopedia
A model tower also known as an Empire
tower or a Napoleon
tower, was a standardised defensive fortification created in 1811.
's near-contemporaneous chain of Martello towers (built between 1804 and 1812).
This defence programme is known by the name "model towers and redoubts, 1811 type". Their construction programme was begun in 1812 and was originally intended to run for ten years, but it was abandoned on Napoleon's abdication in 1814. Of the 160 model works originally planned (106 on the Atlantic coast, and 54 in the Mediterranean), only 12 towers were completed by 1814, including the 6 in Finistère
around the roadstead of Brest
(listed below). Louis-Philippe of France
attempted to emulate Napoleon and complete this defence chain in 1846 with a set of standardised crenellated guardhouses
.
First French Empire
The First French Empire , also known as the Greater French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France...
tower or a Napoleon
Napoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
tower, was a standardised defensive fortification created in 1811.
History
Napoleon I wished to remedy the disorder in France's coastal defences and so demanded the construction of a fortification combining powder magazines, food storehouses and gunners' lodgings in one building Napoleon's idea was that the cannons in coastal batteries were very vulnerable to enemy raids and so they could be made safer by combining these elements in a single building. As a coastal defensive chain, they can be compared to the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
's near-contemporaneous chain of Martello towers (built between 1804 and 1812).
This defence programme is known by the name "model towers and redoubts, 1811 type". Their construction programme was begun in 1812 and was originally intended to run for ten years, but it was abandoned on Napoleon's abdication in 1814. Of the 160 model works originally planned (106 on the Atlantic coast, and 54 in the Mediterranean), only 12 towers were completed by 1814, including the 6 in Finistère
Finistère
Finistère is a département of France, in the extreme west of Brittany.-History:The name Finistère derives from the Latin Finis Terræ, meaning end of the earth, and may be compared with Land's End on the opposite side of the English Channel...
around the roadstead of Brest
Roadstead of Brest
The roadstead of Brest is a roadstead or bay located in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. The surface area is about 180 km² . The port of Brest is located on its northern edge and one of the two French naval bases...
(listed below). Louis-Philippe of France
Louis-Philippe of France
Louis Philippe I was King of the French from 1830 to 1848 in what was known as the July Monarchy. His father was a duke who supported the French Revolution but was nevertheless guillotined. Louis Philippe fled France as a young man and spent 21 years in exile, including considerable time in the...
attempted to emulate Napoleon and complete this defence chain in 1846 with a set of standardised crenellated guardhouses
Crenellated guardhouse, 1846 model
The crenellated guardhouses of the 1846 model were gun-batteries built along the coast of France as the result of a standardisation of coastal-defence redoubts during the reign of Louis-Philippe of France...
.
1 (model tower)
Model 1 is 16m wide and could house 60 men, along with four 24- or 16-pounder cannons.- Pointe de CornouaillePointe de CornouailleLa pointe de Cornouaille is a cape to the north of the hamlet of Kerviniou in France. They are both situated on the Roscanvel peninsula and, facing as it does the Fort du Mengant, a battery on the point forms part of the defences of the goulet de Brest....
, RoscanvelRoscanvelRoscanvel is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France.-Population:Inhabitants of Roscanvel are called in French Roscanvelistes.-See also:*Quélern*Communes of the Finistère department... - Pointe des EspagnolsPointe des EspagnolsThe Pointe des Espagnols is the north-east extremity of the Roscanvel peninsula, an outgrowth of the Crozon peninsula closing off the roadstead of Brest...
(parapet razed), RoscanvelRoscanvelRoscanvel is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France.-Population:Inhabitants of Roscanvel are called in French Roscanvelistes.-See also:*Quélern*Communes of the Finistère department...
3 (model tower)
Model 3 is 9m wide and could house 18 men (or 12 men and a battery 'guardian') and 2 caronades.- Pointe du ToulinguetPointe du ToulinguetThe Pointe du Toulinguet is a promontory at the end of the Crozon peninsula in the commune of Camaret-sur-Mer in France.Its known fortifications include a prehistoric fortified site, as well as a lower battery by Vauban...
, Camaret-sur-MerCamaret-sur-MerCamaret-sur-Mer is a commune in the Finistère department in northwestern France, located at the end of Crozon peninsula.-Sights:Camaret-sur-Mer is home to the Tour Vauban or Tour dorée , a historic fortification guarding the harbor and built in 1669-94... - Pointe du Créac'h Meur (second level and razed parapets), PlougonvelinPlougonvelinPlougonvelin is a commune in the Finistère department in Bretagne in northwestern France.-Population:Inhabitants of Plougonvelin are called Plougonvelinois.-Breton language:...
- Pointe du Grand-Minou, Locmaria-PlouzanéLocmaria-PlouzanéLocmaria-Plouzané is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France.-Population:Inhabitants of Locmaria-Plouzané are called in FrenchLanvénécois.-Breton language:...
- Saint-Marzin, PlougonvelinPlougonvelinPlougonvelin is a commune in the Finistère department in Bretagne in northwestern France.-Population:Inhabitants of Plougonvelin are called Plougonvelinois.-Breton language:...