|
May 31st and June 1st 2008
Open Day 2008
We will once again be
opening the Drop Redoubt to the public on Saturday May 31st
and Sunday June 1st.
Visitors will be able to walk around the site at their own
pace and leisure; marshals will be on hand around the fort to answer
any questions you may have.
For those who prefer a tour, guided tours will be available,
but places are very limited, so book early!
**New for 2008** - the gun rooms facing down
the East Ditch will be open to the public for the first time.
The First Footguards will be joining us again,
with their excellent and very popular musket and drilling displays.
A walk down the hill will take visitors to the Grand Shaft, a
triple staircase linking the top of the hill with Snargate Street
below. The Grand Shaft will be open during the weekend for those who
are interested in taking a look at this marvellous piece of
engineering.
Fascinating pictures and plans of the Citadel will also be on
display, giving visitors a clearer view of just how impressive and
immense the Western Heights is.
All the money that is from the open days goes directly to the
Western Heights Preservation Society, so that we can buy more tools
and equipment for maintaining the sites. raise awareness of these
magnificent buildings and work towards our aim of preserving them
for future generations.
|
 |
| Posted
2nd March 08
Workdays
20th April
18th May
– preparation for Open Days on
30th May, and clean up on 2nd June
15th June
20th July
17th August
21st September
19th October
16th November
21st December
|
|
Posted 04th March 08
Pictures of the last open days |
|
 |
|
 The
Western Heights is a series of fortifications that together
formed the largest Napoleonic fortification in Britain.
Structures include the Citadel, the Drop Redoubt, the
Detached Bastion and the North Entrance as well as many other
important features designed to work together to fight off a
French invasion by Napoleon.
While some basic earthwork structures were in place by 1800,
work began in earnest in 1802. A series of ditches, known as the
Lines, connected the two major sites, the Citadel and the Drop
Redoubt. Work continued until 1815, when Napoleon was finally
defeated at Waterloo.
A new phase of construction began in the 1860’s, with
major additions to the Drop Redoubt, the building of the South
Front Barracks and bomb proofing of the entire site in response
to renewed French threat. This period saw the Western Heights at
their peak. The First World War saw the arrival of aerial
bombardment and a whole new way of waging war. The Western
Heights became obsolete as an effective front line fortress.
Men were stationed at the Heights during the Second World
War, mainly in an anti-aircraft role, but the end of the war
also brought about the end of the Western Heights as a military
base. It was
decommissioned by the army, and with the exception of the
Citadel, was abandoned.
|
|
|
 |
 |
The parade ground in
front of the barracks in the Drop Redoubt as it looked in
2002...... |
 |
....and in 2007 after
clearing the weeds and rubble away, exposing the original
surface beneath. |
|
Preserving the Western Heights
Attempts have been made in the past to
conserve and preserve the structures of the Western heights.
Many of them were demolished in the 1960’s and have become
roads, a lorry park, housing or empty ground.
A great deal of time and money was spent on
restoration and conservation work on the Drop Redoubt in the
1980’s, but workmen would return each morning to find their
previous day’s work destroyed and their equipment stolen.
Floodlights that were added to improve security
simply did not deter vandals and were in turn vandalised.
English Heritage made the decision to withdraw
funding for any more conservation work in the light of the
constant vandalism and theft.
The Redoubt was sealed up and the bridge removed.
The beginning of a new millennium saw
renewed interest in preserving the Heights, and the past 6
years have seen a concerted and sustained effort by
volunteers to continue to ensure the fortification will be
there for future generations to enjoy.
Since 2002 the Drop Redoubt and its ditches have been
the focus for the Western Heights Preservation Society and
the transformations within the fort are very impressive!
What
Next?
WHPS has focused very strongly on the
Drop Redoubt; so far this is the only structure we have been
able to open to the public. The open days proved to be very
popular , but there is so much more to the Western Heights
than the Drop Redoubt.
In future years we hope to open up the North Entrance for
the public to see. It is close to the Redoubt, but had a
very different structure and purpose. The Western Heights
have been a target for vandals for some time, and North
Entrance is no different. Graffiti and arson have only added
to the neglect North Entrance has suffered over the decades
and we have got a huge task on our hands to clean this part
of the Heights up. The ditch is very overgrown and two of
the water tanks situated in the North Entrance were filled
with spoil from the construction of the road in the 1960’s,
which cut directly through the ditch linking the Redoubt to
North Entrance.
There is a great deal to be seen in North Entrance,
including gun rooms, rifle galleries, and many original
features that give an excellent idea of what it would have
been like to defend North Entrance in the nineteenth
century
|
|
|
