Calendar
19th October
Workday, meeting at Drop Redoubt Road 10.30.
16th November
Workday, meeting at Drop Redoubt Road 10.30.
21st December
Workday
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 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.
Newsletter
September 2008 |
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Thanks
A huge thanks to the work party that turned
up at the Town Ditch. It was hard work, hopefully we should
be able to get it finished on the next workday 19th October.
A few before and after pictures.
Before
After
Your generosity will go a long way towards ensuring we can
continue to conserve, preserve and interpret the Western
Heights.
We are always looking for more volunteers to come along and help us.
You can join us by coming along to one of our work days (see the
home page for dates) or filling in a membership form which you
can find under the section titled "Join Us".
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The parade ground in
front of the barracks in the Drop Redoubt as it looked in
2002 |
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And in 2007 after
clearing the weeds and rubble away, exposing the original
surface beneath. |
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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
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