Dymchurch Redoubt
Encyclopedia
Fortification
Fortifications are military constructions and buildings designed for defence in warfare and military bases. Humans have constructed defensive works for many thousands of years, in a variety of increasingly complex designs...
on the coast of Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
in England, built during the Napoleonic War as part of a large defensive scheme
British anti-invasion preparations of 1803–1805
British anti-invasion preparations of 1803–1805 were the military and civilian responses in the United Kingdom to Napoleon's planned invasion of the United Kingdom. They included mobilisation of the population on a scale not previously attempted in Britain, with a combined military force of over...
to protect the country from an expected French invasion.
Description
DymchurchDymchurch
Dymchurch is a village and civil parish in the Shepway District of Kent, England. The village is located on the coast five miles south-west of Hythe, and on the Romney Marsh. It is typical of this part of the coast, having been a village which became larger during the 1930s...
Redoubt
Redoubt
A redoubt is a fort or fort system usually consisting of an enclosed defensive emplacement outside a larger fort, usually relying on earthworks, though others are constructed of stone or brick. It is meant to protect soldiers outside the main defensive line and can be a permanent structure or a...
is circular in form and built of brick with granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
and sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
dressings, measuring up to 68 metres in diameter and stands 12 metres above the floor of its 9 metre-wide dry moat
Moat
A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that surrounds a castle, other building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive water defences, including natural or artificial lakes, dams and sluices...
. It lacks the caponier
Caponier
A caponier is a type of fortification structure. The word originates from the French word "caponnière" - which strictly means capon-cote i.e. chickenhouse.The fire coming from the feature A caponier is a type of fortification structure. The word originates from the French word "caponnière" -...
s or musketry galleries of the otherwise similar Eastbourne Redoubt
Eastbourne Redoubt
Eastbourne Redoubt is a fort on what is now Royal Parade, Eastbourne, East Sussex, England.-History:The Redoubt was built between 1804 and 1810 to support the associated Martello towers in defending against the threat of an invasion by Napoleon. It has defended the Eastbourne coast for nearly 200...
. Beyond the moat, an earth bank or glacis
Glacis
A glacis in military engineering is an artificial slope of earth used in late European fortresses so constructed as to keep any potential assailant under the fire of the defenders until the last possible moment...
helped to protect the masonry from artillery fire. Built on two stories, the upper floor had open emplacements for ten 24 pounder guns
Naval artillery in the Age of Sail
Naval artillery in the Age of Sail encompasses the period of roughly 1571-1863: when large, sail-powered wooden naval warships dominated the high seas, mounting a bewildering variety of different types and sizes of cannon as their main armament. By modern standards, these cannon were extremely...
mounted on wooden traversing platforms. The lower floor featured twenty four vaulted barrack and storage casemates, which opened onto a circular parade ground. They were designed to accommodate 350 officers and men. Entry was originally via a wooden footbridge supported by stilts, which could be collapsed in an emergency.
History
The design and purpose of the redoubt were finalised at a conference in Rochester in 1804. It was built between 1804 and 1812 to support a chain of 21 Martello Towers that stretched between HytheHythe
Hythe may refer to a landing-place, port or haven, or to:Placenames in Canada*Hythe, Alberta Placenames in England*Hythe, Essex *Hythe, Hampshire...
in Kent and Rye
Rye
Rye is a grass grown extensively as a grain and as a forage crop. It is a member of the wheat tribe and is closely related to barley and wheat. Rye grain is used for flour, rye bread, rye beer, some whiskeys, some vodkas, and animal fodder...
in Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
, and to act as a supply depot for them. It specifically protected the sluices that were the key to the drainage of Romney Marsh
Romney Marsh
Romney Marsh is a sparsely populated wetland area in the counties of Kent and East Sussex in the south-east of England. It covers about 100 mi ² .-Quotations:*“As Egypt was the gift of the Nile, this level tract .....
. By the time it was finished, the invasion threat was over. During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, it was used for troop accommodation, although there was a question in Parliament about the damp conditions. In World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the south coast was again at risk of invasion
Operation Sealion
Operation Sea Lion was Germany's plan to invade the United Kingdom during the Second World War, beginning in 1940. To have had any chance of success, however, the operation would have required air and naval supremacy over the English Channel...
, and two 6 inch breech-loading
BL 6 inch Mk VII naval gun
The BL 6 inch Gun Mark VII was a British naval gun dating from 1899, which was mounted on a heavy traveling carriage in 1915 for British Army service to become one of the main heavy field guns in the First World War, and also served as one of the main coast defence guns throughout the British...
guns were mounted in casemates built over the original gun emplacements. A prominent battery observation post was built and pill boxes were sited on the parapet in order to repel an infantry attack. It was fully operational by 1942 as an Emergency Coastal Battery. After the war, the observation post was used as a Coastguard lookout and radar was installed to monitor shipping in the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
. The army constructed a mock-up of a street of buildings in the interior, for training in urban warfare
Urban warfare
Urban warfare is combat conducted in urban areas such as towns and cities. Urban combat is very different from combat in the open at both the operational and tactical level...
. The redoubt is now disused except as a store and remains the property of the Ministry of Defence
Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)
The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....
. It is a Scheduled Monument and is listed by 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...
as a Building At Risk, although a conservation plan has been agreed.
Location
The Dymchurch Redoubt is located on the south (seaward) side of the A259A259 road
The A259 is a busy road on the south coast of England passing through Hampshire, West Sussex, East Sussex and part of Kent. Part of the road was named "the most dangerous road in South East England" in 2008.-Description:...
main road roughly half-way between the village of Dymchurch
Dymchurch
Dymchurch is a village and civil parish in the Shepway District of Kent, England. The village is located on the coast five miles south-west of Hythe, and on the Romney Marsh. It is typical of this part of the coast, having been a village which became larger during the 1930s...
and the town of Hythe
Hythe, Kent
Hythe , is a small coastal market town on the edge of Romney Marsh, in the District of Shepway on the south coast of Kent. The word Hythe or Hithe is an Old English word meaning Haven or Landing Place....
. It is not open to the public, but walking along the sea wall allows a close approach on the south side. Further access may be restricted when there is firing on Hythe Ranges. When so, prominent red flags are flown, supplemented by red lights during night time firing practice. Due to the risk of ricochet
Ricochet
A ricochet is a rebound, bounce or skip off a surface, particularly in the case of a projectile. The possibility of ricochet is one of the reasons for the common firearms safety rule "Never shoot at a flat, hard surface."-Variables:...
during firing, a Range Safety Boat is present to prevent seaward incursion into the danger area by the public.
See also
- Shorncliffe RedoubtShorncliffe RedoubtShorncliffe Redoubt is a British Napoleonic earthwork fort of great historic importance, as it is the birthplace of modern light infantry tactics...
- Lympne CastleLympne CastleLympne Castle is a mediaeval castle near the village of Lympne, Kent, above Romney Marsh.Today, it is used primarily as a venue for corporate events and weddings. It is generally not open to the public. The Estate Manager is Rod Aspinall....
- Sandgate CastleSandgate CastleSandgate Castle is a coastal castle at Sandgate near Folkestone in Kent. It was originally built as an artillery castle in 1539-1540 by Henry VIII of England as part of his chain of coastal defences in response to the threat of invasion. As these forts were devised by Henry VIII, they are known as...
- Harwich RedoubtHarwich RedoubtHarwich Redoubt is a circular fort built in 1808 to defend the port of Harwich, Essex from Napoleonic invasion. The Harwich Society opens it to the public.- Construction :...
- Littlehampton RedoubtLittlehampton RedoubtLittlehampton Redoubt, usually known as Littlehampton Fort, was built in 1854 to protect the entrance to the River Arun at Littlehampton on the south coast of England, against possible attack by the French under the Emperor Napoleon III. There had been a previous battery on the east bank of the...
- British anti-invasion preparations of 1803–1805British anti-invasion preparations of 1803–1805British anti-invasion preparations of 1803–1805 were the military and civilian responses in the United Kingdom to Napoleon's planned invasion of the United Kingdom. They included mobilisation of the population on a scale not previously attempted in Britain, with a combined military force of over...