Fortifications of Plymouth
The fortifications of Plymouth in Devon are extensive due to its natural harbour, its commanding position on the Western Approaches and its role as the United Kingdom's largest naval base.
During the Victorian era, advances in military technology led to a huge programme of fortification encompassing the whole of Plymouth Sound together with the overland approaches.
Following a French raid on Plymouth in August 1403, King Henry IV ordered the prior of Plympton and the abbot of Tavistock to further fortify the town with walls and towers.
[1] Only a small section of the castle fabric survives, located in Lambhay Street, at the head of a flight of stairs leading down to the Mayflower Steps on the quayside.
[7] In July 1602 an Italian military engineer called "Frederick Genebelli" or Federigo Giambelli was appointed to supervise works at Plymouth fort.
The besiegers were able to build a battery on the headland later called Mount Batten, effectively preventing ships from entering Sutton Pool and forcing the Plymothians to use the harbour at Millbay instead.
The total length was about 2,000 yards (1,800 metres) and included four bastions and two gateways, a third gate was added at the end of the century to give access to the Torpoint Ferry.
Cawsand and a redoubt at Cremyll, it was thought that an attacking force could establish themselves on the ridge of high ground near the village of Maker which overlooked both the Sound and the dockyard.
In August 1779, a fleet of French and Spanish ships anchored off Cawsand Bay but withdrew soon afterwards; regular and militia troops camped on Maker Heights for the following three summers and constructed a line of five earthen redoubts along the ridge under the direction of Lieutenant-Colonel Dixon.
Although work on some of the forts around Plymouth started in the late 1850s, most were based on the recommendations of the Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom, which was established by Lord Palmerston in 1859 and reported in the following year.
