Often mistaken for the nearby Centre Bastion or somehow the fort at Garrison Point (by clickbaiters and idiots), Bastion Number 1 was part of the “Sheerness Lines” which is basically like the Western Heights or Chatham Lines of Sheppey but with a water-filled moat.
The old Sheerness Lines were built by Bernard De Gomme in order to help fortify the docks after an unfinished fort was absolutely trampled during the Dutch raid of 1667. However over time, the lines were expanded to cover the coasts of Blue Town and West Minster.
This Bastion in particular was built in between 1780 and 1794 on the corner of the moat between the coast and the main entrance to the dockyard and it’s defences(the Ravelin.). Centre Bastion along with Bastions 2, 3, Curtain Battery and Demi-Bastion Number 4.
The most noticeable part of this bastion other than it’s WW2 gunhouses is the gun pit; being a lot deeper than your average one at Citadel Battery or somewhere similar. This is due to the fact that the gun that would have operated in this pit was a moncrieff disappearing gun. This gun was fuelled by an ammunition shaft connected to the underground magazines that were backfilled by the port, likely illegally, in 2014. Next to the entrance of the magazine is a backfilled shell store you can see from a light passage in the cartridge store. Fair to say it’s in shit condition unlike the cartridge store, which may or may not have been swept and used as a base by a certain someone in 2017
Further along towards the other side of the Bastion were two more magazines. Magazine number 2 was accessible until the landowners backfilled it in 2014 while magazine 3 is seemingly demolished but hard to examine as it’s on the other side of the dockyard fence with a spigot mortar gun emplacement above it although there do appear to be ruins there. The inside of magazine number 2 was smaller than number 1 but also weirder, having water tanks in one the store rooms. I’ll attach a picture from 2014 if I remember. Also there used to be a large building in part of the bastion used by the docks named the grand magazine that was unfortunately demolished years ago.
WW I and II time now
So in WW1 a mine control post was built next to the gun pit with a shelter under the stairs behind it. In WW2 new gun positions were built in the form if two red brick gun houses facing the sea. One if these has a shelter or office of some kind below it, it’s really murky down there, love the atmosphere. Just a shame about the recent graffiti. Both gun houses have massive holes in the wall which could easily be mistaken for part of an unfinished demolition attempt but are actually because it was hard to remove the guns and so holes in walls were made.
The old Sheerness Lines were built by Bernard De Gomme in order to help fortify the docks after an unfinished fort was absolutely trampled during the Dutch raid of 1667. However over time, the lines were expanded to cover the coasts of Blue Town and West Minster.
This Bastion in particular was built in between 1780 and 1794 on the corner of the moat between the coast and the main entrance to the dockyard and it’s defences(the Ravelin.). Centre Bastion along with Bastions 2, 3, Curtain Battery and Demi-Bastion Number 4.
The most noticeable part of this bastion other than it’s WW2 gunhouses is the gun pit; being a lot deeper than your average one at Citadel Battery or somewhere similar. This is due to the fact that the gun that would have operated in this pit was a moncrieff disappearing gun. This gun was fuelled by an ammunition shaft connected to the underground magazines that were backfilled by the port, likely illegally, in 2014. Next to the entrance of the magazine is a backfilled shell store you can see from a light passage in the cartridge store. Fair to say it’s in shit condition unlike the cartridge store, which may or may not have been swept and used as a base by a certain someone in 2017
Further along towards the other side of the Bastion were two more magazines. Magazine number 2 was accessible until the landowners backfilled it in 2014 while magazine 3 is seemingly demolished but hard to examine as it’s on the other side of the dockyard fence with a spigot mortar gun emplacement above it although there do appear to be ruins there. The inside of magazine number 2 was smaller than number 1 but also weirder, having water tanks in one the store rooms. I’ll attach a picture from 2014 if I remember. Also there used to be a large building in part of the bastion used by the docks named the grand magazine that was unfortunately demolished years ago.WW I and II time now
So in WW1 a mine control post was built next to the gun pit with a shelter under the stairs behind it. In WW2 new gun positions were built in the form if two red brick gun houses facing the sea. One if these has a shelter or office of some kind below it, it’s really murky down there, love the atmosphere. Just a shame about the recent graffiti. Both gun houses have massive holes in the wall which could easily be mistaken for part of an unfinished demolition attempt but are actually because it was hard to remove the guns and so holes in walls were made.
Ahh that gatehouse is pretty cool! I’ll have to go again and look for the book! Yeah there’s tones of history!
