Chudleigh Fort is an ornamental fort in

East-the-Water Bideford ( ) is a historic port town on the estuary of the River Torridge in north Devon, south-west England. It is the main town of the Torridge local government district. Toponymy In ancient records Bideford is recorded as ''Bedeford'', ''Byd ...

, a suburb of Bideford in

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

in the UK. The site was originally an actual 17th-century earthwork

gun platform In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit or multiple systems of artillery, mortar systems, rocket artillery, multiple rocket launchers, surface-to-surface missiles, ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, etc., so grouped to facil ...

that was built during the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

. In the 19th century, the site was reconstructed to create a stone

belvedere Belvedere (from Italian, meaning "beautiful sight") may refer to: Places Australia *Belvedere, Queensland, a locality in the Cassowary Coast Region Africa *Belvedere (Casablanca), a neighborhood in Casablanca, Morocco *Belvedere, Harare, Zim ...

. It was given

Grade II In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

listed building status in 1949.

17th century fortification

The original gun platform was built for the important Devon landowner and Parliamentarian supporter Sir George Chudleigh and his son

James Chudleigh Colonel James Chudleigh (c. 1618 – 6 December 1643) was an English military officer, who served in the First English Civil War. Initially appointed to command the Parliamentarian garrison at Barnstaple, he showed considerable ability, and ...

, who had served as an officer in the

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governme ...

army in Ireland. The pair had sided with the

Roundhead Roundheads were the supporters of the Parliament of England during the English Civil War (1642–1651). Also known as Parliamentarians, they fought against King Charles I of England and his supporters, known as the Cavaliers or Royalists, who ...

garrison in

Barnstaple Barnstaple ( or ) is a river-port town in North Devon, England, at the River Taw's lowest crossing point before the Bristol Channel. From the 14th century, it was licensed to export wool and won great wealth. Later it imported Irish wool, bu ...

, which also covered nearby Bideford, because of the prejudice they had towards

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

for exploiting the merchant classes of England. For example, in the lead up to the

The Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...

had imposed a medieval tax known as ship money on ports, greatly affecting trade through important mercantile ports like Bideford and Barnstaple. Some time after August 1642 James Chudleigh built a pair of 8-gun earthwork artillery

s on both sides of the

River Torridge The River Torridge is a river in Devon in England; it rises near Meddon. The river describes a long loop through Devon farming country where its tributaries the Lew and Okement join before meeting the Taw at Appledore and flowing into the Bristo ...

to guard the seaborne approaches to Bideford against attacks by Royalist ships. They were strategically positioned on the high ground at

and West-the-Water. By the summer of 1643 the Royalists, under Sir Ralph Hopton, had made major gains in the South West, having won victories at the Battle of Braddock Down (January 1643) and Stratton (May 1643), causing the Parliamentary forces to retreat into Bideford where they were then besieged. After more Royalist victories at Lansdown (July 1643) and Roundway Down (July 1643) it became clear that Bideford would not be relieved and in August 1643 it was stormed by Royalist forces of Colonel John Digby’s Regiment of Foot (Digby's brother was Sir Kenelm Digby). Following fierce fighting around the two forts the town fell. James Chudleigh was not in Bideford during the siege having taken part in fighting at Stratton. At the end of the Civil War the forts were abandoned. The site at West-the-Water was built over as the town grew whereas the one on the hill at East-the-Water remained undeveloped.

Ornamental attraction

In the mid 19th-century, the East-the-Water of gun platform was rebuilt in stone as a five-sided folly by James Ley from Northam, who gave it 14-gun emplacements instead of the original eight. Seven old cannons on wheeled wooden gun-carriages were also installed at the stone fort. Ley's interpretation of "Chudleigh Fort" was for it to be a

that provided elevated views across the town and the

; it had no genuine military purpose with thin stone walls and an open rear. The plaque on the wall states "Fort erected by Major-General Chudleigh. April 1642". However, this is an error as the Civil War did not start until August 1642. Chudleigh Fort War Memorial

The site was purchased by public subscription in 1921 for use as a public park in memory of those who died in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. At this time the war memorial was built, paths were laid out and the park was landscaped and laid to grass. Later the plaques on the war memorial were altered to commemorate the residents of Bideford who were killed or missing in

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The park is maintained by the Torridge District Council.Chudleigh Fort, Bideford on the Devon County Council website
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References

External links

Chudleigh Fort, Chudleigh Avenue, Bideford, Devon - Historic England website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chudleigh Fort Forts in England Forts in Devon Military history of Devon Folly buildings in England Bideford Buildings and structures in Bideford Sieges of the English Civil Wars Urban public parks Parks and open spaces in Devon Grade II listed buildings in Devon Grade II listed forts 1642 establishments in England Buildings and structures completed in 1642