The Grand Casemates is a building in

Grand Casemates Square Grand Casemates Square (colloquially Casemates Square or Casemates) is the larger of the two main squares within the city centre of Gibraltar (the other being John Mackintosh Square). The square takes its name from the British-built Grand Casema ...

, Gibraltar, that was originally a fortified barracks and

casemate A casemate is a fortified gun emplacement or armored structure from which artillery, guns are fired, in a fortification, warship, or armoured fighting vehicle.Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary When referring to Ancient history, antiquity, th ...

. It is beside

Grand Casemates Gates Grand Casemates Gates, formerly Waterport Gate, provide an entrance from the northwest to the old, fortified portion of the city of the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar, at Grand Casemates Square. Background The Rock of Gibraltar, linke ...

, which leads through the former town wall.

History

Construction of the Grand Casemates bombproof barracks began in the 1770s under Colonel William Green, Gibraltar's Chief Engineer, but the building was only completed in 1817 during the governorship of General Sir George Don. Hygiene was initially primitive. In 1865 there was an outbreak of

cholera Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...

in the barracks, with several soldiers dying. In 1868 ablutions and bath rooms had recently been fitted up in the barracks, Jenning's fitments (flush toilets) had been installed in the soldier's latrines and the drainage system overhauled. However, as of 1874 none of the barracks in Gibraltar had baths, and Grand Casemates was the only one with footpans that could be used to hold water for the men to wash themselves. In 1888 it was found that, due to faulty drains, sewage had been soaking into the ground near the soldiers rooms. It was thought that this was the cause of the high incidence of fever in the barracks. For a period, the barracks were home to about two thousand workers from Morocco. More recently, Grand Casemates has been restored and converted for commercial use with restaurants and shops. The building today houses an arts and crafts exhibition hall on the second floor.

References

Citations Sources * * * * * * * * Barracks in Gibraltar {{fort-stub