Harwich Redoubt is a circular
fort
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
built in 1808 to defend the port of
Harwich,
Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...
from
Napoleonic invasion. The Harwich Society opens it to the public.
Construction
The Redoubt was built between 1808 and 1810 to protect the port of Harwich against the threat of Napoleonic invasion. It was part of the
scheme proposed in 1805 that included the construction of 55
Martello Towers
Martello towers, sometimes known simply as Martellos, are small defensive forts that were built across the British Empire during the 19th century, from the time of the French Revolutionary Wars onwards. Most were coastal forts.
They stand up ...
on the
East Anglian coast, although 29 were actually built. Although similar in design to the earlier
Dymchurch Redoubt and
Eastbourne Redoubt
Eastbourne Redoubt is a circular coastal defence fort at Eastbourne, East Sussex, on the south coast of England. It was built in 1805 as part of the British anti-invasion preparations during the Napoleonic Wars. The building is now owned by th ...
, Harwich Redoubt differed in being designed to mount ten, rather than eleven guns.
The redoubt was built on a hilltop just outside the town, giving an unrestricted
field of fire
The field of fire of a weapon (or group of weapons) is the area around it that can easily and effectively be reached by gunfire. The term 'field of fire' is mostly used in reference to machine guns. Their fields of fire incorporate the beaten zon ...
across the estuaries of the
River Stour and the
River Orwell
The River Orwell flows through the county of Suffolk in England from Ipswich to Felixstowe. Above Ipswich, the river is known as the River Gipping, but its name changes to the Orwell at Stoke Bridge, where the river becomes tidal. It broadens in ...
which form the entrance to the harbour, and allowed
interlocking fire with the guns of
Landguard Fort
Landguard Fort is a fort at the mouth of the River Orwell outside Felixstowe, Suffolk, designed to guard the mouth of the river. It is now managed by the charity English Heritage and is open to the public.
History
Originally known as Langer ...
on the opposite shore.
The construction was supervised by Major Bryce of the
Royal Engineers at an estimated cost of £32,000.
Description
Harwich Redoubt is built mainly from brick with stone details, and is circular in shape, about in diameter, with a central parade ground across. The ground floor consists of 18
casemates or vaulted chambers radiating from the parade ground. These casemates were used as barrack accommodation, stores, ablutions and latrines, and a cookhouse. Two of them form the
magazine and
shell
Shell may refer to:
Architecture and design
* Shell (structure), a thin structure
** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses
** Thin-shell structure
Science Biology
* Seashell, a hard o ...
store; hoists lifted ammunition from the lower level to the gun emplacements, which are on a
terreplein
In fortification architecture, a terreplein or terre-plein is the top, platform, or horizontal surface of a rampart, on which cannon are placed,''Webster's International Dictionary of the English Language'', Vol 2, 1895 protected by a parapet. In ...
or gun platform formed by the roof of the casemates, which has ten
embrasure
An embrasure (or crenel or crenelle; sometimes called gunhole in the domain of gunpowder-era architecture) is the opening in a battlement between two raised solid portions (merlons). Alternatively, an embrasure can be a space hollowed out ...
s for cannon. The
ditch
A ditch is a small to moderate divot created to channel water. A ditch can be used for drainage, to drain water from low-lying areas, alongside roadways or fields, or to channel water from a more distant source for plant irrigation. Ditches ar ...
is some wide and deep, with a brick
counterscarp
A scarp and a counterscarp are the inner and outer sides, respectively, of a ditch or moat used in fortifications. Attackers (if they have not bridged the ditch) must descend the counterscarp and ascend the scarp. In permanent fortifications th ...
wall set a little lower than the level of the
parapet
A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). ...
of the gun platform so as to protect the scarp wall from enemy fire.
Military service
![Harwich Redoubt 02 - view from emplacement](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/Harwich_Redoubt_02_-_view_from_emplacement.JPG)
Originally armed with ten
24-pounder cannon, the Redoubt was remodelled in order to accommodate increasingly heavy guns, as technology and the perceived threat changed. In 1861–2, work was carried out to accommodate 68-pounder cannon, and the emplacements were strengthened (by adding granite facing) to withstand improved enemy artillery. Only a decade later in 1872, three of the emplacements were altered to take enormous
12 ton RML (rifled muzzle loading) guns. In 1903, three emplacements received
12-pounder QF (quick firing) guns.
Despite this ongoing modernisation, the Redoubt never