King's Bastion is a

coastal The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in ...

bastion on the western front of the

fortifications 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'' ...

of the British overseas territory of

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

, protruding from the

Line Wall Curtain The Line Wall Curtain is a defensive curtain wall that forms part of the fortifications of the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. Description The Line Wall runs from the North Bastion south along the western coast of the town to Engineer ...

. It is located between Line Wall Road and Queensway and overlooks the

Bay of Gibraltar The Bay of Gibraltar ( es, Bahía de Algeciras), is a bay at the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula. It is around long by wide, covering an area of some , with a depth of up to in the centre of the bay. It opens to the south into the Strait ...

. It played a crucial role in defending The Rock during the Great Siege of Gibraltar. In more recent history the bastion was converted into a

generating station A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid. Many pow ...

which powered Gibraltar's electricity needs. Today it continues to serve the community as Gibraltar's leisure centre.

Design and early history

The Siege of Gibraltar, 1782 by George Carter

King's Bastion is located at the junction of Queensway and Reclamation Road on the western side of the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. The bastion is believed to have started as a Moorish city gate but was later developed by the Spanish in 1575 to become the es, link=no, Plataforma de San Lorenzo. Construction began in 1773, when Lieutenant-general Sir Robert Boyd (1710–1794), then

Governor of Gibraltar The governor of Gibraltar is the representative of the British monarch in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. The governor is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the British government. The role of the governor is to act as the ...

, laid the first stone and declared: "This is the first stone of a work which I name the King's Bastion: may it be as gallantly defended, as I know it will be ably executed." The bastion was designed by Lieutenant colonel Sir William Green, Chief Engineer of the

Soldier Artificer Company The Soldier Artificer Company was a unit of the British Army raised in Gibraltar in 1772 to work on improving the fortifications there. It was the Army's first unit of military artificers and labourers – the existing Corps of Engineers was entir ...

which later became the Corps. of Royal Engineers. At the time it was built, the King's Bastion was the most important of Gibraltar's defences on the west. Its

arrowhead An arrowhead or point is the usually sharpened and hardened tip of an arrow, which contributes a majority of the projectile mass and is responsible for impacting and penetrating a target, as well as to fulfill some special purposes such as sign ...

shape extended from the curtain wall

fortification 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' ...

, known as the Line Wall, along Gibraltar's western coast into the

. It was consistent with traditional notions of a bastion. It included

casemates A casemate is a fortified gun emplacement or armored structure from which guns are fired, in a fortification, warship, or armoured fighting vehicle.Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary When referring to antiquity, the term "casemate wall" mea ...

, which fulfilled the need for barracks, and housed 800 men. Less than a decade later, in 1782, King's Bastion served ably as the command post in the defence against the attacks of the French and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

during the Great Siege of Gibraltar. It was from the bastion, that the "Grand Attack" of the Spanish floating batteries was orchestrated. The floating batteries had been adapted to withstand heavy shelling and were anchored only or so off the Rock. Designed by French engineer Jean Claude le Michaud d'Arcon they were equipped with specially reinforced hulls, irrigation pumps to quench any fires and pitched roofs to protect against plunging fire from shot. These modifications were thought to have made the ships unsinkable. The garrison quickly realised that red hot shots known as "hot potatoes", were extremely effective against the floating batteries and they were all eventually destroyed by fire. It was from King's Bastion that the first "hot potatoes" were fired at the Spanish floating batteries. Twenty-five guns had been installed in the bastion by 1859. They included seventeen 32-pounders, six 8-inch

smoothbore A smoothbore weapon is one that has a barrel without rifling. Smoothbores range from handheld firearms to powerful tank guns and large artillery mortars. History Early firearms had smoothly bored barrels that fired projectiles without signi ...

weapons, and two 10-inch

howitzers A howitzer () is a long-ranged weapon, falling between a cannon (also known as an artillery gun in the United States), which fires shells at flat trajectories, and a mortar, which fires at high angles of ascent and descent. Howitzers, like oth ...

. In 1874, the

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 at the front of the bastion were eliminated to permit installation of five

muzzle-loading rifle A muzzle-loading rifle is a muzzle-loaded small arm or artillery piece that has a rifled barrel rather than a smoothbore. The term " rifled muzzle loader" typically is used to describe a type of artillery piece, although it is technically accurate ...

s (RMLs). All five RMLs had been mounted by 1878, where they remained until 1902. By the late 19th century, the bastion no longer served as a principal military defence. The turn of the century was remarkable for the

reclamation of land Land reclamation, usually known as reclamation, and also known as land fill (not to be confused with a waste landfill), is the process of creating new land from oceans, seas, riverbeds or lake beds. The land reclaimed is known as reclamat ...

in front of King's Bastion, as part of the new

dockyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance ...

. The bastion was repurposed, and the casemates, no longer needed as barracks, housed coal stores. In addition, the area's first electricity-generating station was built there, with construction starting in 1896. A plaque ''(pictured below)'' installed on the northern façade of King's Bastion acknowledges the role of General

George Augustus Eliott, 1st Baron Heathfield George Augustus Eliott, 1st Baron Heathfield, (25 December 1717 – 6 July 1790) was a British Army officer who served in three major wars during the eighteenth century. He rose to distinction during the Seven Years' War when he fought in Ge ...

, the

, in his command during the Great Siege. In addition, Major General Sir Robert Boyd was at his request interred inside a vault at the bastion's base, which he had included at the time of construction. However, there is no record of the exact location of the grave. A memorial stone was placed within the

King's Chapel King's Chapel is an American independent Christian unitarian congregation affiliated with the Unitarian Universalist Association that is "unitarian Christian in theology, Anglican in worship, and congregational in governance." It is housed ...

but the marble stone in the King's Bastion read:

"Within the walls of this bastion are deposited the mortal remains of the late General Sir Robert Boyd, K.B., governor of this fortress, who died on 13 May 1794, aged 84 years. By him the first stone of the bastion was laid in 1773, and under his supervision it was completed, when, on that occasion, in his address to the troops, he expressed a wish to see it resist the combined efforts of France and Spain, which wish was accomplished on 13 Sept. 1782, when, by the fire of this bastion, the flotilla expressly designed for the capture of this fortress were utterly destroyed."

20th century

The bastion underwent further modifications in the 20th century. Concrete

bunker A bunker is a defensive military fortification designed to protect people and valued materials from falling bombs, artillery, or other attacks. Bunkers are almost always underground, in contrast to blockhouses which are mostly above ground. T ...

s were constructed and the structure became a lookout post. In addition, a 6 pounder anti-tank gun was mounted. After the 20th century wars, the bastion also became a saluting

battery Battery most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source *Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...

, employing four 25 pounders. The bastion's years as a military structure came to an end in 1961, when the ''King's Bastion Power Station'', designed by local architect Natalio Langdon was built adjacent to the bastion's northern façade and opened in October of that year. While the previous electricity-generating station was under military authority, the ''King's Bastion Power Station'' was under the civil authority of the

Government of Gibraltar His Majesty's Government of Gibraltar is the democratically elected government of the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. The head of state is King Charles III who is represented by the Governor. Elections in Gibraltar are held every four ...

. Oil storage and administration offices, among other facilities required for the day-to-day running of the station were housed within the vaults of the bastion itself. However, the generating station became obsolete during the late 1980s and closed down during the early 1990s.

King's Bastion Leisure Centre

The ''King's Bastion Power Station'' was demolished in October 2005, during which the original façade of the bastion was revealed. King's Bastion is listed with the

Gibraltar Heritage Trust The Gibraltar Heritage Trust is a non-profit charity established by statute on 1 May 1989 to preserve and promote the cultural natural heritage of the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. Funding and responsibilities The Trust collaborates wit ...

. Alexis Almeida, Chairman of the Trust indicated that the bastion was "the last major battery built in this style and so is very important. We would love to restore King's Bastion to its former glory, it is magnificent and deserves to be seen." After extensive refurbishment, the ''King's Bastion Leisure Centre'' opened on 28 February 2008. It was officially inaugurated as a leisure centre on 1 March 2008 by the then Chief Minister of Gibraltar,

Peter Caruana Sir Peter Richard Caruana, (born 15 October 1956) is a Gibraltarian former politician who served as Chief Minister of Gibraltar from 1996 to 2011 and Leader of the Gibraltar Social Democrats (GSD) from 1991 to 2013. Caruana is a barrister by pr ...

. Facilities include,

ice skating Ice skating is the self-propulsion and gliding of a person across an ice surface, using metal-bladed ice skates. People skate for various reasons, including recreation (fun), exercise, competitive sports, and commuting. Ice skating may be per ...

, cinemas,

bowling Bowling is a target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a ball toward pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). The term ''bowling'' usually refers to pin bowling (most commonly ten-pin bowling), thou ...

, arcade games, fitness gym,

al fresco dining Outdoor dining, also known as al fresco dining or dining alfresco, is eating outside. In temperate climates, al fresco dining is especially popular in the summer months when temperatures and weather are most favorable. It is a style of dining th ...

, youth lounge, internet area and a

nightclub A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music. Nightclubs gener ...

. Following the demolition of the adjacent modern building which housed part of the generating station, the bastion was redeveloped for leisure activities while still maintaining the integrity of the bastion architecture as an important heritage site. The ice skating rink and cinema are housed on the upper level. The new building has not compromised the structure of the bastion, as the main part of the leisure centre sits within the bastion's courtyard and is only lightly tied to the walls of the historic building. Old maps, photographs and diagrams on the history of the bastion are on display at various locations within the centre.

Gallery

File:King's Bastion Leisure Centre aerial view.jpg, Aerial view of King's Bastion Leisure Centre. File:King's Bastion west façade wide angle.jpg, Wide angle view of the western façade of the King's Bastion Leisure Centre. File:King's Bastion Leisure Centre barracks exterior.jpg, Barracks at King's Bastion. File:King's Bastion Leisure Centre left flank (south).jpg, Cannon on south facing left flank of the King's Bastion Leisure Centre. File:King's Bastion Leisure Centre displays.jpg, Historical displays inside King's Bastion Leisure Centre. File:King's Bastion Leisure Centre casemates interior.jpg, Restaurant in casemates at King's Bastion Leisure Centre. File:King's Bastion Leisure Centre wash room.jpg, Wash room inside King's Bastion Leisure Centre. File:King's Bastion Leisure Centre hoist.jpg, Original hoist inside King's Bastion Leisure Centre. File:King's Bastion refurbishment RML 10 inch 18 ton gun 3.jpg, Refurbishment of an RML 10-inch 18 ton gun at King's Bastion. File:King's Bastion refurbishment rope mantlets.jpg, Rope mantlets at King's Bastion. File:King's Bastion refurbishment courtyard.jpg, Refurbishment of the courtyard at King's Bastion. File:King's Bastion Plaque.png, Plaque on King's Bastion northern façade.

References

External links

Short video of King's Bastion

Official website of King's Bastion Leisure Centre
{{Fortifications of Gibraltar Bastions in Gibraltar Coastal artillery Cinemas and movie theaters Power stations in Gibraltar Infrastructure in Gibraltar