Wellington Front is a fortification in the

British Overseas Territory The British Overseas Territories (BOTs), also known as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs), are fourteen dependent territory, territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom. They are the last remna ...

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 ...

. It was built in 1840 on a site established by the Spanish in 1618.

History

Wellington Front is a long stretch of curtain wall that forms part of 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 stands on the site of the old city wall built during the Moorish period and subsequently modified by the Spanish and British. The Moorish wall had significant weaknesses which were pointed out as early as 1770, notably the fact that it had no advanced works to protect it from being bombarded or assaulted. These problems were tackled during the 1840s when Prince Albert's and Wellington Front were built to straighten and strengthen the line of the curtain wall. The British proposed in 1826 to add a large bastion to the front but did not take the plan forward. In 1840, Major-General

John Thomas Jones Major General Sir John Thomas Jones, 1st Baronet (25 March 1783 – 26 February 1843) was a British officer in the Royal Engineers who played a leading engineering role in a number of European campaigns of the early nineteenth century. Jones was ...

arrived to inspect the defences of Gibraltar. Jones advised on improvements for Gibraltar's fortifications including

Parson's Lodge Battery Parson's Lodge Battery is a coastal battery and fort in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. History The Moors had been in Gibraltar, and the Spanish had occupied The Rock for over 250 years. In 1704, the British took possession and, ...

and Wellington Front, which was named after the

Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, serving twice as prime minister of ...

. The front was subsequently redesigned to mount heavy guns behind a curtain wall bounded by two demi-bastions. The demi-bastions were constructed on the sites of old Spanish platforms; the north one used to be the ''Plataforma de San Diego'' and the south one the ''Plataforma de San Francisco''. Casemated accommodation was also built along the front to enable troops to shelter in relative safety. Wellington Front was one of the last of Gibraltar's fortifications to be built by convict labour. 900 convicts were involved in its construction while they were housed in a

prison ship A prison ship, often more accurately described as a prison hulk, is a current or former seagoing vessel that has been modified to become a place of substantive detention for convicts, prisoners of war or civilian internees. While many nation ...

called which was docked at

Gibraltar Harbour The Port of Gibraltar, also known as Gibraltar Harbour, is a seaport in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. It was a strategically important location during the Napoleonic Wars and after 1869 served as a supply point for ships travelling ...

. It was later estimated that local labour was cheaper, more productiveCity Walls, Gates and Fortifications
visitgibraltar.gi. Retrieved 12 March 2013 and they could legally work for longer hours than British convicts. The front was rearmed in the late 1850s with seven 68-pdrs. By 1863 it mounted six 68-pdrs., four 32-pdrs. and four-8-inch SB guns to provide flank defence. These were replaced in 1878 by a single 12.5-inch

rifled muzzle loader A rifled muzzle loader in the forecastle of HMS Gannet (1878) ">HMS_Gannet_(1878).html" ;"title="forecastle of HMS Gannet (1878)">forecastle of HMS Gannet (1878) A rifled muzzle loader (RML) is a type of large artillery piece invented in the mid ...

(RML) gun weighing 36 tons – one of six brought to Gibraltar in 1877 – that was protected by an iron shield. The gun has since been removed, but its emplacement is still clearly visible on top of the face of the front's right bastion.

References

{{Fortifications of Gibraltar Bastions in Gibraltar