The Fort`s History

The Fort’s History
HISTORY OF THE FORT and HISTORICAL/
MILITARY FEATURES OF THE FORT
Polhawn Battery
The Fort was constructed between 1862 and 1867, when it was known as
Polhawn Battery. Strictly speaking, a Battery was a specialised fortification with
armaments - principally cannons - with which to ‘batter’ the enemy, whilst a
Fort was a fully contained Head of Command post, with accommodation and
supplies for a full complement of officers and men. The name appears to have
changed soon after 1927, when the Fort was sold by the then Ministry of War into
private hands.
Plymouth Defences
The Fort was built as a part of the widespread Plymouth Defences, which were
all constructed around the same time in order to defend the critically important
Naval base at Plymouth. The role of Polhawn Fort was to prevent hostile landings
along the wide sandy beaches of Whitsand Bay that stretch nearly as far as
Looe.
Polhawn Fort
Palmerston’s Follies and Napoleonic Forts
The Forts and fortifications from this period are known variously as Napoleonic
Forts, and as Palmerston’s Follies. Both these names refer to the time of a
deteriorating relationship between France and England in the mid-nineteenth
century, and more specifically between Napoleon III of France, and Lord
Palmerston, Prime Minister of Great Britain.
The long-standing British mistrust of the French substantially intensified when
in 1859 France launched the world’s first iron-clad warship called La Gloire,
which was capable of steaming across the English Channel regardless of the
fickle winds that have so often saved us from invasion since the times of Drake
and the Spanish Armada. This important military development caused great
anxiety in Victorian Britain – which still felt that Britannia ruled the waves – since
it threatened to make the entire Royal Navy obsolete overnight. The immediate
response was to build a far superior and faster iron-clad warship, HMS Warrior,
within a year, and to commence the massive Fortress building program that
included Polhawn Fort.
It had been decided in 1847 that in the event of threat of invasion, it would be
preferable to construct fortifications rather than increase the size of standing
military forces. There were two main reasons for this: first it was believed to be
a cheaper option in the long run, since the defences would be manned by
the Dad’s Army of the day - civilians and ‘disembodied’ (ie disabled) soldiers:
secondly, because they perceived then (as is the case in many countries now)
that a large and powerful army will always pose a potential threat to its own
civilian government.
The principal reason for calling the fortifications Palmerston’s Follies was the fact
that the Forts were never subjected to attack and never (except as anti-aircraft
batteries in later times) fired in anger. But this entirely misses the main point of
the Royal Commission’s intentions, which was that their construction was always
intended as a deterrent to the French (and others). Consequently, it is their very
lack of use, and the absence of any attempted invasion, whilst the Royal Navy
was busy modernising its fleet, which can be seen as an indication of the success
of the strategy.
Unplanned Obsolescence
In addition to being known as one of the Palmerston’s Follies, Polhawn Fort has
a further problem. Local gossip has it that only the Royal Engineers could spend
La Gloire
HMS Warrior
five years in planning and building the Fort, and then discover that it is facing
in the wrong direction. This is because the Fort’s two angled faces command
the beach and shallow waters of Whitsand Bay, and the arc of fire of the Fort’s
cannons could not reach round to the open sea. As a result, ships with the latest
weapons could anchor and fire upon it at will.
There was a logical reason for this, which is part of the nature of the Fort’s history.
The need for the Fort, and the other Plymouth Defences was decided upon in
1847, but the detailed planning, the location, the purchase of the land from
the Earl of Mount Edgcumbe, and the five years of building works were not
completed for a further twenty years.
During this time, more than at any previous time in history, there was a
tremendously fast development in the technology of cannon weaponry. So
although the Fort was conceived and designed to hold seven muzzle-loading
cannons which needed protection (behind eight feet thick walls) from return
fire, by the time it was completed, modern breech-loading cannons were
so powerful that it was more effective to put them at the top of hills behind
reinforced earthworks.
It was thus much easier to keep ships and landing parties well out to sea, and
Whitsand Bay Battery, principally a fortified earthwork (now a chalet and
caravan site) was better placed for this; so Polhawn Fort was obsolete before
its completion. Indeed there are still signs of this obsolescence at the top of the
southern face of the Fort, where, in an area which would have needed the most
protection, the defensive walls at the parapet level are actually unfinished.
The Cannons
A recently excavated 24 pounder cannon of the “Blomefield” design, dating
from around 1809 and weighing two and a half tons, can be seen half-buried
outside the back door of the main room, beneath the drawbridge at the back of
the flowerbed. It is not certain as to whether the Fort was ever actually properly
armed.
Later uses
In the late nineteenth century the Fort appears to have been used as
accommodation for certain gunnery officers who were at Whitsand Bay
Battery. It was manned up to and during the first world war, and apparently the
drawbridge was raised every single night (this was restored to full working order
in Spring 1992 - quite possibly for the first time since the First World War). For a few
months at the beginning of this war, the Magazine was used as a windowless
dungeon, or detention cell for errant soldiers - and their writings on the wall,
factual, cringing, and sarcastic, are still in good condition.
The Fort was sold by the Ministry of War into private hands in 1927, and has had
a mixed history since then. In the thirties it was used as an hotel and tea rooms,
and the original guest list is still in private hands – one famous guest was Tommy
Handly, of Music Hall fame. At the end of the Second World War the Fort was
purchased by a family who shared and sub-divided it in a variety of ways until
1986, when the final sole remaining female member put it up for auction. The
present owners, John and Teresa Wicksteed purchased it from the successful
bidder (who apparently never visited it after the auction) in 1988.
It has now been completely and sympathetically refurbished with full central
heating, eight bedrooms, six with en-suite bathrooms, one further bathroom, and
the present Napoleonic Hall, an 80 foot long room comprising four of the original
cannon arches or casemates.
* * *
Writings on walls in the Magazine
HISTORICAL/MILITARY FEATURES OF THE FORT
Casemates
The Fort was designed to hold seven cannons, and so is built with seven large
arched and vaulted areas, each of them a casemate for one cannon. Four of
the casemates face along the beaches and shallow waters of Whitsand Bay,
and three face slightly more out to sea (currently used as bedrooms).
Embrasures
All of the rooms of the Fort, except for the kitchen, face the sea. The principal
windows of the Fort are the massively constructed embrasures or the cannons:
there are also many secondary windows which were originally musketry ports for
small arms defence; and, it has to be admitted, several windows to the rear that
were actually intended as windows.
bedroom 2
Drawbridge
The main entrance to the Fort is at roof level across a unique drawbridge that
pivots in the middle of the half nearest the fort. This operates in effect through
a quick release mechanism which could be operated by a single soldier in a
moment if under surprise attack (to which the Fort was quite vulnerable, being
set into the hillside). This drawbridge was fully restored by the owner, John
Wicksteed, in 1992, though it is now locked for safety reasons.
Murder Slot Construction
There is a curious construction on the North end of the Fort comprising two
substantial arches formed into the stone-work and a sloping wall underneath
(murder slot photo). The upper arch, set into the eight feet thick wall is to enable
the wall beneath to be angled so that the musketry slots set into it can face
directly down the dry moat below which runs out to the cliff face. Beneath
this there is another substantial arch, with a sloping wall running down into
the bottom of the dry moat. At the top of the sloping wall can be seen a slot
behind the arch which was originally open into the Fort. This was to enable the
defending soldiers to fire down upon any attackers who had managed to get
to the bottom of the wall of the Fort, and thus prevent them from mining the
walls, or gathering beneath the limited range of the musketry slots for an attack.
Generally where this feature is found it is usually in the form of a hole, rather than
a long slot. This feature is not easy to see from the inside of the Fort as it has long
been filled in. But close inspection of the flagstones at the end of the Napoleonic
Hall will show that they run parallel to the wall and not up to it, with a filled in
cemented area about 6 inches (or 150mm) wide.
Drawbridge
Spiral Staircase
The main entrance down into the Fort from the drawbridge is down a beautifully
cut granite spiral staircase (photo of spiral staircase). An interesting feature of
this is the question as to whether it winds in the wrong direction. An important
feature of ancient spiral staircases is to wind in such a direction that the
defenders, who were generally defending from above, could have their sword
arms (or muskets) on the outside of the spiral, to give them the most room as they
faced their attackers. Since this was obviously most normally the right hand side,
it means that most spiral staircases wind down in an anti-clockwise direction.
The main spiral staircase of the Fort (and its twin at the other end of the Fort) do
wind down in this direction, but clearly the assumption that in a surprise attack
the enemy would be coming from above is mistaken, as they would have the
advantage of the anti-clockwise wind of the spiral. A possible explanation
for this is that it could be said to demonstrate that the military strategy would
dictate that the defenders regard the roof level as their main retreat, and would
maintain an escape route up there - having much earlier raised the drawbridge and thus defend themselves from above, rather than below.
Murder slot construction
Spiral staircase
Cannon
A genuine 24 pounder ‘Blomefield’ design cannon dating from around 1809
is now on view in the Fort grounds half berried in the flower beds benigth the
drawbridge. This cannon would have seen service in Napoleon Bonaparte’s
time and quite possibly spent its active life on a British ship of the line. It is in
near perfect condition, and has a beautiful George III crest on the top. The
Fort would have been built with this sort of cannon in mind, though if it was ever
armed, which is a matter for academic dispute, it would have been with a similar
cannon, a 32/64 pounder, with a bore about half an inch wider. These cannons
were originally 32 pounders, ie they were originally made to fire cannon balls
weighing 32 pounds in weight: they then had their muzzles bored out to put in
a rifling sleeve. This restored the original bore of 6.25”, and thus enabled use of
the original 32 pound cannon balls. But it also enabled them to fire the latest 64
pound exploding shells, since these had brass studs to fit the rifling and so spin the
shell as it left the cannon, leading to far greater accuracy and penetration.
Cannon
Cannon racer rails
In all the sitting room and the upper bedrooms can still be found the original
round cannon front racer rings just inside the embrasures. The rear racer rings
have long been removed, though one has been found in the garden. Where
these used to be has been picked out in subtle form by quarry tiles embedded
into the heavy granite blocks set into the floor.
The Dangerous areas
The construction of the Fort is massive. With its foundations cut into solid rock,
internal wall three feet thick, ceilings with a minimum thickness of six feet, and
outer walls no less than eight feet thick, it was built entirely from solid masonry.
All structural support throughout is of arched and vaulted brickwork.
One area however did have a wooden floor. This was the Magazine Room (for
storage of gunpowder) and the Shell Filling Room, which unusually for the time,
were built inside the Fort, instead of being located safely outside it.
Racer rails
Everything about this part of the Fort was designed to minimise the risk of sparks
and accidental explosion. All of the door hinges were made of brass instead of
the wrought iron found elsewhere. The area was locked and shut off. In order to
approach this locked-off area, the soldiers had first to enter a special changing
room that is now bedroom 4, remove their boots and put on special slippers as
well as replacing any metal bearing parts of their uniform with smocks. Most of
this floor has rotted away over the ages, but we have salvaged as much as we
could and placed it as flooring in bedroom 4.
Wooden floor bedroom 4
Bed 4 - soldier changing room
The Lighting Room
An important and very dangerous element of ancient fortifications was that
the stored gunpowder and explosives were always kept in low, protected, and
thereby dark areas. Since the only way that these volatile areas could be lit was
by flame-based lamps, a critical design factor was to help prevent accidental
explosion from within.
In the lower corridors of the Fort can be seen glass fronted enclosures set into
the stone work: these were to contain oil-lamps, and each has a grill above
for ventilation of the fumes. In the most critically dangerous area - the shellfilling room, and the magazine (for storing explosives) there are several of these
enclosures which can be accessed from the inside via a small shut-in corridor
- the so-called lighting room. The soldier (no doubt a “volunteer”) had to shut
himself into this corridor before lighting up the lamps that faced out onto the
dangerous areas.
The Magazine
In this wooden floored area lies the Magazine, which was for storing all the
gunpowder and explosives for the Fort. This room now has the only truly original
door in the Fort, complete with its special bronze hinges for minimal friction. This
room, although built with the same limestone as the rest of the Fort has an inner
lining of brick wall with openings for ventilation.
Lighting enclosures
Prisoners’ Writings
(see page 2 for images)
It appears that the windowless Magazine was used as a prison cell for errant
soldiers at the beginning of the First World War, since the brick wall lining still has
the original military white paint dating from early this century and clear pencil
writings of prisoners protesting their lot. Some of these writings are dated, and
factual - a recording of why they were put in there: “Pte C Stevenson, of no
fixed abode charged with loitering around some bread and cheese on the
seabeach.” Others are not so easily distinguished between sycophancy and
sarcasm “There is only one gentleman in D Company and that is Captian (sic)
Brock” and “Are we down Hearted no life in the dungeon is wonderful.”
This room now contains the Fort’s central heating boiler and hot water tank, and
although the warmth and machinery belie the cold and rather frightening place
it used to be, the writings still look as if they had been put there yesterday.
Bronze hinge
Musket/rifle wall brackets
On some of the supporting walls of what is now the sitting room there can
still be seen wooden pieces set into the stonework. These were effectively an
old-fashioned system of wall plugs, as they provided a fixing point for the wall
brackets which held the muskets and rifles - again for ready use.
Caponnier
A caponnier is a room or corridor with musketry or small arms gun slots which
faces onto and thereby protects dry moats. The Fort originally had two. The
lower one is now a single bedroom, and one has to pass through the eight feet
thick wall of the main Fort to enter. The other is less obvious, since it is now the
kitchen on the main floor, and in earlier times some of the stonework which
forms the musketry slots has been removed to make windows (two of these
large stones have been re-used to make the fireplace in the main sitting room):
a doorway was also put in. The origin of the word caponnier is said to have
derived from the idea that the soldiers inside could easily shoot any enemy
trapped in the moats just as they pleased, and were effectively in a position to
reduce them to capons.
Wooden wall plugs
Caponnier
Heavy shutters and locking bars
There are two sets of distinctive shutters in the Fort - large folding ones to cover
the windows at the rear of the Fort, and straight hinged ones to cover the
windows of the lower bedrooms at the front of the Fort. These are all faced with
heavy iron plate, and have small slits at the bottom for taking the odd pot-shot at
any passing enemy.
Ready Use cupboards
As well as the Magazine there was always the need for storage of ammunition
near to the cannons themselves. One such cupboard is by the stairs at the
far end of the Fort, another just under the entrance spiral stairs. One that is no
longer obvious as such is a much larger one that was built into the angle where
the Fort’s two faces meet, and is now the bathroom to Bedroom 1, with a lovely
tapering arched ceiling.
Bedroom shutters
Bomb-proofed roof
It is interesting to note that on top of the immensely strong seven arched
casemates, there is a further four foot thickness of ballast topped with a
waterproofing layer of tarmac. This soft thickness was to prevent the impact
of dropped mortars or the bombs of the day from destroying the casemates if
lobbed over to land from above.
Anti-scaling corbel and Musketry Steps
There is a rounded stone-work corbel projecting nearly 12 inches which runs
along all the walls of the Fort at the height of the top decking, some seven feet
below the top of the parapet. This was to prevent scaling ladders with wheels
on the ends from being run up the walls by attackers. There appears to have
been a set of three steps running along the length of the roof decking of the Fort,
to enable soldiers to step up quickly and fire over the top of the seven foot high
parapet, before dropping back down again. These steps are formed from 3 - 7
foot lengths of lime-stone measuring about 15” – 18” square, with smoothed off
faces on two sides. These large pieces of stone have been moved about in past
times, and now form the basis of raised garden beds and other features. Two of
the three steps still remain at the far end of the roof deck to give an impression of
their original purpose.
Shutters at back of Napoleonic Hall
Tapering arched brickwork
Anti Scaling Stone Corbel