IHBC Yearbook 2022

R E V I E W A N D A N A L Y S I S 35 NAPOLEONIC FORTS JONATHAN TAYLOR and JESSICA TOOZE T HE BRITISH Isles were once protected by a network of forts, many built in the early-19th century to defend the country and its naval forces from a Napoleonic invasion that never came. Most were built at regular intervals along the south east coasts of England and Ireland. Some were constructed on the coast well above the sea to provide greater range for their artillery fire across open stretches of water, but many were built just above the highwater mark on small islands or rocky outcrops, often to protect the entrance to safe anchorages such as the Solent. All these structures are highly exposed to the elements and are in every sense on the edge, physically, geographically and in conservation terms, viability. Many still survive and their conservation poses significant challenges for the heritage sector today. HISTORIC BACKGROUND Following the French Revolution in 1789, Napoleon Bonaparte had risen rapidly as a military leader and in 1799 he had seized control of France in a coup to become First Consul. During this period, Britain and France were in an almost constant state of war, first with the French Revolutionary wars, 1793–1802, then with the Napoleonic Wars 1803–15. The construction of forts to protect naval bases and anchorages had begun after the American War of Independence in 1775, and increased dramatically following the start of the Napoleonic Wars, as an invasion from France seemed a very real possibility. Attempts had been made by French naval forces to invade Ireland in the 1790s, so a string of small forts began to be constructed at key ports and anchorages around the British Isles, and along the coasts of southeast England and the east of Ireland. The smallest, simplest and most numerous of these forts was the Martello tower. Its design was inspired by the Torra di Mortella in Corsica which had held off two British warships during a siege in 1794 with just three cannons, its thick masonry walls withstanding heavy bombardment for two days. In the British version these forts were usually simple round towers with a single gun mounted on the roof so that it could be rotated through 360 degrees. The towers were typically about 12 metres tall with a diameter of approximately 14 metres at the base. The walls were constructed of brick, rendered externally and up to four metres thick at the base. Inside, there were three floors, with food and water stored in the bottom, magazine An unusual Martello tower with a quatrefoil plan at Aldeburgh in Suffolk which was built 1808–12, and successfully adapted to provide holiday accommodation by the Landmark Trust (Photo: David Kirkham, Landmark Trust)