Archcliffe Fort after the building of the new A20
in the 1990s.
Archcliffe Fort stands on a headland
overlooking the harbour,
known as Archcliffe Point. In 1370 a watchtower, surrounded
by a chalk bank and ditch was built on the site of
the present Archcliffe Fort. This fortification remained
substantially unchanged until 1539 when Henry
VIII ordered that a substantial ‘bulwark’ be constructed.
Later when the Spanish Armada threatened the south
coast, this fort had to be strengthened.
Again, in the reign of James I, it
became necessary to spend more money on the repair
of the fort. This was in 1624 during the war in the
Netherlands, when an army of 12,000 men was brought
to Dover and embarked for Holland. After the Restoration
of the Monarchy in 1660, the fort was fully manned
with a captain, a lieutenant, an ensign, a sergeant,
two corporals, sixty soldiers, one drummer, one gunner
and two matrosses (assistant gunners). As soon as
it became evident Charles II was safely established
on the throne, an order was issued in June 1661 reducing
the manning levels at the fort to a captain, lieutenant
and four gunners.
In the 1750s work was carried out
on the fort, building two new guard houses, raising
a parapet and constructing new barracks. In 1780,
with war against France raging, £1,200 was spent bringing
the fort up to date. During the Napoleonic Wars additional
money was spent on the fort, despite it being considered
obsolete. The military considered the expense worthwhile
until the developments on the Western
Heights became operational.
On 7 February 1844 the South
Eastern Railway opened its line to Dover from
Folkestone. The company’s
station was reached by means of two short tunnels
under the south west corner of the fort. A report
in 1847 stated that the fort was armed with six 32
pounder guns mounted on traversing platforms. Its
masonry walls were in good order having the appearance
of being recently restored. An additional 32 pounder
gun was mounted so as to fire over the rampart, and
was used for general artillery practice. In 1872 the
fort was re-armed with five new 10 inch guns and a
7 inch gun on a Moncrieff disappearing carriage. The
advantage of this type of carriage was that the gun
was lowered below the parapet for reloading, protecting
the gunners from enemy fire.
