| The Grand Shaft is a
unique triple staircase built in 1806-1809 to provide
a short cut for troops from the Western Heights to the
town. The shaft is 26 feet (8 metres) in diameter and
140 feet (42 metres) in height. It has three staircases
of Purbeck limestone, which wind clockwise, one above
the other, down a central brick light and ventilation
shaft lit by an occasional window. At the bottom the
three staircases meet in the sloping corridor which
leads to Snargate Street. There are 200 steps in each
staircase separated by several landings.
Later, after the fear of invasion from France had subsided,
the three staircases, which had initially been designed
to allow the maximum number of troops to descend or
ascend as quickly as possible, became segregated. Notices,
which changed slightly over the years, were erected
at the top of each staircase stating who was entitled
to use which set of stairs. One of the most famous was:
1. Officers and their ladies
2. Sergeants and their wives
3. Soldiers and their women
The shaft was restored in the 1980s.
|
The interior of the Grand Shaft.
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