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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.
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The interior of the Grand Shaft.
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