Crownhill Fort

Crownhill Fort was designed by Captain Edmund Frederick Du Cane as one of Lord Palmerston's last forts and was the largest of the forts of Plymouth's North Eastern defences, whose purpose was to defend the Royal Dockyard at Devonport from the possibility of a French attack, under the leadership of Napoleon III. Construction began in April 1863, with Crownhill Fort being at the cutting edge of fortress design, although it does conform to the standard polygonal design of its contemporaries. It was built 400 metres in front of the defensive line, now incorporated into the east-west Crownhill Road, in an exposed position on a natural outcrop. Crownhill Fort is designed for all round defence,…

The fort is surrounded by a dry ditch hewn from the bedrock and flanked by caponiers. 200 000 tonnes of material had to be moved to create the ditch, which is 30 ft deep and 30 ft wide . showing the embrasures for heavy guns and the loopholes for small arms on the upper and lower levels.]]