RCHME

Royal Commission on Historic Monuments of England

National Monuments Record

The National Monuments Record is the public archive of English Heritage

The following is an excerpt from Record No.22, newsletter of the RCHME.  The content is Crown Copyright material and is reproduced by permission of English Heritage acting under licence from the Controller of Her Majesty's Stationary Office.

Discovery, investigation, understanding

Over the White Cliffs

High above Dover harbour, with a Napoleonic invasion widely feared, an immense defensive complex was constructed in the early nineteenth century. Extensions in the 1850s were also on a grand scale, with rich architectural features; further additions took place in the First and Second World Wars.

The Dover Western Heights complex today includes a series of powerful artillery forts and batteries linked by 12 metre deep cuttings and enclosing a large central space for barracks and support functions, all positioned high above Dover harbour.

This ambitious site needs to be recorded and understood if it is to be effectively managed; and the RCHME has been asked by Kent County Council to make a record of it: the first systematic record of the visible remains of the Western Heights defences.

‘As with many military sites, many of the buildings of Dover’s defences are under threat. The site is of national importance, and we hope the recording and interpretation of this site will help Kent County Council develop tourism to this and other channel defences using European funding,’ said Paul Pattison of RCHME’s Cambridge office.

Contact: Paul Pattison 01223 556212