Crownhill Fort
Crownhill Fort is a former fortress in the county of Devon in the UK . The fort is 6 km north of Plymouth .
history
The fort was built on the recommendations of the Royal Commission on the Defense of the United Kingdom from 1863 to 1872 to protect Plymouth and the Devonport naval base . The fortress was part of a ring of eleven fortifications built from 1860 between the Tamar River and the Cattewater to protect Plymouth from an inland attack. Within this fort belt, Crownhill held a key position in the northeast and was considered the largest and most important fortress of Plymouth.
The fortress designed by Edmund Du Cane was at the time of its construction on the cutting edge of fortress architecture. The fortress was armed with 32 cannons and 6 mortars , the crew was 300 men strong. However, with advances in artillery, it quickly became obsolete. It was never involved in combat operations, but unlike the other forts around Plymouth, it was used by the military for over 100 years and has been preserved. Military use only ended in 1986.
In 1987 the fort was acquired by the Landmark Trust . The Landmark Trust restored the complex, exposed the old battlements and removed additions and installations from the 20th century. The former fortress, which is protected as a Scheduled Monument , can be visited and rented for events and celebrations.
investment
The area of the former fortress is 6.5 hectares. The heptagonal complex is located on a wooded hill and is surrounded by a 10 m deep ditch carved into the rock with capons at the corners. The fortress was accessed from the south. Around the polygonal inner courtyard are the earth-covered accommodations and magazines, which were considered bombproof at the time of construction.
Web links
Coordinates: 50 ° 24 '49 " N , 4 ° 7' 48" W.