The North Centre Detached Bastion, Dover
Towards the end of the eighteenth century England was at war with America and
her allies, France, Spain and the Netherlands in the American War of
Independence. At the time there was a large army amassed on the other side
of the channel ready to invade, this forced the building of massive defence
works around Dover. These were to supplement the ageing medieval castle;
large forts were constructed on the western heights.
The north centre bastion was constructed to provide a defensive line between the
two main forts in Dover; the Citadel and the Redoubt. Construction work
was begun in 1804 during the Napoleonic wars but the works ceased when peace was
declared in 1815 and left unfinished. The bastion was completed when there
was a renewed threat of war from continental Europe, this was in 1867.
This resulted in two bastions being link together, known as the North Centre
Bastion and the Detached Bastion.