Dover UK Grand Shaft (3)

John Latter, on March 9, 2007, said:

Access to the Grand Shaft triple-staircase from the top showing the 'bowl' within which the shaft is located. Built between 1806-9 during the Napoleonic Wars. John Latter / Jorolat

John Latter, on May 10, 2007, said:

Standard Info:

Legend has it that one staircase was labelled "Officers and their Ladies", the second, "Senior NCO's and their Wives", and the third, "Other Ranks and their Women".

From a military point of view, however, it would make sense - particularly during an 'emergency' - to introduce a dynamically allocated 'one-way' system.

If troops needed to be quickly dispatched to the port area below, for example, then designating, say, two of the staircases to be 'down only' would result in an unimpeded descent.

Image/photo taken on 5th June, 2005.

Click for information on open days.

The Grand Shaft, built between 1806-1809, is only part of Dover's extensive Napoleonic defenses - click on Western Heights and then check the tag list for all the locations covered (eg Drop Redoubt, North Centre Bastion, North Entrance - more will be added as time goes on).

Also see St Martin's Battery

Work began on Dover's Western Heights fortifications in the 1770s and was intensified, first in the early 1800s because of Napoleon I (Napoleon Bonaparte), and again in the mid-Nineteenth Century because of Napoleon III (originally known as Charles Louis Napoleon Bonaparte).

john hand, on September 27, 2007, said:

I was at the grand shaft barracks as a child about 1933 My father was with the Dorset regiment. The three entrances were labeled Officers, NCO's and Men. As A child I was told this was to prevent the various ranks meeting on the Very narrow stair way

John Latter, on September 27, 2007, said:

john hand said:

I was at the grand shaft barracks as a child about 1933 My father was with the Dorset regiment. The three entrances were labeled Officers, NCO's and Men. As A child I was told this was to prevent the various ranks meeting on the Very narrow stair way

Thanks, John - It's always good to read first-hand accounts!

The Dorset Regiment has the 2nd Battalion deployed in Dover from 1932 to 1936