East and West Blockhouses

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Coordinates: 51°40′56″N 5°07′27″W / 51.68213°N 5.12424°W / 51.68213; -5.12424
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East and West Blockhouses
Second World War

The East and West Blockhouses were

gunports, but it was demolished when West Blockhouse Fort
was built on the same site in the 19th century.

Background

The two blockhouses were built as a consequence of international tensions between England, France and the

Henry VIII. Traditionally the Crown had left coastal defences to the local lords and communities, only taking a modest role in building and maintaining fortifications, and with France and the Empire in conflict with one another, maritime raids were common but an actual invasion of England seemed unlikely.[1] Modest defences, based around simple blockhouses and towers, existed in the south-west and along the Sussex coast, with a few more impressive works in the north of England, but in general the fortifications were very limited in scale.[2]

In 1533, Henry broke with Pope

Paul III to annul the long-standing marriage to his wife, Catherine of Aragon, and remarry.[3] Catherine was the aunt of Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor, and he took the annulment as a personal insult.[4] This resulted in France and the Empire declaring an alliance against Henry in 1538, and the Pope encouraging the two countries to attack England.[5] An invasion of England now appeared certain.[6]

Construction

Henry issued an order, called a "device", in 1539, giving instructions for the "defence of the realm in time of invasion" and the construction of forts along the English coastline.[7] Soon afterwards work began on the East Blockhouse in the village of Angle.[8] Angle overlooked the mouth of Milford Haven harbour in Pembrokeshire; another fortification, the West Blockhouse, was built just across the other side of the Milford Haven Waterway at Dale.[8]

The East Blockhouse was constructed on a narrow headland 35 metres (115 ft) above the sea; the Elizabethan historian

gunports.[10]

Later use

Ruins of the East Blockhouse in 1881

After peace was achieved with France in 1558, military attention shifted towards the Spanish threat to the increasingly prosperous south-west side of England.

machine-gun position was dug out and protected with sandbags outside it.[13]

Land erosion has damaged the East Blockhouse site; the north wall collapsed before 1975, and between 2010 and 2011 there was another major landslip.[8] An archaeological survey of the blockhouse, funded by the Welsh heritage agency Cadw, took place in 2011.[8] The East Blockhouse is the only such defensive structure to survive in Wales and is protected under UK law as a scheduled monument.[14]

The West Blockhouse was demolished in the 19th century, when West Blockhouse Fort was built on the same site, and there are no visible remains.[15]

See also

References

  1. ^ Thompson 1987, p. 111; Hale, p. 63
  2. ^ King 1991, pp. 176–177
  3. ^ Morley 1976, p. 7
  4. ^ Hale 1983, p. 63; Harrington 2007, p. 5
  5. ^ Morley 1976, p. 7; Hale 1983, pp. 63–64
  6. ^ Hale 1983, p. 66; Harrington 2007, p. 6
  7. ^ Harrington 2007, p. 11; Walton 2010, p. 70
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Crane 2012, p. 2
  9. ^ Crane 2012, p. 2; Saunders 1989, p. 42; "East Blockhouse, Angle (103035)", Coflein, RCAHMW, retrieved 10 May 2015
  10. ^ Saunders 1989, p. 42
  11. ^ Biddle et al. 2001, p. 40; Pattison 2009, pp. 34–35
  12. ^ "East Blockhouse, Angle (103035)", Coflein, RCAHMW, retrieved 10 May 2015
  13. ^ a b Crane 2012, p. 4; "East Blockhouse, Angle (103035)", Coflein, RCAHMW, retrieved 10 May 2015
  14. ^ Crane 2012, p. 2; "East Blockhouse, Angle (103035)", Coflein, RCAHMW, retrieved 10 May 2015
  15. ^ "West Blockhouse Fort (276037)", Coflein, RCAHMW, retrieved 10 May 2015

Bibliography

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