: 98 : 272 Panorama of Braye Harbour Construction Given the misleading title of a harbour of refuge so as not to provoke the French, : 238 it was constructed by Jackson and Bean between 1847 and September 1864 when it had reached 1,500 m (4,900 ft) when works were abandoned. Following the construction of the railway line from the quarry to the harbour and the importation of two engines, the northern breakwater was begun. : 72 It required fortifications to defend the harbour. The idea of building just a harbour would provide the enemy with a good facility that once taken could not be recovered. : 232 A massive breakwater to enclose between 67 acres (27 ha) and 150 acres (61 ha) in Braye bay, dependent upon the date of the plan between 18. A recommendation to build harbours at St Catherine's in Jersey and in Alderney was approved in 1845, to be called "Harbours of Refuge" to avoid upsetting the French. : 18 The militia continued until after World War I.Ĭoncerns by the Commander-in-Chief of the Forces, Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, over France and the expansion of their harbour at Cherbourg resulted in a commission in 1842 to look at the problem. In 1831 the Alderney Militia, now reduced to 65 gunners and 98 infantry was awarded the honour of “Royal” as had the Jersey and Guernsey Militias, being the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Jersey. : 13–14 A telegraph tower was constructed above La Foulère in 1811, enabling signals to be relayed visually to Le Mât in Sark and on to Guernsey – early warning of attack during the Napoleonic Wars was of strategic importance. Barracks had also been built to house 568 men and the militia totalled 384 men. By 1809 there were nineteen batteries holding 93 cannon. The loss of HMS Amethyst, a 38-gun frigate wrecked in 1795 off Alderney, gave the island a number of cannon rescued from the wreck and batteries were built for them. In 1793, the fear of the French Revolution resulted in 200 soldiers together with trained artillery men were sent to Alderney. In 1781 France invaded Jersey, resulting in the Battle of Jersey. Without fortifications apart from a decaying Essex Castle and the Nunnery and few if any cannon, the Island was not defendable.ĭuring the seven years war in 1756 the Militia amounted to 200 men and the Island became a centre for Privateers. King Edward III of England authorised Thomas de Ferres in 1337 to “levy and train” militias in the Guernsey, Jersey, Sark and Alderney, to the use of arms and to “aray them in thousands, hundreds and twenties.” : 13 The first mention of a militia commander, Captain Nicholas Ling, was noted in the records in 1657. The Island Militia may have existed for centuries, as did the Militias of Guernsey and Jersey. There followed a period when the Island was attacked by pirates or used by pirates as it was undefended. However, when Queen Mary came to the throne in 1554, the work was abandoned and dismantled, it was converted to a private residence for John Chamberlayne, the Lord of Alderney 1584–91. The capture of Sark by the French in 1549 ensured the work would continue and additional funding was obtained. 200 men worked to provide facilities for a garrison of 200 soldiers. Essex Castle 1550s Ruined Essex Castle in 1840Īt the end of the reign of Henry VIII, in 1546 work was begun on building a fortification on the site that would become known as Essex Castle, the only remains are the current North and West walls of the fortification. Built of stone and Roman concrete, many of the outer walls are still standing however only fragments remain of the tall tower that would have stood inside the walls, there is a similarity to Roman signal stations built in Yorkshire. 30 square metres (320 sq ft) with rounded corners where towers were built. Ĭurrent evidence indicates that the Nunnery has its origins as a Roman Fortification. Alderney at 8 km 2 is now one of the most fortified places in the world.Īlderney 1757 Early period The Nunnery 350 A.D. These were then modified and updated in the mid 20th Century by Germans during the occupation period. Apart from a Roman Fort, there were very few fortifications in Alderney until the mid 19th century.
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