Royal Citadel | |
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Citadel | |
Plymouth, Devon in England | |
The western view of the Citadel from the balcony of Smeaton's Tower | |
![]() Badge of the Royal Regiment of Artillery | |
Coordinates | 50°21′53″N4°08′15″W / 50.36472°N 4.13750°W |
Type | Fortress, Military base |
Site information | |
Owner | Crown Estate |
Operator | ![]() |
Controlled by | 29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery |
Open to the public | Yes |
Website | Link |
Site history | |
Built | 1592–1598 1665–1675 (Second fortification) |
In use | 1598–present |
Materials | Limestone and granite |
Events | Dutch Wars World War II |
Garrison information | |
Current commander | Lt Col Mark Dornan |
Garrison | 29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery |
Occupants |
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The Royal Citadel in Plymouth, Devon, England, was built in the late 1660s to the design of Sir Bernard de Gomme. It is at the eastern end of Plymouth Hoe overlooking Plymouth Sound, and encompasses the site of the earlier fort that had been built in the time of Sir Francis Drake. The citadel site is a Scheduled Monument and many of the buildings within are Grade II Listed. [1]
In 1590, Sir Francis Drake was appointed to improve the defences of Plymouth. After setting up some temporary artillery batteries, Drake petitioned the Privy Council for the funds to build a fort on Plymouth Hoe that could dominate the Cattewater, the approach to Sutton Harbour, which at that time was the main port at Plymouth. By May 1592, Elizabeth I had decided that the fort could be funded by a tax on every hogshead of pilchards which was exported from Plymouth. Construction of the fort dragged on until 1596 and was only finished after the government had drafted in a further 500 labourers. [2] The northern landward side of the fort was protected by two bastions and it enclosed the previously established batteries overlooking the Cattewater, and also the Fisher's Nose Blockhouse, located on its south east corner, which dates from about 1540. A further blockhouse called Queen Elizabeth's Tower was built a short distance to the west of Fisher's Nose. [3]
During the Dutch Wars of 1664-67 King Charles II decided that it was necessary to realise the importance of Plymouth as a channel port. The original plan was to build a regular self-contained fort with five bastions, to the west of Drake's Fort, but this was revised to take in the earlier fort, resulting in the Citadel's irregular outline. Possibly due to Plymouth's support for the Parliamentarians in the Civil War its guns could also fire on the town. De Gomme faced some criticism over his unorthodox design: for instance when Samuel Pepys visited in 1683 he wrote that "De Gomme hath built very sillily". [4]
Work began in March 1665, but it was not until 18 July 1666 that the foundation stone was laid by John Granville, 1st Earl of Bath. This stone, inscribed 'Jo Earle of Bathe 1666', is still in the wall facing the Hoe. Elements from the earlier Tudor fort were incorporated into the new work. [3] The Citadel is built of local limestone, while the English Baroque gateway, designed by Sir Thomas Fitz, is of Portland stone. The gateway was originally approached by a drawbridge over a dry moat, but these were removed with all the other outworks in the 1880s. On the opposite bank to Fisher's Nose is the Queen Anne's Battery, dating from 1667. [5]
The Royal Citadel was the most important English defence for over 100 years, with 70 ft high walls, and was regularly strengthened over the years, particularly during the 1750s when it was equipped with 113 guns. In 1860, the Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom recommended the construction of a new ring of forts to defend Plymouth from a greater distance, the "Palmerston Forts"; however, the Citadel was still judged to be '...a valuable support to the works on the right of the "North-Eastern Defences".' [6] During the later Victorian period the Citadel was being used by the Royal Garrison Artillery for instruction. [7]
During the Second World War, the Citadel was used as the headquarters of the Coast Artillery Training Centre, Plymouth. [8] After the war, the Coast Artillery School moved there from Great Orme, and the two institutions merged with the one remaining regular coast artillery regiment (47th Coast Regiment), which relocated to Plymouth from Dover to provide a depot establishment for the new Training Centre; training of recruits and others continued until the Coast Artillery was disbanded in 1956. [9]
The Royal Citadel is still occupied by the military, being the base of 29 Commando Regiment of the Royal Artillery. This specialist British Army unit provides artillery support to 3 Commando Brigade of the Royal Marines. Guided tours are sometimes available. [10]
Immediately to the east of the Citadel, and contemporary with it, a Royal Navy Victualling Yard was established to serve the fleet in Plymouth Sound and Sutton Pool. This closed with the establishment of the Royal William Victualling Yard in the 1830s, since when the area has been used as an extension to the military base (and accommodates vehicles too large to pass through the seventeenth-century gateway). [3]
The following notable units are based at Royal Citadel. [11]
A Better Defence Estate, published in November 2016, indicates that the Ministry of Defence will dispose of the Royal Citadel by 2024. [12] This was later extended to 2035. [13]
The Royal Chapel of St Katherine-upon-the-Hoe was originally licensed for services in 1371. During the period 1666–1671, the original church was demolished and the present nave, chancel and sanctuary were rebuilt on the same site. The galleries and transepts were added in 1845 and give a cross-like structure to the building. King George V re-granted the title Royal Chapel in 1927 during a visit to the Royal Citadel. [14]
The 2011 BBC television series The Choir: Military Wives featured the Royal Citadel along with RMB Chivenor in Devon. The programme documented choirmaster Gareth Malone forming a choir of wives and partners of Royal Citadel personnel deployed on active service in the Afghanistan War. In forming a choir, Malone aimed to raise the women's morale and raise their profile in the public perception. [15] The song "Wherever You Are" was recorded by the Military Wives Choir and was the Christmas number one in 2011, with proceeds going to the Royal British Legion and SSAFA Forces Help. [16]
Access to the Royal Citadel is by guided tour only. [17]
Plymouth Hoe, referred to locally as the Hoe, is a large south-facing open public space in the English coastal city of Plymouth. The Hoe is adjacent to and above the low limestone cliffs that form the seafront and it commands views of Plymouth Sound, Drake's Island, and across the Hamoaze to Mount Edgcumbe in Cornwall. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon word hoh, a sloping ridge shaped like an inverted foot and heel.
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises thirteen Regular Army regiments, the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery and five Army Reserve regiments.
Royal Marines Barracks Chivenor is a British military base used primarily by 3 Commando Brigade. It is situated on the northern shore of the River Taw estuary, adjacent to the South West Coast Path, on the north coast of Devon, England. The nearest towns are Barnstaple and Braunton.
The Western Heights of Dover are one of the most impressive fortifications in Britain. They comprise a series of forts, strong points and ditches, designed to protect the country from invasion. They were created in the 18th and 19th centuries to augment the existing defences and protect the key port of Dover from both seaward and landward attack; by the start of the 20th century Dover Western Heights was collectively reputed to be the 'strongest and most elaborate' fortification in the country. The Army finally withdrew from the Heights in 1956–61; they are now a local nature reserve.
Garrison Point Fort is a former artillery fort situated at the end of the Garrison Point peninsula at Sheerness on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent. Built in the 1860s in response to concerns about a possible French invasion, it was the last in a series of artillery batteries that had existed on the site since the mid-16th century. The fort's position enabled it to guard the strategic point where the River Medway meets the Thames. It is a rare example of a two-tiered casemated fort – one of only two of that era in the country – with a design that is otherwise similar to that of several of the other forts along the lower Thames. It remained operational until 1956 and is now used by the Sheerness Docks as a port installation.
104 Regiment Royal Artillery is part of the British Army Reserve and has sub-units throughout Wales and the West Midlands of England. It is equipped with the 105mm Light Gun.
29 Commando Regiment, Royal Artillery is the Commando-trained unit of the British Army's Royal Artillery, based in Plymouth. The regiment is under the operational control of 3 Commando Brigade, to which it provides artillery support and gunnery observation.
Sir Bernard de Gomme was a Dutch military engineer. By some he is considered the most important figure in 17th-century English military engineering.
The History of Plymouth in Devon, England, extends back to the Bronze Age, when the first settlement began at Mount Batten a peninsula in Plymouth Sound facing onto the English Channel. It continued as both a fishing and continental tin trading port through the late Iron Age into the Early Medieval period, until the more prosperous Saxon settlement of Sutton, later renamed Plymouth, surpassed it. With its natural harbour and open access to the Atlantic, the town found wealth and a national strategic importance during the establishment of British naval dominance in the colonisation of the New World. In 1620 the Pilgrim Fathers departed from Plymouth to establish the second English colony in America. During the English Civil War the town was besieged between 1642 and 1646 by the Royalists, but after the Restoration a Dockyard was established in the nearby town of Devonport. Throughout the Industrial Revolution Plymouth grew as a major mercantile shipping industry, including imports and passengers from the US, whilst Devonport grew as a naval base and ship construction town, building battleships for the Royal Navy – which later led to its partial destruction during World War II in a series of air-raids known as the Plymouth Blitz. After the war was over, the city centre was completely rebuilt to a new plan.
20 Battery Royal Artillery is the headquarters battery of the 16th Regiment Royal Artillery. It is one of the five batteries that make up 16 Regiment Royal Artillery. The Regiment use the Rapier Field Standard C air defence missile system and the Land Environment Air Picture Provision (LEAPP) capability, the only Regiment in the British Armed Forces to do so.
The Royal Chapel of St Katherine-upon-the-Hoe is the garrison church within the precincts of the Royal Citadel in Plymouth. The original church on the site was licensed for services by the Bishop of Exeter, Thomas de Brantingham, in 1371. During the period 1666–1671, the original building was demolished and the present nave, chancel and sanctuary were rebuilt on the same site. The galleries and transepts were added in 1845 and give a symmetrical cross-like structure to the building.
"Wherever You Are" is a song written by Paul Mealor and performed by the Military Wives Choir, sung by ladies from Chivenor and Plymouth under the direction of Gareth Malone. It is a spin-off of the BBC Two television series The Choir: Military Wives. It was released on 19 December 2011 following a campaign to make it the 2011 UK Christmas number one. The song entered the UK Singles Chart at number 1, claiming the Christmas number 1 – selling more than 556,000 copies in the week, more than the rest of the Top 12 combined. The song also claimed the status of the biggest first week sales since "A Moment Like This" by Leona Lewis sold over 571,000 copies in its first week in 2006. The song was included on their debut studio album In My Dreams.
The Military Wives Choir is a registered charity and network of 75 choirs in British military bases across the UK and overseas, bringing women in the military community closer together through singing. With over 2,200 members, the MWC network is tri-service and any woman with a military connection can join including those currently serving, veterans, mothers, sisters, and daughters, empowering women from across the military community. The organisation is also a subsidiary charity of SSAFA.
Western Province Command was a command of the South African Army.
The fortifications of Plymouth in Devon are extensive due to its natural harbour, its commanding position on the Western Approaches and its role as the United Kingdom's largest naval base. The first medieval defences were built to defend Sutton Harbour on the eastern side of Plymouth Sound at the mouth of the River Plym, but by the 18th century, naval activity had begun to shift westward to Devonport at the mouth of the River Tamar. During the Victorian era, advances in military technology led to a huge programme of fortification encompassing the whole of Plymouth Sound together with the overland approaches. Many of these works remained in military use well into the 20th century.
The RML 64-pounder 58 cwt guns (converted) were British rifled muzzle-loading guns converted from obsolete smoothbore 32-pounder 58 cwt guns.
The 2nd Devonshire Artillery Volunteers was a unit of the British Volunteer Force and Territorial Army. The unit and its successors defended Plymouth Dockyard and the Devon coast from 1861 to 1961.
The Thames and Medway Coast Artillery, which at its peak comprised three full regiments, was formed in Britain's Territorial Army in 1932 to man coastal defence guns on both banks of the Thames Estuary. It served in this role during World War II, at the end of which it sent troops to work in the rear areas in Europe. It was reformed postwar but was broken up when the coast artillery branch was abolished in 1956.
Lord Salisbury described Malta, Gibraltar, Bermuda, and Halifax as Imperial fortresses at the 1887 Colonial Conference, though by that point they had been so designated for decades. Later historians have also given the title "imperial fortress" to St. Helena and Mauritius.
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