Great Siege Tunnels

Great Siege Tunnels
Upper Galleries
Part of Fortifications of Gibraltar
Northern end of the Rock of Gibraltar
Great Siege Tunnels in the Rock of Gibraltar.
Great Siege Tunnels is located in Gibraltar
Great Siege Tunnels
Great Siege Tunnels
Coordinates36°08′43″N 5°20′42″W / 36.145153°N 5.345047°W / 36.145153; -5.345047
TypeTunnel
Site information
OwnerGovernment of Gibraltar
Controlled byGibraltar Tourist Board
Open to
the public
Partially open
Site history
Builtc. 1780 (c. 1780)
Built bySoldier Artificer Company
MaterialsLimestone
Battles/warsGreat Siege of Gibraltar
Guns look to the north defending The Rock from an attack by land

The Great Siege Tunnels in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar, also known as the Upper Galleries, are a series of tunnels inside the northern end of the Rock of Gibraltar. They were dug out from the solid limestone by the British during the Great Siege of Gibraltar of the late 18th century.

History

The Great Siege of Gibraltar was an attempt by France and Spain to capture Gibraltar from Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War. Lasting from July 1779 to February 1783, it was the fourteenth and final siege of Gibraltar. During the siege, British and Spanish forces faced each other across an approximately 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) wide stretch of the marshy open ground that forms the isthmus immediately to the north of the Rock of Gibraltar. The British lines blocked access to the City and the western side of the Rock, while the eastern side of the Rock was inaccessible because of its steep terrain.[1] Gun batteries were placed in a series of galleries on the north face of the Rock, providing overlapping fields of fire so that infantry attacks would come under heavy fire throughout their advance.[2]

The impetus for the construction of the tunnels came from the garrison's need to cover a blind angle on the north-east side of the Rock. The only solution found to cover that angle was via a gun mounted on a spur of rock known as The Notch. There was no possibility of building a path there due to the vertical cliff face, so Sergeant-Major Henry Ince of the Military Artificers suggested digging a tunnel to reach it. His plan was approved and construction work began on 25 May 1782.[3]

Construction and design

View of The Notch as seen from Devil's Tower Road

The work was carried out by hand, mainly using sledgehammers and crowbars, aided by gunpowder blasts. The work proceeded slowly at first; it took thirteen men five weeks to dig a tunnel with a length of 82 feet (25 m). The diggers were hindered by fumes and dust from the frequent blasting, so it was decided to blast a horizontal shaft to improve the tunnels' ventilation. This was done and was found to have had an unexpected side benefit. Colonel John Drinkwater Bethune, who wrote an account of the siege in 1785, described how this came about:

[T]he mine was loaded with an unusual quantity of powder, and the explosion was so amazingly loud, that almost the whole of the Enemy's camp turned out at the report: but what must their surprise be, when they observed where the smoke issued! – The original intention of this opening, was to communicate air to the workmen, who before were almost suffocated with the smoke which remained after blowing the different mines; but, on examining the aperture more closely, an idea was conceived of mounting a gun to bear on all the Enemy's batteries, excepting Fort Barbara: accordingly orders were given to enlarge the inner part [of the tunnel] for the recoil; and when finished, a twenty-four-pounder was mounted.[4]

Work progressed fairly rapidly thereafter, though it did not entirely go to plan, with several false starts in direction in the latter part of 1782. One tunnel drive was determined to be too far from the outer face of the Rock and another too close to it. A consistent direction was eventually found, and by the end of the fourth siege embrasures had been blasted overlooking the Spanish lines. Total construction length of the tunnels by the end of 1783 was approximately 908 feet (277 m). When excavations reached The Notch in the summer of 1783 it was decided that instead of pursuing the original idea of mounting a single gun on top of it, The Notch would be hollowed out into a broad chamber that the diggers named St. George's Hall and that was later equipped with seven guns.[3]

By the end of the initial phase of tunnelling, five galleries had been excavated: Windsor Gallery, King's And Queen's Lines, St. George's Hall, and Cornwallis Chamber. The Windsor Gallery was the first part of the tunnel system, and four guns were mounted there. St. George's Hall is the largest of the original galleries. The embrasures can be seen on the slopes of the Rock when approaching Gibraltar from land and sea.[5]

Originally the embrasures were fitted with mantlets or curtains of woven ropes; the rails on which they were supported can still be seen. These protected the guns and gunners from enemy fire and prevented sparks and smoke blowing back into the embrasures.[3] As an additional safety measure, each cannon was isolated with a wet cloth hanging above it from a rope, to prevent the sparks from igniting the remaining gunpowder.[5]

Later history of the tunnels

Concrete depiction of George Augustus Eliott, a Koehler Depressing Carriage and the crest of the Royal Engineers at the entrance to the tunnels.

General George Augustus Eliott had offered a reward to anyone who would invent a method to get cannons to the other side of the Rock. Although it is unknown whether Sergeant Major Ince ever got this reward,[5] he received a plot of land on the Upper Rock, which is still called Ince's Farm. He was later given a valuable horse. Ince's troops, who were known at the time as Soldier Artificers, founded the Soldier Artificer Company in Gibraltar in 1772, which later became the Corps of Royal Engineers.[6]

During the 19th century the original cannon were replaced with more modern 64-pounder rifled muzzle loaders on iron carriages, some of which can still be seen in the tunnels.[7] Although Ince's galleries remained little changed, the work that he started was hugely expanded in the years after the siege and new tunnels were built to connect to the first galleries. By 1790 around 4,000 feet (1,200 m) of tunnels had been constructed inside the Rock.[6]

The Second World War led to another great wave of tunnelling as work was undertaken to enable the Rock to house a garrison of 16,000 men with water, food, ammunition and fuel supplies sufficient to last a year under siege.[8] The Great Siege Tunnels were reused during the war; although it is uncertain exactly how they were used, it appears that they may have housed one of the generators used to power Gibraltar's searchlights, as a concrete mounting pad of the requisite dimensions was installed in one of the embrasures. The Great Siege Tunnels were extended in two directions during the war, with a long straight extension called the Holyland Tunnel continuing through to the east side of the Rock, so named because it points in the direction of Jerusalem; and a staircase dug to link the tunnels with other Second World War tunnels lower down, known as the Middle Galleries. However, the methods by which the Second World War tunnels were hastily excavated have meant that – unlike the original 18th century tunnels – they have crumbled rapidly and now can not be safely accessed.[9]

The Great Siege Tunnels can today be accessed as part of the Upper Rock Nature Reserve.

References

  1. ^ Chartrand, Rene (2006). Gibraltar 1779 - 1783:The Great Siege. Osprey Publishing. p. 35. ISBN 9781841769776.
  2. ^ Hills, George (1974). Rock of Contention: A history of Gibraltar. London: Robert Hale & Company. p. 333. ISBN 0-7091-4352-4.
  3. ^ a b c Fa, Darren; Finlayson, Clive (2006). The Fortifications of Gibraltar. Osprey Publishing. p. 30. ISBN 1-84603-016-1.
  4. ^ Drinkwater, John (1785). A History of the Late Siege of Gibraltar. T. Spilsbury. pp. 247–8.
  5. ^ a b c Great Siege Tunnels Gibraltar Travel Guide
  6. ^ a b Chartrand, p. 24
  7. ^ "History of the Tunnels". Great Siege Tunnels, Gibraltar.
  8. ^ Finlayson, p. 47
  9. ^ "The Tunnels in World War II". Great Siege Tunnels, Gibraltar

Read other articles:

Oxy-Cope rearrangement Named after Arthur C. Cope Reaction type Rearrangement reaction Identifiers Organic Chemistry Portal cope-rearrangement RSC ontology ID RXNO:0000029 In organic chemistry, the oxy-Cope rearrangement is a chemical reaction. It involves reorganization of the skeleton of certain unsaturated alcohols. It is a variation of the Cope rearrangement in which 1,5-dien-3-ols are converted to unsaturated carbonyl compounds by a mechanism typical for such a [3,3]-sigmatropic rearran...

 

American politician (born 1960) For persons of a similar name, see Dave Trott (disambiguation). Dave TrottMember of the U.S. House of Representativesfrom Michigan's 11th districtIn officeJanuary 3, 2015 – January 3, 2019Preceded byKerry BentivolioSucceeded byHaley Stevens Personal detailsBornDavid Alan Trott (1960-10-16) October 16, 1960 (age 63)Birmingham, Michigan, U.S.Political partyRepublicanSpouseKappy TrottChildren3EducationUniversity of Michigan (BA)Duke Uni...

 

1968 French legislative election ← 1967 23 June 1968 (first round)30 June 1968 (second round) 1973 → All 487 seats in the National Assembly244 seats needed for a majorityTurnout79.95% (first round)77.82% (second round) Party Leader % Seats +/– UDR–RI Georges Pompidou 43.65 359 +119 PCF Waldeck Rochet 20.02 34 −39 FGDS François Mitterrand 16.53 57 −61 PDM Jacques Duhamel 10.34 28 −14 DVD – 4.14 9 0 This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results ...

Questa voce o sezione sull'argomento centri abitati della Spagna non cita le fonti necessarie o quelle presenti sono insufficienti. Puoi migliorare questa voce aggiungendo citazioni da fonti attendibili secondo le linee guida sull'uso delle fonti. Segui i suggerimenti del progetto di riferimento. Sotillo de las Palomascomune Sotillo de las Palomas – Veduta LocalizzazioneStato Spagna Comunità autonoma Castiglia-La Mancia Provincia Toledo TerritorioCoordinate40°06′19.08...

 

本條目存在以下問題,請協助改善本條目或在討論頁針對議題發表看法。 此條目可参照英語維基百科相應條目来扩充。 (2022年12月23日)若您熟悉来源语言和主题,请协助参考外语维基百科扩充条目。请勿直接提交机械翻译,也不要翻译不可靠、低品质内容。依版权协议,译文需在编辑摘要注明来源,或于讨论页顶部标记{{Translated page}}标签。 此條目需要补充更多来源。 (2022年...

 

تحالف 8 آذار البلد لبنان  تاريخ التأسيس 2005  قائد الحزب جبران باسيلحسن نصر اللهنبيه بري  الأيديولوجيا معاداة الصهيونية  المشاركة في الحكم مجلس النواب اللبناني 61 / 128 حكومة سعد الحريري الثالثة 0 / 20 معلومات أخرى الموقع الرسمي 8march.org سياسة لبنان الأحزاب السياسيةالانت�...

Military base in Indiana, USA For the civil general aviation airport at this site, see Grissom Aeroplex. Grissom Air Reserve BaseNear Bunker Hill, Indiana in the United States of AmericaBoeing KC-135R Stratotankers (60-0359 and 63-8041) of the 434th Air Refueling Wing.Grissom ARBShow map of IndianaGrissom ARBShow map of the United StatesGrissom ARBShow map of North AmericaCoordinates40°38′53″N 86°09′08″W / 40.64806°N 86.15222°W / 40.64806; -86.15222&#x...

 

رسم تخطيطي يوضح كيف يمكن لجسم أصغر (مثل كوكب خارج المجموعة الشمسية) يدور حول جسم أكبر (مثل نجم) أن ينتج تغيرات في موضع وسرعة هذا الأخير أثناء دوران الجسمين حول مركز ثقل كتلة مشترك (التقاطع الأحمر). التحليل الطيفي الدوبلري أو مطيافة دوبلر (المعروف أيضا باسم طريقة السرعة الشعاع...

 

River in Montana, United States Jefferson RiverConfluence of Beaverhead and Big Hole Rivers forming the Jefferson near Twin Bridges, MontanaJefferson River watershed (Interactive map)Location of mouth in MTLocationCountryUnited StatesStateMontanaPhysical characteristicsSource  • locationTwin Bridges, Montana • coordinates45°34′05″N 112°20′21″W / 45.56806°N 112.33917°W / 45.56806; -112.33917[1] MouthMissouri ...

This article's lead section may be too short to adequately summarize the key points. Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of all important aspects of the article. (March 2021) This article is part of a series aboutDonald Trump Business and personal Business career The Trump Organization wealth tax returns Media career The Apprentice bibliography filmography Eponyms Family Foundation American football Golf Honors Public image in popular culture SNL parodies han...

 

1964 in music By location Canada United Kingdom Norway By genre country jazz By topic List of albums released Overview of the events of 1964 in music List of years in music (table) … 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 … In radio 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 In television 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 In film 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 Art Archaeology Architecture Literature Music Philosophy Science +...

 

Реконструкция внешнего вида Ивана IV по черепу, выполненная антропологом Михаилом Герасимовым Библиоте́ка Ива́на Гро́зного (также используются названия Либере́я и Либери́я от лат. liber — «книга») — гипотетическое собрание книг и документов, последним владельцем...

Noob Links for myself Help pages The five pillars of Wikipedia How to edit a page Help pages Tutorial How to write a great article Manual of Style Changes Thank you, Rschwieb, you've done a great job. You've been very kind. Serialsam (talk) 12:39, 28 April 2011 (UTC)[reply] Proposal to merge removed. Comment added at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Outline_of_algebraic_structures#Merge_proposal Yangjerng (talk) 14:03, 13 April 2012 (UTC)[reply] Flat space gravity Archive I've not been work...

 

Madonna BridgewaterAutoreRaffaello Sanzio Data1507 circa TecnicaOlio su tavola trasportato su tela Dimensioni81×56 cm UbicazioneNational Gallery of Scotland, Edimburgo La Madonna Bridgewater è un dipinto a olio su tavola trasportato su tela (81x56 cm) di Raffaello Sanzio, databile al 1507 circa e conservato nella National Gallery of Scotland di Edimburgo. Indice 1 Storia 2 Descrizione e stile 3 Bibliografia 4 Altri progetti 5 Collegamenti esterni Storia La tela, attribuita al periodo f...

 

American musician, singer, and keyboardist (born 1952) For other people named Michael McDonald, see Michael McDonald (disambiguation). Michael McDonaldMcDonald performing live in 2019Background informationBorn (1952-02-12) February 12, 1952 (age 72)St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.GenresBlue-eyed soulR&Bpoprockyacht rock[1]Occupation(s)Musiciansingersongwriterrecord producerInstrument(s)VocalskeyboardsYears active1973–presentLabelsWarner Bros.RepriseRampUniversal Music GroupMotownM...

2000 World JuniorChampionships in AthleticsTrack events100 mmenwomen200 mmenwomen400 mmenwomen800 mmenwomen1500 mmenwomen3000 mwomen5000 mmenwomen10,000 mmen100 m hurdleswomen110 m hurdlesmen400 m hurdlesmenwomen3000 msteeplechasemen4 × 100 m relaymenwomen4 × 400 m relaymenwomen10,000 m walkmenwomenField eventsHigh jumpmenwomenPole vaultmenwomenLong jumpmenwomenTriple jumpmenwomenShot putmenwomenDiscus throwmenwomenHammer throwmenwomenJavelin throwmenwomenCombined eventsHeptathlonwomenDeca...

 

يفتقر محتوى هذه المقالة إلى الاستشهاد بمصادر. فضلاً، ساهم في تطوير هذه المقالة من خلال إضافة مصادر موثوق بها. أي معلومات غير موثقة يمكن التشكيك بها وإزالتها. (فبراير 2016) البطولات الفرنسية 1899معلومات عامةالرياضة كرة المضرب النسخة 9 الفترة 1899 البلد فرنسا المواسمالبطولات الفر�...

 

MTV AwardsTRL Awards logo used in 2012.Awarded forBest in Italian MusicPresented byMTV ItalyFirst awarded2006Last awarded2017Websitemtv.it/trl The MTV Awards (known as TRL Awards from 2006 to 2012) were established in 2006 by MTV Italy, awarded to the most popular artists and music videos in Italy. Originally an annual event for the most requested videos and artists on Total Request Live, from 2013 the MTV Awards reflect what MTV Italian viewers consider the best in music, cinema and fashion...

هذه مقالة غير مراجعة. ينبغي أن يزال هذا القالب بعد أن يراجعها محرر؛ إذا لزم الأمر فيجب أن توسم المقالة بقوالب الصيانة المناسبة. يمكن أيضاً تقديم طلب لمراجعة المقالة في الصفحة المخصصة لذلك. (يوليو 2020) فحص الخلفية (فحص المعلومات الاساسية) هي عملية يستخدمها الشخص أو الشركة كي ي�...

 

Licia Albanese Licia Albanese (Noicattaro, 22 luglio 1909 – New York, 15 agosto 2014[1][2]) è stata un soprano italiano naturalizzato statunitense. Indice 1 Biografia 2 Note vocali e artistiche 3 Onorificenze 4 Repertorio 5 Discografia 5.1 Incisioni in studio 5.2 Registrazioni dal vivo 5.3 Brani Singoli 6 Note 7 Bibliografia 8 Voci correlate 9 Altri progetti 10 Collegamenti esterni Biografia Nata a Torre Pelosa, frazione del comune di Noicattaro, divenuta in seguito quartie...