Reasons for Designation
The Royal Commission fortifications are a group of related sites established
in response to the 1859 Royal Commission report on the defence of the United
Kingdom. This had been set up following an invasion scare caused by the
strengthening of the French Navy.
These fortifications represented the largest maritime defence programme since
the initiative of Henry VIII in 1539-40. The programme built upon the
defensive works already begun at Plymouth and elsewhere and recommended the
improvement of existing fortifications as well as the construction of new
ones.
There were eventually some 70 forts and batteries in England which were due
wholly or in part to the Royal Commission. These constitute a well defined
group with common design characteristics, armament and defensive provisions.
Whether reused or not during the 20th century, they are the most visible core
of Britain's coastal defence systems and are known colloquially as
`Palmerston's follies'. All examples are considered of national importance.
Details
The monument includes both Efford Fort and Efford Emplacement. These works
represent a mid to late 19th century fort and earthwork gun battery.
Efford Fort survives as a polygonal work defended by a combination of rock
cut ditches and a glacis whilst Efford Emplacement survives in the form of
an earthwork rampart topped by three earthen traverses each of which held
two guns, the whole being defended on its outer side by a rock-cut ditch.
Efford Fort dominates the hill upon which it is sited and commands
extensive views over the River Plym and the city of Plymouth to its rear.
Both Efford Fort and Emplacement formed part of the north east land
defences of Plymouth which encircled the Plymouth Harbourage and which
were intended to protect it from land attack in the event of invasion.
Fears of a French invasion of Britain in the middle years of the 19th
century led to the formation of a Royal Commission in 1859 to consider the
defences of the United Kingdom. The Royal Commission's recommendations for
Plymouth were acted upon by Major W F D Jervois and resulted in the
completion, by 1872, of six new coast batteries and a ring of eighteen
land forts and batteries based on three principal forts at Staddon and
Crownhill on the Devon side of the harbour, and Tregantle on the Cornish
side. The land forts and batteries were linked by a system of military
roads protected from the likely direction of attack by earth traverses and
cuttings. Construction of Efford Fort began in about 1865 and it was
completed shortly after 1868 when work commenced on Efford Emplacement.
Efford Fort was designed by Captain Du Cane to mount 21 guns on the
terreplein (the level area of the rampart), with three Haxo gun casemates
(vaulted chambers within the rampart or part buried structures). It
contained casemated barracks for five officers and 108 men. Access to the
fort was via a purpose-built and defended military spur road. Efford
Emplacement was described as a curtain with emplacements for four guns and
the proposed armament was four 64-pounder Rifled Muzzle-Loading (RML)
guns. In the event, six 8-inch RML howitzers were installed. The
emplacement faces east and is sited across the valley which lies between
the contemporary fortifications of Efford Fort and Laira Battery; it was
intended to protect both of these associated positions, their approaches
and the approaches to the crossing of the River Plym at Long Bridge.
Little demolition of Efford Fort has been undertaken so that all of its
casemated barracks survive. Those to the north were for the soldiery and
they comprise two facing blocks separated by a metalled street; the outer
block includes two magazines and a store; at the eastern head of the
barracks is a separate casemated magazine. The barracks to the south are
marked as officers' quarters on contemporary mapping. Also surviving
within the interior of the fort is the gun shed (marked on plans as a
Moveable Armaments Shed). This building is 40m long and, apart from a
later frontage having been put in place, it retains its original walls and
is the only non-casemated building.
The Fort is well defended by earthworks including ditches and a steep
glacis on all sides except the gorge (the rear of the fort) which was
defended by a fortified guardhouse mounting 32-pounder guns; the gate arch
into the fort was demolished in the late 20th century. As part of the
integrated defences, Efford Fort was itself defended by the neighbouring
Deer Park Emplacement to the north and by Laira Battery to the south
whilst it could in turn offer covering fire in these two directions. On
its south flank is a battery of five gun casemates separated by expense
magazines which were sited to cover the front of Efford Emplacement and
Laira Battery. The ditch at the south west angle of the fort is defended
by a caponier, a loopholed casemate allowing flanking fire along the ditch
should enemy incursion have taken place. Another caponier allowed fire to
be directed down the ditch which fronted Efford Emplacement. All of these
positions were reached by way of a long stairway leading from the interior
of Efford Fort, parts of which survive. Efford Emplacement consists of a
rampart with a banquette (an infantry firing step) and a terreplein or
level surface running behind the gun positions. Access to the terreplain
from Efford Fort and Laira Battery was via a ramp. The six gun positions,
in three pairs, are protected by three earthen traverses. The guns were
served by an expense magazine sited off the tunnel which runs beneath the
emplacement. This 32m long tunnel, which is connected to the main military
road to the rear by a spur road, was intended to offer a `sally-port' for
troops issuing to defend any attempted crossing of the River Plym at Long
Bridge. It is stone-lined with a rounded arch and rear revetment wall all
in the local limestone. The magazine, which lies just inside the western
and inner end of the tunnel, has a bomb-proof door which is kept
permanently closed. A bridge would have allowed access from the tunnel
across the 9m wide ditch which fronted the rampart of the emplacement. The
eastern approach to the tunnel was in the form of a chicane so that any
enemy would be exposed to fire from the emplacement.
Efford Fort was employed as an ammunition store in World War II and a
light-gauge railway was inserted to link the soldiers' casemates (used for
ammunition storage) to other parts of the fort. Some of the officers'
casemates were converted internally at the same time.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
33066
Legacy System:
RSM
Sources
Books and journals
Legal
This monument is scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 as amended as it appears to the Secretary of State to be of national importance. This entry is a copy, the original is held by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
End of official list entry
