| Summary : A tunnel network situated beneath Dover Castle. The first tunnels to be excavated date to 1217-1257 and are located at the old north entrance connecting an outwork and tower, built outside the defences, to the castle. Tunnels were also placed on the western side of the defences. Expansion of the network took place between 1797 and 1810 when extra barrack accommodation was needed. The tunnels were further extended in the 1850s when Moat's Bulwark and Guildford's Battery were linked to the castle. The tunnels were also used during the Second World War, when, in 1940 the naval headquarters and Operation Dynamo was based here. Two additional tunnel complexes were excavated in 1941-42 and by 1943 Combined Headquarters for all three military services had been established here. By 1958 the tunnels were handed over to the Home Office for adaptation into one of ten proposed Regional Seats of Government in England, to provide secure accommodation for senior ministers during and following a nuclear attack. The lowest tier of tunnels were modernised and fitted out with new communications equipment, modern air-filtration plants and generators. New dormitories and mess rooms were also fitted out. The Home Office abandoned the tunnels in 1984. Part of the tunnel system is open to the public. |
More information : TR 324419. Bomb-proof arches, Dover Castle.
Bomb-proof arches were built at Dover Castle keep in 1810. (1)
Situated beneath Dover Castle are a series of tunnels. The first tunnels under the Castle were constructed in the 13th century to provide a protected line of communication for the soldiers manning the northern outworks and to allow the garrison to gather unseen before launching a surprise attack. During the Napoleonic Wars, under the direction of Lieutenant Colonel William Twiss, this system of tunnels was greatly expanded. In 1797, faced with the problem of finding additional barrack accommodation for soldiers within the castle, four parallel tunnels were constructed within the southern cliff. The following year a further series of tunnels were constructed to the east to provide accommodation for officers. The two barracks were linked by communication tunnels and had latrines, a well and vertical ventilation shafts. The seaward ends opened out onto the cliff face and had brick frontages. As a consequence of rock falls the tunnels were brick-lined, the work being completed in 1810. These barracks, capable of accommodating 2000 troops, are the only underground barracks ever built in Britain. In May 1940, as France fell before the German advance, the tunnels became the nerve centre for 'Operation Dynamo' - the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and French troops from Dunkirk's beaches. A further two complexes of tunnels named Annexe and Dumpy Levels were built beneath the castle between 1941 and 1942. The tunnels were lined with corrugated iron or concrete and fulfilled a variety of roles from Combined Headquarters and gunnery control to a military hospital. During the Cold War period they were adapted for use as a regional seat of Government in the event of a nuclear war. Scheduled. (2-3)
The first tunnels to be excavated at the Castle date to 1217-57 and are located at the old north entrance where an outwork and tower were built outside the defences, linked to the castle by tunnels. Tunnels were also placed on the western side of the defences. Expansion of the tunnel network took place between 1797 and 1810 when extra barrack accommodation was needed. The tunnels were further extended in the 1850s when Moat's Bulwark and Guildford's Battery were linked to the castle. The tunnels were also used during the Second World War. In 1940 the tunnels became naval headquarters, Operation Dynamo was based here. Two additional tunnel complexes were excavated in 1941-42 and by 1943 Combined Headquarters for all three military services were established here.
By 1958 the tunnels were handed over to the Home Office for adaptation into one of ten proposed Regional Seats of Government in England, to provide secure accommodation for senior ministers during and following a nuclear attack. The lowest tier of tunnels was modernised and fitted out with new communications equipment, modern air-filtration plants and generators. New dormitories and mess rooms were also fitted out. The Home Office abandoned the tunnels in 1984. (4-5)
This sources provides a history of the tunnels of Annexe Level, which were used as a field hospital during WWII. The history draws on oral history accounts recorded during the restoration of the tunnels. (6)
The English Heritage Guide Book on Dover Castle contains a detailed account of the history of the castle during World War Two, describing the evolution of the tunnel system. (7)
A new visitor experience "Operation Dynamo: Rescue from Dunkirk" and a new exhibition "Wartime Tunnels Uncovered" are opening in June 2011 at Dover Castle. (8)
EH Red guides supplementary guide book to Dover Castle as a Frontline Fortress and its Wartime tunnels describes the Tunnel system from first inception in 1216-17 when the great siege prompted the need for tunnels. The chalk was ideal material to cut defensive ditches and in order to reach the outworks unseen a tunnel was excavated from behind the Norfolk Towers to St John's Tower, cutting through the earlier siege tunnels.The medieval tunnels were enlarged and extended during the Napoleonic Wars to create underground barracks. After 1815 the tunnels were given new uses; gunpowder magazines and stores for Congreve rockets, base for the war against smugglers. By the end of the 19th century they seem to have been abandoned, or used only for occassional storage.
Use of the tunnels in World War 1 remains largely unknown, but they may well have been used to store equipment for garrison troops and engineers.
World War 2, by early 1939 planning was under way to use the tunnels as the hub of defence operations at Dover. Lighting and ventilation were improved and telephone and radio communications installed. The main tunnels were partitioned to create a multitude of offices, meeting rooms and operations rooms. Except in emergencies staff would not sleep there. Deep in the cliffs behind the naval base huge caverns were cut for secure storage of furnace oil and diesel oil for the Navy's Warships. 1941 proposals were put forward for an underground medivcal dressing station. The chosen site was higher up within the cliffs above the existing Casemate level. The new complex of tunnels was known as the Annexe and designed on a grid system. They were completed but not equipped when changes of plan occurred. By 1942 plans were for a combined headquarters. A much larger grid of tunnels was needed about 15 m below Casemate, this was named Dumpy and completed in 1943. Secure emergency sleeping accomodation for staff was provided for in some of the hospital wards. Further digging for communications equipment storage. An unauthorised room was created as a joint operations room, which it was latterly recognised as much needed. Although there were further plans to excavate more tunnels, these were never realised.
During the Cold War the DOver tunnels were selected as one of the regional seats. They required considerable moderisation for the task. The facilities were completed in early 1960s.It was abandoned in the 1980s. (9) |