| Summary : Defensible barracks, part of the Plymouth land defences, constructed by 1872 and was the only fortified barracks of the four proposed by the Royal Commission of 1860 for Plymouth, and was the last `keep' built in Britain. Surrounded by a ditch flanked by caponiers. It was designed to cover the rear of Forder Battery and to be the main barracks for 230 men for Bowden, Forder and Austin Batteries, and was meant to mount five 7-inch rifled breech loaders. It was connected to all three by a military road, and to Forder by a tunnel. Now a Do-It-Yourself store with a house on the roof. |
More information : 8SX 50015810) Egg Buckland Keep (NAT) (1)
Egg Buckland Keep, part of the Plymouth Land Defences, was built in the 1860's as a defensible barrack and must be the last building ever erected in England to be officially termed as a 'keep'. The work is surrounded by a ditch with access by drawbridge; caponiers flank the ditch and cover the entrance. There is no record of any intention to arm it with artillery. At present occupied by a commercial undertaking, it is not open to inspection. (2)
It has been completely demolished and replaced by a housing estate. (3)
Contra authy 3, the keep is extant and now modified to create a DIY store with a house on the roof. (4)
A defended barracks complex which formed part of the northeastern area of land defences to Plymouth naval dockyard. The keep was designed by Captain Du Cane under the supervision of Major Jervois and had been built by 1872. It was recommended to have an armament of five 7 inch Rifled Breech-Loading guns, but by 1885 these had not been installed. By 1893 three 0.45 inch machine guns had been installed. The complex housed 230 men and stored gunpowder and shell, providing cover for Forder Battery and being the main barrack and magazine for Forder, Bowden Battery and Austin Fort. The keep is a five sided, two storey building surrounded by a flat-bottomed ditch. Four loop-holed musketry caponiers (bombproof vaulted chambers) extent at right angles across the ditch. The entrance is protected by a loop-holed parapet wall. On the lower and upper floors the barrack accommodation is placed on both the lower and upper floors, along the outer side of a central corridor with store rooms situated along the inner side. The ammunition store is also present. The roof is covered by earth up to 3 metres in depth, formed into ramparts. A wide glacis also formed part of the defences, but it has been destroyed by modern housing The keep was linked to Forder Battery and Fort Austin by Forder Tunnel. (5) |