More information : (Area SZ 626992). A wooden tower was erected opposite the Round Tower (SZ 69 NW 1) probably in the early part of the 15th c to hold the westend of a chain-boom across the harbour mouth, the east end being held by the Round Tower. (1) No trace. Exact siting not ascertained, but presumably under Fort Blockhouse. (2)
The earliest mention of a blockhouse is in 1417. Until ca.1540 it was probably the only fortification on the West side of the harbour, but in 1540, four garrison lists mention the `Bulwark of Mr.Spert's making at Gosportside and the blockhouse'. Robert Lymden was in charge of the Bulwark in 1544. From C16th maps, Lymden's Bulwark appears to have been a circular keep surrounded by a circular wall. In a map of about 1585 the Bulwark is described as being old and decayed and by the early-mid C17th it was marked on maps as a mound. (3)
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