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GRANGE REDOUBT

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Infantry Redoubt, 1890, with innovative earthworks which influenced the design of late 19th century defence sites. Most of the earthworks are gone, but some structure remains. The design, the Twydall Profile, reflected the increase of infantry firepower from magazine rifles and machine guns, and the value of simple defensive earthworks had been demonstrated at the siege of Plevna in Bulgaria. This, and its sister redoubt at Fort Woodlands, were infantry redoubts at the northern end of the Chatham ring of forts. It was intended that concealed artillery would have been sited between the redoubts, with mobile artilery to the rear or in the flanks. The redoubts remained in active use in World War I.

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[TQ 798 686] Grange Redoubt. Infantry redoubt of 1890. (1)

The Royal Commission of 1860 recommended that forts be
built at Grange and Woodland to house thirty guns and
contain a garrison of three hundred men. However, it
appears that expense cuts resulted in the construction
of only experimental redoubts. Grange Redoubt was
surrounded by a dry ditch and would have had a drawbridge
which could have been raised to form a shield in the
absence of gates. A few yards back from the gateway is
the parade or yard, facing onto which were constructed
a line of small casements which would have served as stores, magazines and accomodation for the defending garrison. There
were no apparent positions from which artillery could have
been fired, so it would appear that the fort could offer
only small arms fire. The redoubt is in a damaged state,
the moat being practically filled in. Grange Redoubt is
used as an agricultural equipment store (1976). (2)

SOURCE TEXT

( 1) General reference

A Handbook of Kent's Defences 1540-1945 1977 13 (D Bennett)

( 2) General reference

The Medway Forts: A Short Guide 1976 17-18 (K R Gulvin)

(3) Kent's Defence Heritage

Gazetteer Part 2: KD84

(4) Fortress : the castles and fortifications quarterly

5, 1978 Page(s)77-85

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