Old Gun Wharf Wall, Devonport, City of Plymouth

Summary

C18 scarp walls to Old Gun Wharf at the southern end of the C18 Devonport Dock Lines; with modifications and some rebuilding in the C20 and C21.

Description

C18 scarp walls to Old Gun Wharf at the southern end of the C18 Devonport Dock Lines; with modifications and some rebuilding in the C20 and C21.

MATERIALS: roughly-coursed irregular blocks of Plymouth Limestone.

PLAN: a 68m length of wall running north to south, with a projecting bastion at the south end.

DESCRIPTION: the wall is circa 3m high. The north end of the wall is largely obscured by vegetation. The top of the Old Gun Wharf wall has concrete capping* and above is a metal security fence* which are not of special interest. The south-east corner of the bastion appears to have been rebuilt. The centre of the north-east face of the bastion has also been rebuilt (circa early-C20). Much of the rebuilt portion has been subsequently repaired and has been re-pointed to the south-east corner in the C21.

* Pursuant to s.1 (5A) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 (‘the Act’), it is declared that the concrete capping and metal security fence that top the wall are not of special architectural or historic interest.

History

Mount Wise occupies a commanding strategic position by Plymouth Sound, overlooking the approaches to the River Tamar and Stonehouse Creek. The site has a long history of military occupation and use. The first defensive structure on the site was a gun wharf, the landward side of which was enclosed by defensive line, which included a bastion to the north-east. It was largely abandoned after 1724 when the Gun Wharf at Morice Yard to the north of the Dockyard was completed, thereby acquiring the appellation 'Old'. The first defensive lines to guard the landward approaches to the naval yards at Plymouth Dock were begun following the outbreak of the Seven Years War in 1756. Known as `the Lines' or the Dock Lines, the defences consisted of a bank and ditch and included a likely realignment of the northern part of the Old Gun Wharf’s defensive line and its eastern bastion. Between 1778 and 1780 the Dock Lines were rebuilt in a permanent form. The Old Gun Wharf, running to the south, became a subordinate part of this defence line from this time. Circa 1780 six 24-pounder guns are mentioned being mounted at Mount Wise, possibly in reference to the Old Gun Wharf, although these more likely refer to the nearby Lower Mount Wise battery built in 1780.

To complement the land defences of the Dock Lines, Mount Wise Redoubt and five batteries were established in the late-C18 to defend the dockyard from naval attacks to the west. Mount Wise continued to gain in military and strategic significance. Residences were built here in the late-C18 for the Governor (Government House) and in the early-C19 for the Port Admiral (Admiralty House). The Dock Lines continued to be improved at various times, the last major phase of which was between 1853 and 1868 when they were moved to the east and an earthen rampart with a firing step was established on the top of Richmond Walk Quarries. A small portion of the original course of the Lines was retained to the east of Government House, which was incorporated within the New Lines, and was adjoined by a New Bastion. The New Bastion was established at the south end of the line, and is likely to be amongst the last bastions to be newly built in England, completed just before the publication of the Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom (1860). The north-western end (circa 3m in length) of the surviving Old Gun Wharf wall appears to be of a different build, and on a slightly differing alignment, and this may relate to the building of the New Bastion.

By the mid-C19 a large part of the area to the south of Government House had become part of its formal gardens, including the Old Gun Wharf. In 1934 Government House and its grounds were transferred from the General Office Commanding Western District, a senior military department that had taken control of the house since the early C19, to the Admiralty. Government House became known as Admiralty House (listed at Grade II), and former Admiralty House became known as Hamoaze House (listed at Grade II).

In June 1937 proposals had been drawn up to establish a joint services headquarters near to Hamoaze House, a bunker within the C19 Plymouth Dock Line ditch to the south of Admiralty House and to the north of the Old Gun Wharf. In the early 1980s it was identified that the bunker (renamed Maritime Headquarters or MHQ) did not meet the Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical (NBC) standards and in 1985 it underwent a phased refurbishment. In 1990-91, as part of the newly installed air conditioning system, two secure air-filter units were added to the south side of the MHQ bunker, into the area of the Old Gun Wharf.

The wall of the Old Gun Wharf has been capped by a concrete parapet and topped with a steel security fence. There is a car park in the former ditch and most counterscarp has been removed by quarrying, although it has been suggested that at least two small fragments have been incorporated into later property boundary walls along Richmond Walk. Historic and current maps indicate that a broad gun platform was located along the two faces of the projecting southern Gun Wharf Bastion. However, only the external scarp wall was visible during the site visit and it is unclear to what extent the former gun platform survives. An archaeological survey in 2006 did not identify any notable features within the internal area of the former gun wharf. The wall has been subject to rebuilding and re-pointing in the C20 and C21.

Reasons for Listing

The Old Gun Wharf wall is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

* Historic interest: as one of the earliest surviving defensive features at Mount Wise and which was later incorporated within the Devonport Dock Lines;
* Architectural interest: the rubble-stone wall is a substantial construction with projecting bastion that clearly illustrates its former military function;
* Degree of survival: despite some rebuilding and re-pointing, the overall alignment and form remains;
* Group value: as part of the Mount Wise defensive site it has strong group value, particularly through its association with Admiralty House, Hamoaze House, and the New Bastion (all listed Grade II).

External Links

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