COASTAL DEFENCE E N G L A N D F R A N C E. Why have people needed to defend this coastline in the past?

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Jonas Price
7 years ago
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1 COASTAL DEFENCE E N G L A N D T H E C H A N N E L a mappe of england & france F R A N C E Why have people needed to defend this coastline in the past? To answer this, have a look at the map above and think about these questions: Who might have wanted to invade? Why would they choose this bit of England? How would they get here? Where might they try to land? Who were the enemy? For most of our history the threat of invasion has come from the south, principally from the French. Earlier invasions were also from the south, for example the Romans and the Normans, but the earliest enemies of the people of the New Forest coast were probably members of other tribes. What is the earliest evidence of defending the area? The earliest defences we know about were constructed more than 2,000 years ago. A large Iron Age hillfort was built at Buckland Rings about two kilometres north of Lymington just to the left of the Sway Road. Today the fort is covered in trees, but when in use any nearby trees would have been cut down to give a clear view of the enemy. Close by there was another earthwork at Ampress, but this is now built over and there is nothing left to see. There was another hillfort at Exbury. Both forts would have defended river crossings. We can t be sure of whom these Iron Age people were afraid. At first it was probably members of an enemy tribe, but later it might well have been the Romans. 1

2 A Late Roman warrior stands guard Did the Romans and Saxons build forts here? Probably not. They certainly used this stretch of coast (a Roman road leads north from Stone Point at Lepe) but there was little need for them to protect the New Forest coast. The threat of invasion then was from the Saxons and Angles who came from further east. During the Saxon period the Jutes traded with and settled on the Isle of Wight and the adjacent south coast. In fact until the time of Domesday what is now the New Forest coast was known as Ytene, an Old Danish word meaning of the Jutes. King Alfred built forts at Portchester, Southampton and Christchurch but not along the New Forest Coast. When the Normans invaded they sailed across the Channel further east and landed at Hastings. Norman soldiers cross the Channel Norman soldiers conquering the Saxons 2 Wessex Archaeology

3 What about the Tudors? Southampton was already an important town in the Saxon period and it became a prosperous medieval trading port, so it was at risk of attack from foreign ships. It was defended by its town walls and by the artillery at God s House Tower but there was nothing to stop foreign ships sailing into the Solent and up Southampton Water. Henry VIII changed that by building a network of castles to protect the Solent from invasion by the French and Spanish fleets. In only six years between eight castles were built, at Calshot, West Cowes and East Cowes, Hurst, Netley, Hamble, Yarmouth and Southsea. Some of the building stone for these castles came from the abbeys at Beaulieu and Netley. Henry s castles all shared the same basic design of a central tower or keep, surrounded by a curtain wall from which a number of strong, rounded bastions projected. Heavy guns and hand guns were used to defend the castles so the gun ports and casements in the keep and bastions needed wide splays in the thick walls to give room for moving and aiming the guns. Living accommodation was in the keep. In 1588 the people of the New Forest coast kept watch for the Spanish Armada, some 130 ships sailing to invade England. Beacons at Dibden and Sway were part of a chain of beacons on high ground. As soon as one was seen, the next further along was lit, sending the signal of danger all the way to London. Tudor Castle, Calshot Tudor cannon at Hurst Castle Tudor Castle, Hurst 3

4 The wide green at Buckler s Hard gave room for the shipbuilders huge stacks of timber Were the French still a threat in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries? During the Napoleonic Wars ( ) the threat of invasion was very real and the Royal Navy was Britain s first line of defence. The demand for new ships was high and many were built at Buckler s Hard. Three of the ships that fought alongside Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 had been built at Bucklers Hard: Euryalus, Swiftsure and Nelson s favourite, Agammenon. The ships were built from New Forest oak. A demonstration of old shipbuilding techniques The coastal defences at Hurst and Calshot were strengthened in the eighteenth century and again in the nineteenth, once more because of the threat of French invasion. The enormous armoured wings of Hurst Castle date from this period. One of the Victorian guns installed in the fortified wings at Hurst in the 1860s One of the Victorian fortified wings at Hurst with iron apertures for the 30 guns that were installed 4

5 Pillbox fortification on the New Forest coast What happened in the twentieth century? In 1913 Calshot became a Naval Air Station, large hangars and workshops were built and recruits trained on the Spit. In 1920 it became RAF Calshot and in WWII was the base for their flying boats. Other places played an important role during the WWII. Hurst Castle was manned with gun batteries and searchlights, airfields were constructed at Beaulieu Heath and Lymington, and pillboxes and military camps were sited along the coast. From Lepe, PLUTO (the Pipe Line Under the Ocean), a 70 mile long fuel pipe, ran under the Solent, across the Isle of Wight and under the Channel to France. Once in position it supplied the army with fuel for D-Day, the invasion of France. Lepe was also one of the construction sites for Mulberry Harbours (prefabricated floating harbours used to disembark troops on the Normandy beaches). Beetles (concrete and steel pontoons) were built on the Beaulieu River, near Bucklers Hard. They supported the floating roads that connected the Mulberry Harbours with the shore. The roads and woods around the New Forest coast were full of troops, supplies and vehicles waiting to embark for the invasion of occupied France. It was said that the Solent was so full it looked as if you could walk across to the Isle of Wight. 45 Five Sunderland flying boats from Calshot evacuated as many as 500 troops from Dunkirk in May 1940 Beetle pontoons (floating supports for a bridge) under construction as part of the D-Day preparations Beetle pontoons used under a bridge to help deliver supplies from the Mulberry harbours to the front during the D-Day landings The pipeline (PLUTO) was floated out to sea on huge drums, like giant cotton reels. By permission of the Solent Sky Museum Lord Montagu of Beaulieu Imperial War Museum Reproduced from the BP/Castrol archive

6 Things to do The Coastal Defence Loan Box contains archaeological finds from the New Forest Coast for pupils to handle and discuss. You can still see the remains of Iron Age, Tudor, eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth century defences on the New Forest coast. Access to the Iron Age hillfort at Buckland Rings is by footpaths from the south and east (signed by Hampshire County Council). At Calshot you can see the Tudor Castle very clearly. You can also book a taught session, Troublesome Tudors in which pupils perform a drama about the building of the Castle, play Tudor games and make a besom broom from wood collected in the Forest. Contact the Field Studies Manager for more details. Visit Hurst Castle and look for the Tudor Castle, using the Find the Tudor Castle activity sheet. You can use the Inspector of the Queen s Works activity sheet at both sites. While at Hurst Castle ask pupils to look for and identify the three main periods of expansion and building; the Tudor castle and the eighteenth and nineteenth century additions. The Hurst Castle website is useful for more information, downloadable tours and information about ferry tickets and availability. You can walk to Hurst Castle along the Spit. It takes no more than an hour, but it is not easy walking and the time and energy are probably better spent exploring the Castle. There is a ferry available from Keyhaven, where coaches can drop off and collect. For WWII remains the easiest place to visit is Lepe. Amongst other things to look out for are the two bollards on the shore which were used to secure the D-Day ships. Just off the coast you can see two dolphin iron structures which are the remains of the jetties where ships were moored. Between Marchwood and Hythe there are still as many as 36 Beetles on the shoreline but this area is less easy to visit. www3.hants.gov.uk/countryside/lepe/lepe-history/d-day-lepe.htm The remains of the D-Day jetties Concrete Beetles at Marchwood, reused to protect the beach You can see a flying boat at the Southampton Hall of Aviation. Find out more about the exhibits at. In both 1540s and the 1940s there was a very real possibility that Britain would be invaded from the south coast. Ask your class to think about what would have happened if history had turned out differently. What if the French had succeeded in invading England in 1545? What if the Germans had invaded in 1940? How different would Britain be today? See Powerpoint presentation for supporting images. 6 Wessex Archaeology

Proposal CFA deadline

Proposal CFA deadline CFA Reference No: 10054-CC-LM Status Complete Directorate Team/service Customers and Communities Sustainable Development Environmental Resources Proposal to be assessed North Solent Shoreline Management