The history behind Landguard
The History behind Landguard
1 Awesome Haven – 4 Mighty Bastions – 400+ Years of Defence
Landguard has been living on the edge for thousands of years. And for centuries, the deep channel of the River Orwell and its connections inland have been of immense value to the Crown and its seaborne forces, to merchant traders and communities across East Anglia and beyond. It is an estuary worth defending, as much from silting as from the threat of invasion.
Landguard and its fort have, through their strategic position been key not only in the defence of The Harwich Haven, but in the defence of the realm itself.
1543-88
Henry VIII’s Landguard Fort
Circular moated earthwork - 2 block houses - guns from Tower of London. Rebuilt (1588) in hexagonal form.
1625-28
Square Fort & Corner Bastions
Built of earth, faced with stout wood, designed by Simon Van Cranfeld. Charles II adds brick walling around fort (1666).
1667
The Dutch ‘Invasion’
First land battle of Royal Marines. 1,500 Dutch marines under Admiral de Ruyter raid fort. Captain Darell repels the assault.
1717-33
Brick Battery & Barracks
New brick fort and 2 storey barrack range (another storey added 1733) constructed to the south-west.
1744-53
Rebuilt in Stone-dressed Brick
By the Board of Ordnance. Existing battery incorporated into 2 main faces of the pentagonal design. Haven-side battery added by 1753.
1779-83
A Significant Defended Camp
New earthworks, 2 further wing batteries with wet ditches (South & North Redoubts), plus square Redoubt to north east.
1871-80
Yellow Bricks & 7 Huge Guns
Remodeled with London bricks and gun casemate battery facing the river. Concrete parapet added to curtain walls.
1878
Submarine Mining Establishment
North-east of Fort, included test and observation rooms, plus (surviving) Ravelin Block.
1889-1918
Rapid Tech Advances
Left Battery ('disappearing' guns), Darell’s Battery, Fire Command Post erected. Main building now barracks and control hub.
1914-18
World War I
Royal Navy War Anchorage at Harwich Haven. Extensive land defences, anti-aircraft guns, and Port War Signal Station.
1939-42
Concrete Towers & More
Control and position-finding towers at Darell’s Battery, 3 searchlight and extra gun houses, shelters and stores built.
1939-45
World War II
Landguard vital to Dunkirk evacuation / Operation Overlord. Extra anti-aircraft defences. Fort is Fire Command HQ.
1945-1956
Defences on Stand-by
Defences downscaled, Landguard site and fort retained for training purposes through 1950s and into the mid-1960s.
1971
Landguard’s Military Use Ceases
Range of military relics left on site, including 4 concrete-set iron rings - final remains of Victorian practice gun battery emplacement.
1983
Bird Observatory Arrives
The Bird Observatory is set up in the disused military buildings of Right Battery, overlooking Landguard Nature Reserve.
