Heritage Open Weekend at the Western Heights 2024
September 14 @ 10:00 am - September 15 @ 4:00 pm
For this Heritage Open Weekend The Western Heights Drop Redoubt Fort & Grand Shaft will be open to the public for self exploration.
Drop Redoubt:
The Drop Redoubt is one of two forts on the Western Heights and is linked to the other, the Citadel, by a series of dry moats, or ‘lines’. It is a large and impressive fortress intended to attack an invading force attempting to capture Dover from the north-east.
Grand Shaft:
Built during the Napoleonic Wars to link the harbour to the barracks on Western Heights, the Grand Shaft is a unique 19th century triple staircase built to provide a short cut for troops from the Western Heights to the town. It has three staircases of Purbeck limestone which wind anti-clockwise down a central light-well, dropping 140 feet through the cliffs.