"Firing into the Brown" #44 - Casemates, scrotes, dinghies and stuff..

"So Carnehan weeds out the pick of his men, and sets the two of the Army to show them drill and at the end of two weeks the men can manoeuvre about as well as Volunteers. So he marches with the Chief to a great big plain on the top of a mountain, and the Chiefs men rushes into a village and takes it; we three Martinis firing into the brown of the enemy".

Kipling "The Man Who Would Be King"

44..  droopy drawers... enough bingo calls,  time for another update..  😏

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The "Hilsea Lines project" is coming to a close with a visit I made this week, to both the far east and far west bastions...   I've numbered where I went on the following which you may wish to embigen..

First stop (1.) was a closer look at the dam I mentioned in one of my previous posts - the creek is tidal so this dam (and here was one at the other end as well) was to allow them to trap sufficient water in the creek to continue to be able to use gun boats as part of the defence plan.. 

...what I wondered was whether any signs still existed of what I'd guessed must have been a fairly significant structure... and the answer was no - I walked the length of it but nothing to see other than a normal earthen bank - the only thing I did wonder about was the following line of wooden stakes  remains of a breakwater perhaps?

That itch scratched it was time to go and check the east bastion (2/. on the map) - following the line of the creek, with the moat between me and it, I circled back so as to get an idea of the sheer size of this thing.. the following gives an idea - they would have been 30 feet high when built...  the gun openings, and other brickwork are all covered in earth now, but they're still there underneath that covering..

...then turning the end of the lines (they would originally have gone a further, but a number of housing and other developments (including an airfield and an aircraft factory) over the years have grubbed out the end of it) and you get to see the entrance to the "casemate" which the local degenerates bless'ums have kicked the door in on one entrance allowing a quick look inside.. 

Seen those kind of vents before.. at the Explosion! Museum in the gunpowder magazine, designed to allow a free flow of air so as to maintain a dry atmosphere..

...and this is what I found inside... from the door looking in...  note the vaulted ceiling, note also the shelf support at the end...  still there after all these years...

..a doorway to the left lead to another room..  

...and another doorway lead to a short passageway.. 

..to a much bigger room.. complete with seating..  😏

..closer view of the shelf supports and above them a hook - for a lantern perhaps??

...thinking on it I don't think that could properly be described as a casemate - it's more likely that the rooms may have been used as kitchen/washroom? The plans show that there are a row of barracks rooms (each holding 5 men) and that the cooking and washing facilities would have been at one end or the other - it's possible that this is what these are? My further understanding is that they should be connected to to the gun gallery above - and I saw no connections/passages - these were self contained rooms..  more investigation required...

Onwards and upwards though, and this is Bastion #6, currently in use as  WW1 Remembrance Centre..

I love the fact that a huge number of original fittings are still there - a WD stamped drainpipe - must be getting on for 150 years old unless some bugger has swapped it for a plastic copy..   😁

Expense magazine (I think) entrance on the other side of the yard ..

I would like to know what that is on top of the bank though.. 

A cycle to the west then allowed me to check out the west bastion - 4. on the map - this has an actual path/walk across the top, but most of the actual structure is owned by the local Grammar school so is closed off to the public - but they are at least using the spaces for storage!

So what's left?

1. I want to explore the east Bastion a little more - perhaps visit the Remembrance Centre as well both for the WW1 connection, and also for the view of a more preserved internal of a casemate
2. I also want to explore the west bastion a little more - I'm lead to believe there's an exposed gun opening that I didn't see on my visit
3. In 1875 the Lines were modified to accept the new (then) Moncrief style gun emplacements - they are still extant so I need to go and find them..  

..next time I'll go on foot as there may be a bit of scrambling about involved..

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

... only a short one this week as this has been taking a lot of my attention - summer is coming, and boats are stirring and indeed being painted, epoxied, and titivated..  and Heaven only knows, this one (following) needs/needed it.. 😂  This is my new (to me) tender - "Fledgling Too" - used to get to the slightly bigger one - "Sparrow" - I sail on...  

 Laters, as the young people are want to say...