Orange Bastion
| Orange Bastion | |
|---|---|
| Part ofFortifications of Gibraltar | |
| Line Wall Curtain,Line Wall Road,Gibraltar | |
 Eastern façade of Orange Bastion on Line Wall Road. | |
 Sign on the façade | |
  Orange Bastion | |
| Coordinates | 36°08′36″N5°21′16″W/ 36.143455°N 5.354505°W |
| Type | Bastion |
| Site information | |
| Owner | Government of Gibraltar |
TheOrange Bastionis one of the manybastionsin theBritish Overseas TerritoryofGibraltar,which served to protect it against itsmany sieges.It is located along theLine Wall Curtainand was built to protectGibraltar Harbouragainst enemy attack.
History
[edit]Named after King of England,William of Orange,this small asymmetric bastion was rebuilt by the British on the site of an older and larger Spanish bastion along theLine Wall Curtain.In 1758 the main face of the bastion held six guns intended to defend theOld Molefiring out to ships 600–700 yards (550–640 m) away.[1]
During theGreat Siege of Gibraltar,the bastion was redesigned and enlarged to become ademi-bastionfeaturing a retired flank behind anorillonwithparapets12 feet (3.7 m) thick[1]
In the 1790s, SirWilliam Greenoversaw improvements to Gibraltar's defences and had the Orange and theMontagu Bastionsextended and also arranged for a counterguard to be constructed in front of them as additional defences. This 1823 counterguard which was originally named "Orange Counterguard"was later renamed toChatham Counterguard[2]after theEarl Of Chathamwho was theGovernor of Gibraltarfrom 1821. The counterguard protected the bastion as the enemy would have to capture the counterguard before taking on the bastion; and whilst attempting this the enemy would come under the direct fire of the bastion.[3]A third layer of protection was added by constructing abreakwaterin front of the counterguard to deteramphibious assaults.[2]
By 1834 there were eleven guns and later two largerrifled muzzle loading(RML) guns were installed.[1]Alterations completed in 1877 on the face of the bastion, allowed for the mounting of twoRML 10 inch 18 ton gunbehind iron shields known asGibraltar Shields.[1]
During World War IIaBofors 40 mmgun was installed at Orange Bastion.[1]
Between 2006 and 2008 the bastion was subject to major restoration work as part of theGovernment of Gibraltar's city walls walk scheme As part of the restoration works, twoVictorianRML guns from the nearbyKing's Bastionwere relocated here.[4]
The curtain between Montagu and the Chatham Counterguard was breached to allow access for new apartments. A relatively modern commercial building now sits on top of the walls of the counterguard.[5]
References
[edit]- ^abcde"City Walls".Visit Gibraltar.Retrieved7 March2013.
- ^abFa, Darren;Finlayson, Clive(2006).The fortifications of Gibraltar: 1068-1945 p.31(1. publ. in Great Britain. ed.). Oxford [u.a.]: Osprey.ISBN9781846030161.
- ^"Government of Gibraltar Press Release".Panorama.22 July 2001.Retrieved7 March2013.
- ^"Restoring Orange Bastion".Vox.2 September 2006.Retrieved10 March2013.
- ^"Montagu Bastion, Montagu Counterguard, Montagu Curtain..."DiscoverGibraltar.com. Archived fromthe originalon 5 September 2013.Retrieved7 May2013.
