La Torre BREHON ( Fort Brehon ) es accesible sólo por barco y se sienta en BREHON Rock, una isla en el pequeño Russell canal de aproximadamente 1,5 km al nordeste de St Peter Port , Guernsey , entre el puerto y las islas de Herm y Jethou . Thomas Charles de Putron (1806–1869) construyó la torre ovalada de granito de Herm, completando la obra en 1857. [1]
Torre Bréhon | |
---|---|
Herm en Guernsey | |
Torre Bréhon Ubicación en The Channel | |
Coordenadas | 49 ° 28′16.4 ″ N 2 ° 29′17.3 ″ W / 49.471222 ° N 2.488139 ° WCoordenadas : 49 ° 28′16.4 ″ N 2 ° 29′17.3 ″ W / 49.471222 ° N 2.488139 ° W |
Tipo | Torre Martello |
Historia del sitio | |
Construido | 1856–1857 |
Construido por | Thomas Charles de Putron |
En uso | 1744-1945 |
Batallas / guerras | Segunda Guerra Mundial |
Aunque no es estrictamente una torre Martello , Bréhon representa la evolución final del diseño básico de la torre Martello. En 1914, la Oficina de Guerra transfirió la propiedad de Bréhon Tower a los estados de Guernsey . Durante la ocupación alemana de las Islas del Canal , el ejército alemán colocó cañones antiaéreos en la torre. Hoy, aunque el sitio está abierto a los visitantes, la torre está cerrada. La torre tiene una luz operada por la Autoridad Portuaria de Guernsey. [2] La isla alberga una colonia reproductora de charranes comunes .
Historia
En 1744 se erigió un obelisco en Bréhon para que sirviera de marca en el mar . Sin embargo, la falta de visibilidad del obelisco llevó a su reemplazo en 1824 por una torre de 40 pies de alto y 34 pies de circunferencia, coronada por un globo. [3]
Durante el mandato (1803-1813) del teniente gobernador general Sir John Doyle , había planes para erigir una caseta de vigilancia en Bréhon, pero no resultó nada. [1] Doyle fue responsable, sin embargo, de importantes esfuerzos de fortificación en otras partes de Guernsey, incluida la construcción de las torres Martello de Fort Gray , Fort Saumarez y Fort Hommet .
En la década de 1840 hubo una renovada preocupación por las relaciones británicas con Francia, con especial preocupación por la protección de Alderney y las otras islas del Canal debido a su importancia estratégica en el Canal. El teniente gobernador general de división Sir William Francis Patrick Napier propuso una serie de obras, incluido el establecimiento de un fuerte en Bréhon. [4] En 1850, a los británicos les preocupaba que los franceses hubieran creado fortificaciones en Cherburgo. Esto llevó a la construcción de varias torres y fortalezas en el área del Canal. El Experimento del cortador de Alderney naufragó frente a Bréhon en marzo de 1850; ocho personas se ahogaron, pero el barco piloto de Guernsey , Mary of Guernsey, salvó a 20. [3]
Tower
A review of Guerney's defences in 1852 recommended the construction of three artillery barracks, Fort Richmond, Fort Hommet, and Fort Le Marchant, the upgrading of Fort Doyle, and the construction of Bréhon Tower. Work on Bréhon Tower commenced in 1854 and was completed in 1856.[5][Note 1] The builder was Thomas Charles de Putron, who carried on business at the Pierre Percée.[5] The total cost was £8,098 18s 10d.[7]
Bréhon Tower's role was to guard the shipping channel between Guernsey and Herm, and help protect the harbour of St Peter Port. The fort's footprint measures 65 feet by 85 feet (at the widest point), and the tower stands 34 feet high. The tower has three levels. The magazine, shell room, shifting room, stores, and fresh-water cistern were all on the ground floor. It also had latrines on the same floor, a Victorian innovation. The first floor contained the garrison's living quarters. There is also a jetty on the St Peter Port side of the island.
The original plan was to put three heavy guns on the gun platform at the top, with five guns on the (second) floor below, sharing the 14 cannon ports. However, during construction the armament was cut back to three 68-pounder and two 10-inch shell guns, all on the gun platform.[6][8] The guns had a range of 3,000m.[9]:24
In 1859, when loading the guns, each of which weighed 5 tons, a barge capsized and sank; the gun was lost. When the garrison fired the cannons for the first time the concussion created a fracture that extended from top to bottom.[5]
The tower's garrison was drawn from the Royal Artillery. The garrison was originally to have consisted of two officers and 60 NCOs and other ranks, but with the reduction in armament, two officers and 30 men was deemed sufficient.[8] Boats from Guernsey brought provisions and fresh drinking water; the cistern provided the water for general use.[5]
20th century
By World War I the tower was obsolete and the War Office turned it over to the States of Guernsey.[1]
During World War II, the Germans installed a 10.5 cm (4.1 in) coast defence gun in a new embrasure cut in the north wall. They also placed two 2 cm (0.79 in) anti-aircraft guns on the roof of the tower.[9]:25 These were credited with shooting down several Allied planes, including 24 year old Flight Lieutenant Hugh Percy (610 Squadron) in a MkXIV Spitfire RB162 on 22 May 1944, and one German plane,[1] which crashed on Crevichon. However, the German plane that crashed on Crevichon on 19 November 1940, killing all its crew, was a Heinkel He 111 that either a British night fighter shot down while the He 111 was flying from France to bomb the south coast of England, or that developed engine trouble on the way.[10]
Proteccion
Brehon Tower and the islet upon which it stands was listed as a Protected Monument on 30 September 1969, reference PM54.[11]
Enlace
Link to a video of the interior of the Brehon Tower. [12]
Notas, citas y referencias
Notes
- ^ Two other towers were built in England at the same time – the Pembroke Dock Gun Towers, and the Spit of Grain Tower, Sheerness.[6] In addition the British built Nothe Fort, on the Isle of Portland. On Alderney, they built Forts Clonque and Houmet Herbe.
Citations
- ^ a b c d BBC – Guernsey history – Brehon Tower, bbc.co.uk; accessed 24 August 2015.
- ^ Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of Guernsey". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
- ^ a b Coysh, Victor (1985). Channel Islets. Guernsey: Guernsey Press. ISBN 0902550128.
- ^ (1868), Vol. 2, p.127
- ^ a b c d Priaulx Library: The Star, 31 August 1915.[1] -accessed 27 October 2014.
- ^ a b Lowry (2008), pp.53–54.
- ^ Grimsley (1988), p.53.
- ^ a b Clements (1998), p. 135.
- ^ a b "Townie No 1" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
- ^ Forty (2005), p.244.
- ^ "PM54". States Of Guernsey.
- ^ "Brehon Tower 2020".
References
- Bruce, H.A., ed. (1864) Life of General Sir William Napier, K. C. B., author of 'History of the Peninsular War', etc: Edited by H. A. Bruce. With portraits. (J. Murray)
- Clements, William H. (1998) Towers of Strength: Martello Towers Worldwide. (London: Pen & Sword). ISBN 978-0-85052-679-0.
- Forty, George (2005) Channel Islands at War: A German Perspective. (Ian Allan). ISBN 978-0711030718
- Grimsley, E.J. (1988) The historical development of the Martello Tower in the Channel Islands. (Sarnian Publications). ISBN 978-0951386804
- Lowry, Bernard (2008) Fortifications From the Tudors to the Cold War. (Osprey Publishing). ISBN 9780747806516