Site Specific: Research

As part of choosing our location, we decided it would probably make sense to research the area, in order to see if we could gain any more ideas from the history of the Fort. On Wikipedia, I found some information on the history of Fort Amherst. 

What I did find out is that the Fort was originally built in the 1660's in order to defend Chatham's naval dockyard from an attack launched by the Dutch.

• In 1779, during the construction, workmen found an existing foundation of a Roman building. Several finds, including pieces of Roman brick and tile, were made. Roman coins were also found.

• During the Napoleonic (1803–15) the Chatham defences were enlarged and considerably strengthened. Further batteries were added (such as the Cornwallis Battery) and the ditches lined with bricks

• Also in 1802–11, prisoners, mostly convicts from St Marys Island, were set to work on extending the tunnels and creating vast underground stores and shelters, new magazines, barracks, gun batteries and guardrooms. More than 50 smooth-bore cannons were also mounted. The last building works were completed in about 1820. A maze of tunnels, used to move ammunition around the fort, were dug into the chalk cliffs.

• A second gun battery, 'Townsend Redoubt', was built at the northeastern corner of the dockyard at the same time as Fort Amherst. Both forts were inside the 1756 brick-lined earthwork bastions known as the "Cumberland Lines", which surrounded the whole east side of the dockyard down to St Mary's Island. These have now been built over.

• In 1820, because of improvements in artillery equipment and greater firing ranges, the defences were declared obsolete. The entire fortified area was then used as a training-ground during the Victorian era, with practice sieges becoming so popular that they attracted thousands of visitors to Chatham. VIPs were seated on the Casemated Barracks that once stood in the Lower Lines and also on Prince William’s Barracks within Fort Amherst itself.

• In 1959, the site was scheduled as an ancient monument.

I particularly liked the fact that the prisoners were made to dig tunnels in the 1800's, as this was an idea we had discussed in lesson, and opens up various opportunities based around the lives of prisoners, hauntings and events that took place in that era.

In addition, Fort Amherst was also heavily used during WW2, due to its location near to London and the network of underground tunnels, proving valuable to England's defence. However, as a group we all agreed that trying to devise a piece around WW2 would be far too cliché and difficult to do without being stereotypically GCSE and somewhat cringy.

I think one of the main problems we face as a group is the size of our group and the strong opinions the members hold. This made it very difficult to finalise any ideas, let alone come up with any. People talk over each other and start to argue about very minor details. I think we need to step back and accept what has already been decided, but work together and not get stuck on any potential ideas that we have come up with.