4
Description:
4.1
The Fort
Elizabeth Fort is basically an irregular quadrilateral with two pentangular bastions on the south corners and two sub- rectangular bastions on the north corners; another bastion protrudes from the centre of the north curtain wall, constructed over solid rock. In plan, this bastion is a triangle with a facetted salient. It is often referred to as a redan, though a redan is usually a term used for a triangular projection with a sharp angle as salient. The bastions were linked by ramparts or curtain walls. Early plans indicate a ditch surrounding the fort, but no trace of this remains. The bastions on the southeast and southwest corners are stronger as that side of the fort was more vulnerable than the side towards the river. A steep rock face protects the fort on the north side overlooking the river. All the bastions were built of regularly coursed limestone, with a slight batter on the walls. The four bastions as well as the “redan” in the north wall have survived, but the northeast one has been partly quarried away from inside the fort and its later revetment was built using red sandstone. All the walls have been raised since Pynnar’s drawing of 1626. This is likely to have taken place in two stages, one using a green coloured limestone. It is di ffi cult to determine when this took place, and whether it was carried out as a continuous operation or at separate times. The south rampart/curtain wall has been taken down and replaced with a wall between the outside corners of the adjacent bastions. The area around the main gate has been considerably altered. Both these major alterations seem from evidence in maps to have taken place before the first OS map of the 1840S. The development of the site at Elizabeth Fort started with the enclosure of a derelict monastery. Its continuous use from 1601 until the present day saw the development of structures within the fort, while building also took place outside its walls.
David Kelly Partnership with Margaret Quinlan Architects
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