Verne Citadel
Verne Citadel is a former citadel of mid-19th century origin at Verne Hill, the highest point of Portland at 500ft high. Designed primarily as a siege fortress, the citadel overlooks Portland Harbour, which it was built to defend at a time when a harbour of refuge and Royal Navy station was being created there.
The Verne Citadel was built between 1858 and 1882 using a mixture of convict labour, free labour and civilian contractors, under the supervision of the Royal Engineers, while many alterations to its design was made over the course of construction, including by Captain William Crossman. The Verne had progressed far enough for it to receive its first regiment as early as 1865. Following its military use, the citadel became the home of HM Prison The Verne in 1949 (which was briefly converted into an Immigration Removal Centre between 2014-17).
The citadel's location, Verne Hill, was selected for its commanding position overlooking the harbour. It had already been valued for its strategic importance as it once the site of an Iron Age hill fort and was later occupied by the Romans. In anticipation of a French invasion during the French Revolutionary Wars, a naval signal station was built on Verne Hill in 1798 as part of a wider chain of stations along the south coast.
The citadel, including the nearby Verne High Angle Battery, became a scheduled monument in 1973 and remains protected under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979. Various features of the citadel are also individually protected as listed buildings. In recent years, the citadel has been listed on Historic England's "Heritage at Risk" register, with the condition being described as "generally satisfactory but with significant localised problems". The main vulnerability aspect of the site is deterioration and the need for management, although it has been noted that the overall condition is continuing to improve.
History
Plans for the fortification of Verne Hill and beginnings of excavations of ditch (1845-53)
In the mid-19th century, the government approved plans for the transformation of Portland Roads into a harbour of refuge with the building of two breakwater arms. The commissioning of the harbour was prompted by concerns over the security of the English Channel, fears of a French invasion and the development of Cherbourg Harbour. In order to protect the harbour, which began to be increasingly used by the Royal Navy, a number of defences and fortifications were constructed, with the Verne Citadel being built as Portland's primary defence. A citadel at Verne Hill was first suggested in an 1846 report into potential defence sites for Portland, undertaken by Major-General Cardew.
With preliminary work commencing on the construction of the breakwaters in 1847, Portland Prison was established to provide labour in the Admiralty Quarries, which produced stone for the breakwaters and other related projects, including the citadel. In 1852, Lt. Colonel Jebb, the C.B. Surveyor-General of Prisons (and closely involved with the convict-related operations at Portland), suggested that Verne Hill be isolated by the excavation of a ditch. As the hill was naturally inaccessible from the east side and part of the north, the ditch was excavated on the south, west and north-west sides. Work commenced in 1852, with the excavated stone being sent down to Portland Nore for use on the breakwaters. Convicts undertook the work and by early 1853, it was reported that two-hundred were working at the site.
Construction of the citadel (1858-82)
Despite the excavation work, no scheme for the citadel itself was approved until 1857 and the Admiralty did not transfer the site to the War Office until 1858. The Verne's approved design was developed by Major Whittingham, but many alterations were later carried out over the course of construction. Whittingham proposed the citadel should have the capacity to hold 1,300 men and he began producing his plans in greater detail. Work soon commenced on the citadel's construction, with one of the earliest features to be completed by early 1859 being the ramparts and foundations of the casemates within the south-eastern region.
Meanwhile, excavation of the ditch continued according to new designs, resulting in some of the earlier work being filled in, with civilian contractors, rather than convicts, now undertaking most of the work. Although the ditch's overall composition was formed by 1861, work within it continued into the late 1870s. Roughly 70 ft deep and 120 ft wide at its widest, the ditch was praised as "one of the greatest works of the kind ever undertaken round any ancient or modern fortification". By September 1861, it was recorded that an approximate 1,500,000 tons of stone had been excavated to form it, and much of this was sent down to Portland Nore for use on the breakwaters. Meanwhile, any fissures or natural openings in either the ditch or cliff faces were filled in with masonry and cement.
In 1860, Messrs Jay & Co of London began to construct fifty of the Verne's casemates, with the excavation work being undertaken by convicts. John Towlerton Leather, the main contractor on the breakwaters, completed the construction of a road from Underhill to the Verne by early 1860. Work on the citadel progressed favourably into 1861, with the Southern Times commenting that August: "The general outline of the future citadel may now be detected, and some idea may be formed of what the strength and magnitude of the finished work will be."
From 1862 onwards, the majority of the work at the Verne was undertaken by free labourers and they built the main magazine and further casemates, while convicts laid out the glacis on the northern and western sides of the citadel. Work had progressed far enough for the first regiment to be accommodated at the Verne by 1865, while by April 1867, £140,381 had been spent on the Verne and its outworks, including the East Weare Batteries and detention barracks (or provost prison) known as East Weare Camp. During this period, most of the unfinished work was being undertaken by convicts rather than free labourers. In 1868, an estimated 600-650 convicts were recorded to be working on the citadel's construction.
In 1870, the main entrance to the Verne was completed on the north side. The citadel was largely complete by 1874, although it had yet to receive its armament. A setback was seen the following year when part of the counterscarp wall collapsed, resulting in an extensive rebuild of that region of the Verne's walls, using convict labour. The rampart emplacements were completed around 1878-79, along with the southern glacis and its redoubt. The citadel's southern entrance was finished in 1881, complete with a drawbridge spanning across the ditch.
Containing approximately fifty-six acres within its walls, the citadel had a range of facilities and buildings, and was able to accommodate over 500 men in total. The casemates were based along the south west and south east sides, and were covered with earth to make them bombproof. A parade ground, officers' mess and officers' quarters (made up of two blocks) were located within the southern region of the citadel, while the northern section included the main magazine, a reservoir and married quarters (made up of three blocks). Other facilities included a hospital, gymnasium, racquet court, cricket grounds and sports fields. A second canteen was erected in 1882, after the original had to be demolished due to it being sited too close to one of the magazines. That same year saw the erection of a "large and handsome" residence for the commanding officer.
Below the east side of the citadel, the East Weare Batteries was built during the 1860s to protect the harbour from the east and south-east. It was considered part of the Verne's outworks, with access provided by a communication tunnel with sally port on the south-east of the citadel, which was excavated by convicts in 1872-73. East Weare Camp was built above the battery and contained a prisoners' room and ten cells. In an 1869 Commissioner report, the total expected cost of the citadel, including the outworks, was believed to be £215,667.
The citadel was designed with nine open gun emplacements (eight of which were to hold RML guns), with a range of other defensive works such as the south-west and south-east caponiers, and galleries of the north and lower (south) flanks. The original armament installed in the early 1880s included two 12.5-inch RML guns, five 7-inch RML guns, one 10-inch RML gun, thirteen 40-pdr RBLs, eighteen 8-inch SB guns and one 32 pdr shell gun. The majority of the open gun emplacements served in a coastal defence role to protect the harbour, whereas the caponiers and flanks defended the citadel in the event of a landward attack. The south redoubt was also able to be armed if required with Armstrong RBL 40-pounders, which were stored in a shed inside the citadel.
Late 19th century use, removal of guns and use of Verne as an infantry barracks (1888-1903)
In 1888, it was proposed to install two 10-inch BL guns at the citadel, but this did not come to fruition. In 1890-95, the Verne High Angle Battery was constructed a short distance south of the citadel as a new defence work. It was installed with 9-inch RMLs that had been specifically adapted to fire at a "high angle" in the effort to generate a new use for the now-obsolete weapons. Although two 9.2-inch BL guns had been improved for installation at the Verne in 1897, they would be placed at East Weare Batteries around 1901 instead. During the same period, the Verne was disarmed, leaving it to serve primarily as an infantry barracks.
Use of the citadel during and between the World Wars (1914-48)
During and after World War I, the Verne largely remained in use as an infantry barracks and saw a variety of regiments stationed there. In 1917, a temporary hospital and camp was established within the citadel for wounded soldiers of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC).
The Verne became an infantry training centre from 1937 and continued this role during World War II, while also providing accommodation to British soldiers and storage space. During World War II, two 40mm Bofors guns were installed within the Verne.
A Chain Home Extra Low (CHEL) station, designated K73, was established within the citadel in 1942 and remained in use by the Royal Air Force until the early 1950s. It was able to provide radar coverage of aircraft flying as low as 50 feet and within an approximate range of 30 miles. In 1944, as part of D-Day operations, the citadel's main magazine was transformed into a hospital and medical centre. The last military personnel to be accommodated at the Verne were the Royal Engineers' 9 Training Regiment and they departed in early 1948.
Post-military use of the Verne (1948-)
With the UK facing a general overcrowding of its prisons and the introduction of the Criminal Justice Act of 1948, the government sought additional prison accommodation, with the Verne identified as a potential site. As the Verne was now surplus to Army requirements, the War Office returned it to the Admiralty and, in turn, they agreed to hand over the site to the Home Office, allowing the former citadel to be transformed into HM Prison The Verne. It was established as a medium security training centre with accommodation for 300 prisoners, with an advance party of 20 first arriving on 1 February 1949. Over the decades, the area within the citadel occupied by the prison has been substantially rebuilt, with three new accommodation blocks (A, B and C Wings) being completed in the early-to-mid-1970s. By 1977, around 500 prisoners were serving their sentences there, and from the 1980s, the Verne was considered a C Category prison.
In 2011, the Jailhouse Cafe opened within the former prison staff mess in the northern region of the citadel. Operated by Expia, a charitable organisation, the cafe is open to the public and staffed by prisoners on day release. Its purpose is to offer prisoners work experience and reduce reoffending. HM Prison The Verne closed in 2013 and re-opened as an immigration removal centre, housing 600 detainees, the following year.
In September 2014, as part of the island's multimedia arts festival B-Side, a small section of the citadel's southern region was opened to the public for the duration of the festival. The artist Simon Ryder used this section of the citadel to present a guided tour of his sound, film and sculpture installation. The tour started at the Verne's southern entrance and ended within the south-west ditch. Later in 2017, it was announced that the immigration removal centre would close by the end of the year and HM Prison The Verne reopened in 2018.
Features
Grade listed features
Other notable features
Incidents and accidents
References
The following is an A-Z list of references for this page.
1) BBC News - Prisons to close in England as super-prison site revealed - September 2013 - website page
2) B-Side Multimedia Arts Festival - Events: A tour inside the fortified walls of IRC The Verne - website page
3) B-Side Multimedia Arts Festival - Events: Passage Part 1 - website page
4) Hansard 1803-2005 - numerous parliamentary debates in Hansard archive - website page
5) Historic England - The National Heritage List for England - various entries for the Verne at Portland - website page
6) Isle of Portland Official Guide - Portland Urban District Council - Ed. J. Burrow & Co. Ltd, Chelternham and London - circa 1955 - page 18 - book
7 Jailhouse Cafe - Official Website - About - website page
8) Jurassic Agent - The Jurassic Coast: The Verne - Super User - website page
9) Official information board situated outside Southern Entrance of Verne Citadel
10) Pastscape - Chain Home Extra Low Station K73 - website page
11) Pastscape - Inner Pier Head Fort - website page
12) Pastscape - Verne Citadel - website page
13) Portland Harbour and its Defences Report - anonymous author - undated - report
14) Report of the Committee appointed to enquire into the construction, condition, and cost of the fortifications, erected, or in course of erection, under 30th & 31st vict., and previous statutes - 1869 - report
15) Report of the Directors of Convict Prisons - Portland Prison - Extracts from the Governor's report - various years between 1862 and 1883
16) Report of the Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom - 1860 - report
17) The British Newspaper Archive - various contemporary newspaper articles - website page
18) The Coastal Defences of Portland and Weymouth - E. A. Andrews and M. L. Pinsent - 1981 - supplement to the journal Fort (Fortress Study Group) - report
19) The Portland Naval Base, Dorset K/428 - Keystone (Historic Buildings Consultants) - Volumes 1 and 2 - 1993 - report
The Verne Citadel was built between 1858 and 1882 using a mixture of convict labour, free labour and civilian contractors, under the supervision of the Royal Engineers, while many alterations to its design was made over the course of construction, including by Captain William Crossman. The Verne had progressed far enough for it to receive its first regiment as early as 1865. Following its military use, the citadel became the home of HM Prison The Verne in 1949 (which was briefly converted into an Immigration Removal Centre between 2014-17).
The citadel's location, Verne Hill, was selected for its commanding position overlooking the harbour. It had already been valued for its strategic importance as it once the site of an Iron Age hill fort and was later occupied by the Romans. In anticipation of a French invasion during the French Revolutionary Wars, a naval signal station was built on Verne Hill in 1798 as part of a wider chain of stations along the south coast.
The citadel, including the nearby Verne High Angle Battery, became a scheduled monument in 1973 and remains protected under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979. Various features of the citadel are also individually protected as listed buildings. In recent years, the citadel has been listed on Historic England's "Heritage at Risk" register, with the condition being described as "generally satisfactory but with significant localised problems". The main vulnerability aspect of the site is deterioration and the need for management, although it has been noted that the overall condition is continuing to improve.
History
Plans for the fortification of Verne Hill and beginnings of excavations of ditch (1845-53)
In the mid-19th century, the government approved plans for the transformation of Portland Roads into a harbour of refuge with the building of two breakwater arms. The commissioning of the harbour was prompted by concerns over the security of the English Channel, fears of a French invasion and the development of Cherbourg Harbour. In order to protect the harbour, which began to be increasingly used by the Royal Navy, a number of defences and fortifications were constructed, with the Verne Citadel being built as Portland's primary defence. A citadel at Verne Hill was first suggested in an 1846 report into potential defence sites for Portland, undertaken by Major-General Cardew.
With preliminary work commencing on the construction of the breakwaters in 1847, Portland Prison was established to provide labour in the Admiralty Quarries, which produced stone for the breakwaters and other related projects, including the citadel. In 1852, Lt. Colonel Jebb, the C.B. Surveyor-General of Prisons (and closely involved with the convict-related operations at Portland), suggested that Verne Hill be isolated by the excavation of a ditch. As the hill was naturally inaccessible from the east side and part of the north, the ditch was excavated on the south, west and north-west sides. Work commenced in 1852, with the excavated stone being sent down to Portland Nore for use on the breakwaters. Convicts undertook the work and by early 1853, it was reported that two-hundred were working at the site.
Construction of the citadel (1858-82)
Despite the excavation work, no scheme for the citadel itself was approved until 1857 and the Admiralty did not transfer the site to the War Office until 1858. The Verne's approved design was developed by Major Whittingham, but many alterations were later carried out over the course of construction. Whittingham proposed the citadel should have the capacity to hold 1,300 men and he began producing his plans in greater detail. Work soon commenced on the citadel's construction, with one of the earliest features to be completed by early 1859 being the ramparts and foundations of the casemates within the south-eastern region.
Meanwhile, excavation of the ditch continued according to new designs, resulting in some of the earlier work being filled in, with civilian contractors, rather than convicts, now undertaking most of the work. Although the ditch's overall composition was formed by 1861, work within it continued into the late 1870s. Roughly 70 ft deep and 120 ft wide at its widest, the ditch was praised as "one of the greatest works of the kind ever undertaken round any ancient or modern fortification". By September 1861, it was recorded that an approximate 1,500,000 tons of stone had been excavated to form it, and much of this was sent down to Portland Nore for use on the breakwaters. Meanwhile, any fissures or natural openings in either the ditch or cliff faces were filled in with masonry and cement.
In 1860, Messrs Jay & Co of London began to construct fifty of the Verne's casemates, with the excavation work being undertaken by convicts. John Towlerton Leather, the main contractor on the breakwaters, completed the construction of a road from Underhill to the Verne by early 1860. Work on the citadel progressed favourably into 1861, with the Southern Times commenting that August: "The general outline of the future citadel may now be detected, and some idea may be formed of what the strength and magnitude of the finished work will be."
From 1862 onwards, the majority of the work at the Verne was undertaken by free labourers and they built the main magazine and further casemates, while convicts laid out the glacis on the northern and western sides of the citadel. Work had progressed far enough for the first regiment to be accommodated at the Verne by 1865, while by April 1867, £140,381 had been spent on the Verne and its outworks, including the East Weare Batteries and detention barracks (or provost prison) known as East Weare Camp. During this period, most of the unfinished work was being undertaken by convicts rather than free labourers. In 1868, an estimated 600-650 convicts were recorded to be working on the citadel's construction.
In 1870, the main entrance to the Verne was completed on the north side. The citadel was largely complete by 1874, although it had yet to receive its armament. A setback was seen the following year when part of the counterscarp wall collapsed, resulting in an extensive rebuild of that region of the Verne's walls, using convict labour. The rampart emplacements were completed around 1878-79, along with the southern glacis and its redoubt. The citadel's southern entrance was finished in 1881, complete with a drawbridge spanning across the ditch.
Containing approximately fifty-six acres within its walls, the citadel had a range of facilities and buildings, and was able to accommodate over 500 men in total. The casemates were based along the south west and south east sides, and were covered with earth to make them bombproof. A parade ground, officers' mess and officers' quarters (made up of two blocks) were located within the southern region of the citadel, while the northern section included the main magazine, a reservoir and married quarters (made up of three blocks). Other facilities included a hospital, gymnasium, racquet court, cricket grounds and sports fields. A second canteen was erected in 1882, after the original had to be demolished due to it being sited too close to one of the magazines. That same year saw the erection of a "large and handsome" residence for the commanding officer.
Below the east side of the citadel, the East Weare Batteries was built during the 1860s to protect the harbour from the east and south-east. It was considered part of the Verne's outworks, with access provided by a communication tunnel with sally port on the south-east of the citadel, which was excavated by convicts in 1872-73. East Weare Camp was built above the battery and contained a prisoners' room and ten cells. In an 1869 Commissioner report, the total expected cost of the citadel, including the outworks, was believed to be £215,667.
The citadel was designed with nine open gun emplacements (eight of which were to hold RML guns), with a range of other defensive works such as the south-west and south-east caponiers, and galleries of the north and lower (south) flanks. The original armament installed in the early 1880s included two 12.5-inch RML guns, five 7-inch RML guns, one 10-inch RML gun, thirteen 40-pdr RBLs, eighteen 8-inch SB guns and one 32 pdr shell gun. The majority of the open gun emplacements served in a coastal defence role to protect the harbour, whereas the caponiers and flanks defended the citadel in the event of a landward attack. The south redoubt was also able to be armed if required with Armstrong RBL 40-pounders, which were stored in a shed inside the citadel.
Late 19th century use, removal of guns and use of Verne as an infantry barracks (1888-1903)
In 1888, it was proposed to install two 10-inch BL guns at the citadel, but this did not come to fruition. In 1890-95, the Verne High Angle Battery was constructed a short distance south of the citadel as a new defence work. It was installed with 9-inch RMLs that had been specifically adapted to fire at a "high angle" in the effort to generate a new use for the now-obsolete weapons. Although two 9.2-inch BL guns had been improved for installation at the Verne in 1897, they would be placed at East Weare Batteries around 1901 instead. During the same period, the Verne was disarmed, leaving it to serve primarily as an infantry barracks.
Use of the citadel during and between the World Wars (1914-48)
During and after World War I, the Verne largely remained in use as an infantry barracks and saw a variety of regiments stationed there. In 1917, a temporary hospital and camp was established within the citadel for wounded soldiers of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC).
The Verne became an infantry training centre from 1937 and continued this role during World War II, while also providing accommodation to British soldiers and storage space. During World War II, two 40mm Bofors guns were installed within the Verne.
A Chain Home Extra Low (CHEL) station, designated K73, was established within the citadel in 1942 and remained in use by the Royal Air Force until the early 1950s. It was able to provide radar coverage of aircraft flying as low as 50 feet and within an approximate range of 30 miles. In 1944, as part of D-Day operations, the citadel's main magazine was transformed into a hospital and medical centre. The last military personnel to be accommodated at the Verne were the Royal Engineers' 9 Training Regiment and they departed in early 1948.
Post-military use of the Verne (1948-)
With the UK facing a general overcrowding of its prisons and the introduction of the Criminal Justice Act of 1948, the government sought additional prison accommodation, with the Verne identified as a potential site. As the Verne was now surplus to Army requirements, the War Office returned it to the Admiralty and, in turn, they agreed to hand over the site to the Home Office, allowing the former citadel to be transformed into HM Prison The Verne. It was established as a medium security training centre with accommodation for 300 prisoners, with an advance party of 20 first arriving on 1 February 1949. Over the decades, the area within the citadel occupied by the prison has been substantially rebuilt, with three new accommodation blocks (A, B and C Wings) being completed in the early-to-mid-1970s. By 1977, around 500 prisoners were serving their sentences there, and from the 1980s, the Verne was considered a C Category prison.
In 2011, the Jailhouse Cafe opened within the former prison staff mess in the northern region of the citadel. Operated by Expia, a charitable organisation, the cafe is open to the public and staffed by prisoners on day release. Its purpose is to offer prisoners work experience and reduce reoffending. HM Prison The Verne closed in 2013 and re-opened as an immigration removal centre, housing 600 detainees, the following year.
In September 2014, as part of the island's multimedia arts festival B-Side, a small section of the citadel's southern region was opened to the public for the duration of the festival. The artist Simon Ryder used this section of the citadel to present a guided tour of his sound, film and sculpture installation. The tour started at the Verne's southern entrance and ended within the south-west ditch. Later in 2017, it was announced that the immigration removal centre would close by the end of the year and HM Prison The Verne reopened in 2018.
Features
Grade listed features
- North entrance - Grade II* listed since May 1993. The entrance is dated 1870 and has a bold elliptical moulded arch with carved Royal Arms above.
- Cast iron railings at the approach to the north entrance - Grade II listed in May 1993. Set along the road, these railings date to 1870 and are described by Historic England as a "well-maintained run of robust railing".
- South entrance - Grade II* listed since May 1993 and dated 1881.
- South west and south east casemates - Grade II* listed since May 1993. Dating from 1860, they are made up of two long and one shorter stretch of casemates. The structure is backed by high earth mounds, with each casemate having a deep, narrow compartment enclosed and vaulted in Portland stone.
- Prison's reception centre - Grade II listed since May 1993 and dating from around 1865.
- Prison's blacksmith's shop - Grade II listed since September 1978. It was completed in 1876 as a racquets court and is described by Historic England as a "very vigorously detailed building".
- Prison chapel, originally the officers' mess - Grade II listed since September 1978. Built in 1877-78, the officers' mess included mess, ante and billiard rooms, a kitchen and quarters for the mess man. The building was originally U-shaped but is now rectangular, the two back sections having been removed after suffering some bomb damage during World War II. The subsequent repairs have left the back of the building plain.
- Officer's Block B - Grade II listed since September 1978. Originally built as accommodation for military officers, the building later became part of prison. It dates from around 1865 too, and is flanked east and west by blast bunkers.
- Prison gymnasium - Grade II listed since September 1978. Erected in 1873 and fitted internally in 1874, this single-storey rectangular building is described by Historic England as a "vigorously detailed building typical of RE work at The Verne".
- Governor's house - Grade II listed since September 1978. Located just outside the prison perimeter, the detached residence was designed by Col. Cox of the Royal Engineers and built in 1882 for the Verne's commanding officer.
Other notable features
- Royal Engineer stores and offices - although altered and extended in the 20th century, the bulk of the original building survives within the prison perimeter.
- Canteen - the former canteen building, erected in 1882 and now within the prison perimeter.
- Main magazine - the citadel's former main magazine survives to date and is located alongside the prison staff car park, close to the northern entrance to the citadel. It was constructed around 1865.
- Reservoir - the citadel's covered reservoir survives and is located south-west of the former Jailhouse Cafe and adjacent to the cafe's car park.
- Married quarters - made up of two blocks, these buildings are now abandoned and derelict, located to the rear of the Jailhouse Cafe. When the prison was established, they were used to accommodate prison wardens and their families. By the 1960s, a number of new residences for staff had been erected south and east of the blocks, most of which were prefabricated, and these were demolished before the 21st century.
- Wash house and laundry - although altered, including with a modern extension, the citadel's former wash house and laundry survives just north of the married quarters.
- Infant's school - the former school building for infants of soldiers stationed at the Verne was built in 1873-74 by convict labour. The school survives behind the modern Watchman Radar, albeit with some alteration. The attached schoolmistresses' quarters was on the northern side of the building and has been demolished.
- Watchman Radar - often referred to locally as "the Golf Ball", the radar was erected within the northern region of the citadel in the 1980s, replacing an earlier AR1 Radar which had been in place since the 1970s. Still in use today for air traffic control surveillance, it is operated by AQUILA Air Traffic Management Services as part of the Marshall Programme on behalf of the Ministry of Defence. In 2017, planning permission was received for the radar to be upgraded with a new radome and antenna.
Incidents and accidents
- On 1-2 February 1895, the soldier James Byrne of the 27th Company, Royal Artillery, died after falling approximately 50 feet from the ramparts of the citadel. He was last seen alive leaving his barracks on the evening of 1 February and was discovered in the ditch the following morning. A verdict of accidental death was given at his inquest.
- On 2 October 1897, eight men of the Portland Artillery Volunteers were injured when the breech block of a BL gun being used for practice was blown out. Metal fragments from the blast caused various cuts and wounds, with the worst affected being the gunner Sansom, whose "left eye [was] severely cut, besides sustaining other cuts and bruises". The breech block itself did not cause injury when it was blasted a distance of 60 yards.
- On 9 September 1904, Private Percy Gordon died after falling into a 4.5 metre deep water tank within the citadel, while trying to retrieve a cap belonging to Private Stayner. The wind had blown the cap from Stayner's head while he was on his way to the canteen, and having witnessed the event, Gordon attempted to retrieve it without having been asked to do so. Stayner, having heard Gordon fall into the water, dove into the tank to attempt a rescue, but could not locate Gordon. Private Henry Cunningham also dove into the tank shortly afterwards. Although Cunningham was able to locate him, Gordon was stuck in 2 feet of mud at the bottom of the tank and was unable to be retrieved for twenty minutes. Both Stayner and Cunningham received certificates from the Royal Humane Society for their efforts.
- On 25 March 1921, Lieutenant John Frederick Winder Reid of the 2nd Battalion, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in his sleeping quarters. Earlier in the evening, Reid had attended a guest dinner held by the officers of the citadel, which saw various naval officers invited. After the dinner, Reid and Lieutenant Chas W. Odell drove some of the naval officers to Castletown, and on their return journey met Lieutenant Hayes. The three men briefly visited Lieutenant Donnell's room back at the citadel, where Reid revealed a revolver he had collected from his own quarter. According to Odell's statement, Reid pointed the gun around the room but did not say anything. Afterwards, Reid and Odell retired to the sleeping quarters they shared, and shortly after entering his own room, Reid shouted "I am fed up with this" and shot himself in the head. At his inquest, a verdict of accidental self-infliction was returned, with Reid's level of inebriation being considered a notable factor.
- On 7 September 1939, during blackout hours, Corporal Joseph Marsh died of a broken neck after falling from the ramparts of the citadel into the ditch below.
References
The following is an A-Z list of references for this page.
1) BBC News - Prisons to close in England as super-prison site revealed - September 2013 - website page
2) B-Side Multimedia Arts Festival - Events: A tour inside the fortified walls of IRC The Verne - website page
3) B-Side Multimedia Arts Festival - Events: Passage Part 1 - website page
4) Hansard 1803-2005 - numerous parliamentary debates in Hansard archive - website page
5) Historic England - The National Heritage List for England - various entries for the Verne at Portland - website page
6) Isle of Portland Official Guide - Portland Urban District Council - Ed. J. Burrow & Co. Ltd, Chelternham and London - circa 1955 - page 18 - book
7 Jailhouse Cafe - Official Website - About - website page
8) Jurassic Agent - The Jurassic Coast: The Verne - Super User - website page
9) Official information board situated outside Southern Entrance of Verne Citadel
10) Pastscape - Chain Home Extra Low Station K73 - website page
11) Pastscape - Inner Pier Head Fort - website page
12) Pastscape - Verne Citadel - website page
13) Portland Harbour and its Defences Report - anonymous author - undated - report
14) Report of the Committee appointed to enquire into the construction, condition, and cost of the fortifications, erected, or in course of erection, under 30th & 31st vict., and previous statutes - 1869 - report
15) Report of the Directors of Convict Prisons - Portland Prison - Extracts from the Governor's report - various years between 1862 and 1883
16) Report of the Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom - 1860 - report
17) The British Newspaper Archive - various contemporary newspaper articles - website page
18) The Coastal Defences of Portland and Weymouth - E. A. Andrews and M. L. Pinsent - 1981 - supplement to the journal Fort (Fortress Study Group) - report
19) The Portland Naval Base, Dorset K/428 - Keystone (Historic Buildings Consultants) - Volumes 1 and 2 - 1993 - report
Gallery
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B-Side Festival Event - September 2014
In September 2014, for the first time since the citadel became a prison, the public were allowed to enter a small section of the citadel, via the southern entrance. As part of the B-Side Festival, artist Simon Ryder presented his film and sculpture installation following his year long residency at IRC The Verne.
