Years of Uncertainty
The Drop Redoubt was decommissioned in the 1950’s when Coast Defence officially finished and for many years remained in a state of decay.
By 1965 much of the land on the Heights had been signed over to the Dover Corporation for a reported £20,250 with the intention of building factories, houses and filling in the system of dry ditches with household refuse. Thankfully the latter was not accomplished but sadly Grand Shaft Barracks were demolished in that year to make way for a projected housing development. A local newspaper stated that the demolition contract had been granted to Folkestone Demolition Company which had bid £3100 for the privilege.
Grand Shaft Barracks being demolished by the Folkestone Demolition Company in 1964 (Dover Express photos)
The barracks were to enjoy two last ‘flings’ however. In 1964 a local newspaper reported that the Dover Corporation was to open the barracks gymnasium as a sports stadium for the local residents. This infact opened for business in October 1964 and offered activities such as badminton, table tennis, five-a-side football etc., at a cost to the Corporation of £3000. A special bus service even linked the centre to the town. The Gymnasium lasted until between 1979 and 1983
The second ‘fling’ was the use of the half-demolished barracks by the BBC during the making of Peter Watkin’s film ‘The War Game’ which was about life during a nuclear holocaust. Parts of the semi-demolished barracks made convincing properties that had just been hit by a nuclear blast. Because of the sensitive nature of the film (made at the height of the Cold War) the film was banned until July 31, 1985, some 20 years later. This was shown then as part of a series of programmes to mark the 40th anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bombs on Japan.
"The War Game" being film at Grand Shaft Barracks during demolition in 1964 (Dover Express pictures)
The site of Grand Shaft Barracks shortly after demolition. Note Gymnasium and Troop Stable still standing. (Dover Express picture)
Since demolition the Grand Shaft Barracks site has been the subject of many residential building proposals. These were in 1968, 1969, 1971, 1972 and 1978. Thankfully, none of these proposals were successful and today the area is a Public Open Space and is part of the Western Heights Nature Reserve. This however is not the end of the story.
Some allotments and part of the Archcliffe Yard were demolished to make way for the new AVO factory during 1965/66.
A model of the new AVO factory circa 1965. Note road in front is Archcliffe Rd and road to right, Channel View Road, formerly Hospital Road
Picture from souvenir programme for 'Dover Past & Present, An exhibition of local history. Town Hall, June 23 - July 3, 1965'
The souvenir reads....'AVO's new factory now under construction on the Archcliffe Estate is a foretaste of future Dover. It constitutes a major addition to Dover's industrial capacity'.Defences to Demolition
This section tells the story of how the Dover Corporation bought up around 126 acres of MOD land in the 1960's and how they subsequently and gradually demolished many parts of the Heights including the Garrison Church, Archcliffe Gate, Grand Shaft Barracks, South Front Barracks, Military Hospital, how they filled in of much of the Western Outworks, cut a new road through the North Lines adjacent to the Drop Redoubt, and proposed filling the system of dry ditches with household refuse, all with the intention of developing the area for light industrial use and new housing.
The story is told through the pages of the Dover Express using articles from over a decade of print. These have been rewritten here word for word by kind permission of the Dover Express. All these articles can be seen in Dover Reference Library on microfilm