The Great Siege Tunnels

Whilst Britain was busy fighting in the American War of Independence, Spanish and French troops, led by commander Duc de Crillon, took the opportunity to try to reclaim Gibraltar, instigating the 14th siege of Gibraltar. The Great Siege lasted from July 1779 to February 1783. In 1782, the invading troops were so close to the Rock that none of the existing batteries could fire upon them due to the awkward angle, so governor General Eliott offered a reward of 1,000 Spanish dollars to anyone who could get the canons on to the “Notch,” the northern side of the Rock. Sergeant-Major Henry Ince, a member of the company of Military Artificers, who became the Royal Engineers, suggested tunneling through the Rock. Ince’s previous occupation as a miner served him well with this decision.

On 25th May 1782, Ince and his men began work under the command of Lieutenant J. Evelegh, a Royal Engineer, Aide De Camp to the Governor. Using gunpowder, sledgehammers and metal bars, it took 18 men just 5 weeks to carve a tunnel that was 82 feet long and 8 feet square. The initial plan was to get a canon to the Notch, but when they created vents to release the gunpowder fumes, they realised it made a good embrasure for the cannons, so they carved more throughout the tunnel. The tunnel ended up being 107 feet long and was armed with four cannons. After the siege ended, Ince continued tunnelling, adding in two more galleries and a chamber beneath the Notch, called St George’s Hall, where 7 guns were installed. The Galleries contain Victorian guns and the entrance to the Upper Galleries has a 64-pounder Victorian cannon.

During World War Two, when tunnel equipment improved, the Royal Engineers continued their predecessors’ work and lengthened the tunnels by 33 miles. Today, the tunnels still have artillery as well as soldier mannequins, so is an interesting place to explore, unless you don’t like enclosed spaces and mannequins. It also gives you the opportunity to hide from the apes that prowl the Rock, and pretend you’re under siege from the new, furry rulers of Gibraltar.