Great Siege Tunnels

The Great Siege Tunnels in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar, also known as the Upper Galleries, are a series of tunnels inside the northern end of the Rock of Gibraltar. They were dug out from the solid limestone by the British during the Great Siege of Gibraltar of the late 18th century.

The Great Siege of Gibraltar was an attempt by France and Spain to capture Gibraltar from Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War. Lasting from July 1779 to February 1783, it was the fourteenth and final siege of Gibraltar.

The impetus for the construction of the tunnels came from the garrison's need to cover a blind angle on the north-east side of the Rock. The only solution found to cover that angle was via a gun mounted on a spur of rock known as The Notch. There was no possibility of building a path there due to the vertical cliff face, so Sergeant-Major Henry Ince of the Military Artificers suggested digging a tunnel to reach it. His plan was approved and construction work began on May 1782.

The entrance to the Upper Galleries is dominated by a Victorian 64-pounder cannon.  There are other Victorian guns in the Galleries dating back to 1850, as well as an original 18th century cannon.

During the Second World War, the Royal Engineers including a Canadian contingent, achieved wonderful feats of engineering, adding some 52km of tunnels.

The Great Siege Tunnels can today be accessed as part of the Upper Rock Nature Reserve.

References:

• Wikipedia

Address

Gibraltar, United Kingdom

Details

Founded: 1782
Category: Castles and fortifications in United Kingdom