The Garrison Defences on St Mary's in the Isles of Scilly in the 17th and 18th Centuries

Abstract

AbstractIn the mid-17th century Scilly was briefly at the heart of the civil wars that engulfed England. To make the islands secure, a line of earthwork defences was probably built by Royalist forces around the Garrison on St Mary's, and a length of this survives along the west coast. After the islands were recaptured by the Parliamentary forces these defences were neglected. However, in 1715 the Ordnance engineer Colonel Christian Lilly was sent to Scilly to oversee their repair, and to repair and rebuild a number of key buildings on the Garrison.Despite Lilly's efforts, a generation later the earthworks were unusable, and some were falling into the sea. Therefore between 1741 and 1746 substantial stone walls and gun batteries were built along the south side of the Garrison. The progress of this brief but substantial building programme can be followed through a series of maps, the financial records of the Board of Ordnance and by examining the fabric of the walls. The construction programme ended abruptl...