Ramparts of Empire

In 1860, Palmerston’s parliament sanctioned the construction of the largest system of fortifications that the British Isles had ever seen, or would ever see again, in order to defend against a feared French invasion. William Jervois (1821–97), then a young major in the Royal Engineers, was appointed as “design leader” of this program, which later led to a career in fortress construction that spanned continents and empires. This volume is a detailed study of Jervois’s life and works, based on extensive use of extracts from his diary and illustrations of his most important fortresses, offering the reader a rounded picture of his glittering career, as well as the political and technical considerations involved in fort and armament construction.