Editing Blockhouse

{{Short description|Type of fortification}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Use British English|date=November 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2014}}
[[File:FortEdwardWindsorNovaScotiaCanada.JPG|thumb|Completed in 1750, [[Fort Edward (Nova Scotia)|Fort Edward]] in [[Nova Scotia]], [[Canada]] is the oldest remaining military blockhouse in [[North America]].]]
[[File:Donjon chateau a motte saint sylvain.jpg|thumb|upright|Reconstructed [[Europe]]an wooden [[keep]] at [[Saint-Sylvain-d'Anjou]], [[France]], has a strong resemblance to a [[North America]]n western frontier log blockhouse]]

A '''blockhouse''' is a small [[fortification]], usually consisting of one or more rooms with [[Loophole (firearm)|loopholes]], allowing its defenders to fire in various directions.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Spiteri|first1=Stephen C.|author-link1=Stephen C. Spiteri|title=Illustrated Glossary of Terms used in Military Architecture|journal=ARX Supplement|page=637|url=http://www.militaryarchitecture.com/index.php/Journals/illustrated-glossary-of-military-architecture-terms.html|date=2010|publisher=MilitaryArchitecture.com|access-date=2 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170603174909/http://www.militaryarchitecture.com/index.php/Journals/illustrated-glossary-of-military-architecture-terms.html|archive-date=3 June 2017|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref> It is usually an isolated fort in the form of a single building, serving as a defensive strong point against any enemy that does not possess [[Siege engine|siege equipment]] or, in modern times, [[artillery]], [[air force]] or [[cruise missile]]s. A fortification intended to resist these weapons is more likely to qualify as a [[Fortification|fortress]] or a [[redoubt]], or in modern times, be an underground [[bunker]]. However, a blockhouse may also refer to a room within a larger fortification, usually a [[artillery battery|battery]] or redoubt.

==Etymology==
The term ''[[wikt:blockhouse|blockhouse]]'' is of uncertain origin, perhaps related to [[Middle Dutch]] ''[[:nl:wikt:blokhus|blokhus]]'' and 18th-century French ''[[:fr:blocus|blocus]]'' (blockade).<ref>{{citation|title=blockhouse (n.), blockade (n.)|work=Online Etymology Dictionary}}</ref>

== In ancient Greece ==
Blockhouses existed in ancient Greece, for example the one near [[Mycenae]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lord |first1=Louis E. |last2=Frantz |first2=M. Alison |last3=Roebuck |first3=Carl |title=Blockhouses in the Argolid |journal=Hesperia |date=April{{endash}}June 1941 |volume=10 |issue=2 |pages=93{{endash}}112 |jstor=146534 |url=https://www.ascsa.edu.gr/uploads/media/hesperia/146534.pdf |access-date=10 March 2022}}</ref>

== Early blockhouses in England ==
[[File:Mount Edgcumbe blockhouse.jpg|thumb|The [[Henry VIII of England|Henrican]] blockhouse at [[Mount Edgcumbe Country Park|Mount Edgcumbe]] near Plymouth, Devon, which is believed to date from ''circa'' 1545]]

Early blockhouses were designed solely to protect a particular area by the use of artillery, and they had accommodation only for the short-term use of the garrison. The first known example is the [[Cow Tower, Norwich]], built in 1398, which was of brick and had three storeys with the upper storeys pierced for six guns each.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eng-h.gov.uk/mpp/mcd/sub/block1.htm|title=Definition of a Blockhouse|access-date=28 January 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605230950/http://www.eng-h.gov.uk/mpp/mcd/sub/block1.htm|archive-date=5 June 2011|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref> The major period of construction was in the [[Device Forts|maritime defence programmes]] of [[Henry VIII of England|Henry VIII]] between 1539 and 1545.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eng-h.gov.uk/mpp/mcd/sub/block2.htm|title=Blockhouse dates|access-date=28 January 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605231011/http://www.eng-h.gov.uk/mpp/mcd/sub/block2.htm|archive-date=5 June 2011|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref> They were built to protect important maritime approaches such as the [[Thames Estuary]], the [[Solent]], and [[Plymouth]]. Often sited in pairs, the blockhouses were not built to a common design, but usually consisted of a stone tower and [[bastion]] or gun platform, which could be semi-circular, rectangular or irregular in shape.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eng-h.gov.uk/mpp/mcd/sub/block3.htm|title=Blockhouse general description|access-date=28 January 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605231017/http://www.eng-h.gov.uk/mpp/mcd/sub/block3.htm|archive-date=5 June 2011|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref> The last blockhouse of this type was [[Cromwell's Castle]], built in [[Scilly]] in 1651.

== Coastal fortifications in Malta ==
[[File:Tunnara museum.jpeg|thumb|Blockhouse of [[Westreme Battery]], built in 1715–16 in [[Mellieħa]], [[Malta]]]]

Blockhouses were an ubiquitous feature in [[Malta]]'s coastal fortifications built in the 18th century by the [[Knights Hospitaller|Order of St. John]]. Between 1714 and 1716, dozens of [[artillery batteries|batteries]] and [[redoubt]]s were built around the coasts of the Maltese Islands, while a few others were built in the subsequent decades. Almost every battery and redoubt had a blockhouse, which served as gun crew accommodation and a place to store munitions.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Spiteri |first1=Stephen C. |author-link1=Stephen C. Spiteri |title=ARX – Hospitaller Coastal Batteries |url=http://www.militaryarchitecture.com/index.php/Fortifications/18th-century-hospitaller-coastal-batteries.html |website=MilitaryArchitecture.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180908234924/http://www.militaryarchitecture.com/index.php/News/arx-hospitaller-coastal-batteries.html |archive-date=8 September 2018 |date=12 September 2014 |url-status=dead |df=dmy }}</ref>

Many of the batteries consisted of a semi-circular or polygonal gun platform, with one or two blockhouses at the rear. The blockhouses usually had musketry loopholes, and in some cases were linked together by [[redan]]s. Surviving batteries include [[Mistra Battery]] and [[Ferretti Battery]], which both have two blockhouses, and [[Saint Mary's Battery]] and [[Saint Anthony's Battery]], which have a single blockhouse.

Many of the redoubts consisted of a pentagonal platform with a rectangular blockhouse at the rear, although a few had semi-circular or rectangular platforms. Surviving redoubts with blockhouses include [[Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq Redoubt]] and [[Briconet Redoubt]], both of which have a pentagonal plan. A few of the redoubts consisted of a single tower-like blockhouse without a platform, and were known as ''tour-reduits''. Of the four ''tour-reduits'' that were built, only the [[Vendôme Tower]] survives today.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Spiteri |first1=Stephen C. |author-link1=Stephen C. Spiteri |title=18th Century Hospitaller Coastal Batteries |url=http://www.militaryarchitecture.com/index.php/Fortifications/18th-century-hospitaller-coastal-batteries.html |website=MilitaryArchitecture.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160620084250/http://www.militaryarchitecture.com/index.php/Fortifications/18th-century-hospitaller-coastal-batteries.html |archive-date=20 June 2016 |date=10 April 2010 |url-status=dead |df=dmy }}</ref>

== Age of exploration ==
Originally blockhouses were often constructed as part of a large plan, to "block" access to vital points in the scheme. But from the [[Age of Exploration]] to the nineteenth century standard patterns of blockhouses were constructed for defence in frontier areas, particularly [[South Africa]], [[New Zealand]], [[Canada]],<ref>{{cite book|last=Young|first=Richard|title=Blockhouses in Canada, 1749–1841: a Comparative Report and Catalogue|series= Occasional Papers in Archaeology and History, Canadian Historic Site|isbn=978-0-660-10298-6|year= 1980}}
</ref> and the [[United States]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Spence|first1=W. Jerome D.|last2=Spence|first2=David L.|title=A History of Hickman County, Tennessee|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sIE7AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA271|year=1900|publisher=Southern Historical Press|isbn=978-0-89308-242-0|page=271}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Morrison |first=Hugh |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Dk1qhPyIPfQC |title=Early American Architecture: From the First Colonial Settlements to the National Period |date=1987-01-01 |publisher=Courier Corporation |isbn=978-0-486-25492-0 |pages=156 |language=en}}</ref>

Blockhouses may be made of [[masonry]] where available, but were commonly made from very heavy [[timber]]s, sometimes even [[Wooden log|logs]] arranged in the manner of a [[log cabin]]. They were usually two or even three [[Storey|floors]], with all storeys being provided with [[embrasure]]s or loopholes, and the uppermost storey would be roofed. If the structure was of timber, usually the upper storey would project outward from the lower so the upper storey defenders could fire on enemies attacking the lower storey, or perhaps pour water on any fires. When the structure had only one storey, its loopholes were often placed close to the ceiling, with a bench lining the walls inside for defenders to stand on, so that attackers could not easily reach the loopholes.

[[File:FortYork-Blockhouse.jpg|thumb|A 19th-century-era blockhouse in [[Fort York]], Toronto]]

Blockhouses were normally entered via a sturdy, barred door at ground level. Most blockhouses were roughly square in [[plan]], but some of the more elaborate ones were [[hexagon]]al or [[octagon]]al, to provide better all-around fire. In some cases, blockhouses became the basis for complete forts, by building a [[palisade]] with the blockhouse at one corner, and possibly a second tower at the opposite corner. Many historical stone blockhouses have survived, and a few timber ones have been restored at historical sites. In New Zealand, the [[Cameron Blockhouse]], near [[Whanganui]], is one of the few blockhouses to survive from the [[New Zealand Wars]].

== Second Boer War ==
{{See also|Second_Boer_War#Use_of_blockhouses|l1=British response to Guerrilla warfare during the Second Boer War}}
[[File:Burgersdorp-Sentinel-001.JPG|thumb|Sentinel Blockhouse in [[Burgersdorp]]]]

During the [[Second Boer War]] the British forces built a large number of fortifications in [[South Africa]]. Around 441 were solid masonry blockhouses,<ref name="SAMHJ01">{{cite journal|last=Tomlinson|first=Richard|title=Britain's Last Castles – Masonry Blockhouses of the South African War, 1899–1902|journal=Military History Journal|publisher=The South African Military History Society|volume=10|issue=6|url=http://samilitaryhistory.org/vol106rt.html|access-date=2009-02-14}}</ref> many of which stand today. Different designs were used in the construction of these blockhouses, but most were either two or three story structures built using locally quarried stone.

However the vast scale of British strategy led the British to develop cheaper, double-skinned corrugated iron structures.<ref name="Blockhouses of the Boer War">{{cite web |title=Blockhouses of the Boer War |first=Mike |last=Hanslow |url=http://www.bwm.org.au/site/Blockhouses.php#iron |access-date=2017-10-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010104659/http://www.bwm.org.au/site/Blockhouses.php#iron |archive-date=10 October 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref> These could be prefabricated, delivered to site by armoured train, and then have locally sourced rocks or rubble packed inside the double skin to provide improved protection.

A circular design developed by Major Rice in February 1901 had good all round visibility, and the lack of corners did away with the need for a substructure. Failure due to wood rot and splintering when hit by bullets or shrapnel were eliminated. The steel door to the blockhouse was sheltered by another piece of corrugated iron. The Major Rice blockhouse could be erected in six hours by six trained men. With the change from square gabled roofs to a circular design, they were given the nickname "Pepperpot blockhouse".<ref name="Blockhouses of the Boer War" /> With mass production the cost to build a blockhouse dropped down to £16, compared to several hundred pounds for masonry ones.

These blockhouses played a vital role in the protection of the railway lines and bridges that were key to the British military supply lines.<ref name="SAMHJ01" />

== Concrete blockhouses ==<!-- This section is linked from [[Gulf War]] -->
During [[World War I]] and [[World War II]], many types of blockhouses were built, when time allowed usually constructed of [[reinforced concrete]]. The major difference between a modern blockhouse and a [[bunker]] is that a bunker is constructed mostly below ground level while a blockhouse is constructed mostly above ground level.<ref>For the difference between blockhouses and bunkers see {{harvnb|Schneider|Kitchen|2002|p=87}}, {{harvnb|BACM Research|2009|p=209}}, {{harvnb|Davis|2007|p=290}}</ref>

[[File:Admiralty Citadel2008.jpg|thumb|The [[Admiralty Citadel]], St James' Park, London, in 2008]]

Some blockhouses like those constructed in England in 1940 were built [[British anti-invasion preparations of World War II|in anticipation of a German invasion]]; they were often [[hexagonal]] in shape and were called "[[pillbox (military)|pillbox]]es". About 28,000 [[British hardened field defences of World War II|pillboxes and other hardened field fortifications]] were constructed, of which about 6,500 still survive.<ref name = dob_review >{{cite web | title=A Review Of The Defence of Britain Project | work=Report | url=http://www.britarch.ac.uk/projects/dob/review/index.html | access-date=2006-05-30 | archive-date=23 November 2007 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071123103253/http://www.britarch.ac.uk/projects/dob/review/index.html | url-status=dead }}</ref>

[[File:FlakturmLAugarten030323h.jpg|thumb|upright|A German-built [[Flak tower|Flakturm]] (Flak tower) in the [[Augarten]] Vienna, Austria]]

The [[Military citadels under London#Admiralty Citadel|Admiralty Citadel]] in London is one of the sturdiest above-ground structures built during World War II. It was constructed in 1940–1941 as a bomb-proof operations centre for the [[British Admiralty|Admiralty]], with foundations nine metres deep and a concrete roof six metres thick. It too was intended to serve as a strongpoint in defending against the feared invasion.<!-- for citation see main article -->

In Berlin and other cities during [[World War II]] some massive blockhouses were built as air-raid shelters and [[anti-aircraft artillery]] platforms. They were called ''[[Hochbunker]]'' (literally, "high bunkers"; better translated as "above ground bunkers", to distinguish them from the usual deep i.e. underground air raid shelters) and those that functioned as anti-aircraft artillery platforms were also called [[Flak tower]]s. Some were over six stories high; several survive to this day because of the high cost of demolition. The {{Interlanguage link multi|Hochbunker Pallasstraße|de}} in Berlin-[[Schöneberg]] has a post-war block of flats built over it. During the [[Cold War]] the shelter was in use as a NATO foodstore.{{Citation needed|date=December 2016}}

In the [[guerrilla phase of the Irish Civil War]] (1922–1923), a network of blockhouses was constructed to protect the railways from guerrilla attacks.{{Citation needed|date=November 2014}}

Blockhouses and coordinated road systems were used in the [[encirclement campaigns]] of [[Chiang Kai-shek]] against the [[Chinese Communist Party]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Spence|first=Jonathan|author-link=Jonathan Spence|title=In Search of Modern China|page=403|publisher=}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Battery tower]]
* [[Blockhouse No. 1]], New York City
* [[Block House (Delaware)]]
* [[British hardened field defences of World War II]] - [[Pillbox (military)|Pillbox]]
* [[Caponier]]
* [[Casemate]]
* [[Chartaque]]
* [[Chardak]]
* [[Fort King George]] in [[Darien, Georgia]]
* [[Fort Pitt Block House]] in Point State Park in Pittsburgh
* [[Martello tower]]
* [[Ostrog (fortress)]]
* [[Sangar (fortification)]]

== Notes ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== References ==
* {{Citation|author=BACM Research|year=2009 |title=Vietnam War After Action Reports |publisher=BACM Research |pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Dch3m7u2K5YC&pg=PA263 263]}}
* {{Citation|last=Davis |first=Tracy C. |year=2007 |title=Stages of emergency: Cold War nuclear civil defense |edition=illustrated |publisher=Duke University Press |isbn=978-0-8223-3970-0 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=WcdAe825xawC&pg=PA290 290]}}
* {{Citation|last1=Schneider |first1=Richard Harold |last2=Kitchen |first2=Ted |year= 2002|title=Planning for crime prevention: a transatlantic perspective
|volume=3 |series=RTPI library series |edition=illustrated |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-24136-6 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=D67xQE95qT4C&pg=PA87 87]}}

== External links ==
{{commons category|Blockhouses}}
* [http://pillbox-study-group.org.uk Pillbox Study Group]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20061118133502/http://www.remuseum.org.uk/corpshistory/rem_corps_part9.htm#block Royal Engineers Museum]: Blockhouses during the Anglo-Boer War (1899–1902)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20091025203556/http://geocities.com/lupinpooter/berlin.htm Berlin Air-raid Shelters, Flak Towers and Bunkers]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20071224140420/http://www.ukheritage.net/misc/pillboxes.htm Pillboxes]
* [http://www.pillboxesuk.co.uk British World War 2 Fortifications]
* [http://www.fsgfort.com/ The Fortress Study Group]

{{Fortifications}}

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