Wellington Front

Wellington Front is a fortification in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. It was built in 1840 on a site established by the Spanish in 1618.

History
Wellington Front was built on the site of the pre-existing Spanish fortification known as the Plataforma de San Francisco (St. Francis' Platform) which was constructed in 1618. However, the fortifications of Gibraltar had been thoroughly overhauled following the one day visit by King Philip IV of Spain in early 1624 who ordered works to improve the fortifications that took nearly three years to complete. This involved rebuilding the platform to reflect improvements in broadside ship gunnery. Luis Bravo de Acuña later described Gibraltar as the most protected area along Spain's coast.

In 1840, Major-General John Thomas Jones arrived to inspect the defences of Gibraltar. Jones advised on improvements for Gibraltar's fortifications including Parson's Lodge Battery and Wellington's Front which was the original name after the Duke of Wellington.

It is located along the Line Wall Curtain and consists of two demi-bastions and an Advanced Front applied to the curtain wall all the way from South Bastion to the King's Bastion. The inside held troops in relative safety and the top was decked with heavy guns. The demi-bastions were constructed on the sites of old Spanish platforms; the north one used to be the Plataforma de San Diego and south one the Plataforma de San Francisco.

Wellington Front was one of the last of Gibraltar's fortifications to be built by convict labour. 900 convicts were involved in its construction while they were housed in a prison ship called the HMS Owen Glendower which was docked at Gibraltar Harbour. It was later estimated that local labour was cheaper, more productive and they could legally work for longer hours than British convicts.