Willis’s Powder Battery Displays

Detail of one of the plans showing the date an early amendment: 23rd February 1891

Detail of one of the plans showing the date an early amendment: 23rd February 1891

When Richard Desoiza of the Let’s Go Rock and Fortress Project was given a treasure trove of eleven 19th Century Royal Engineer Plans for Willis’s Powder Battery, he was quick to appreciate their value as display material in the new venue.
He called Angela and asked her to have them scanned and mounted on boards as we had done with previous display materials in the World War II Tunnels. After giving her a tour of the huge Powder Battery, and explaining the clever 19th Century methods of fire prevention he entrusted her with the valuable documents then and there.

Detail of part of a plan showing the amendments on with brown paper tapes

Detail of part of a plan showing the amendments on with brown paper tapes

The hand drawn documents were in a delicate condition, their large size, 1 meter by 70cm, and the many additions that had been pasted onto them over the years meant they needed very careful handling.  Angela was not happy with the idea of putting them through a rotary scanner, although there were one or two of these available on the Rock. Richard had already taken digital photographs of the plans but even with a good camera, the definition was not suitable for reproduction and display. After extensive research it was discovered that the Imperial War Museum in London had the facilities available for the job.
Angela immediately booked the

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