Time for Tea! Traditional Cache
Graculus: As this cache has not been replaced I am archiving it.
Regards
Chris
Graculus
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Time for tea at the Cup and Saucer. This cache can be done at any time, except when there is a high tide covering the causeway. I have now changed the rating of this cache as the cache location has changed slightly
Fort Grey (more commonly known to locals as the “cup and saucer”) stands on the site of an earlier castle known as the Chateau de Rocquaine. In 1803 Sir John Doyle, Lieutenant-Governor of Guernsey began the task of strengthening the island defences against Napoleon. He had the old castle pulled down and a battery built in its place.
A year later the States of Guernsey, built the tower that we see today. It stands 7.9 metres high, with a diameter of 11.3m at the base. Its walls are 2.1m thick at the base and 1.8m at the top.
Fort Grey stood guard over Guernsey during the nineteenth-century, providing protection from French invasion.
From 1891 the fort was no longer needed for defence purposes. It was then leased to a local family for five shillings a year. It was also during this time that it was repainted white as a mariner's seamark.
During World War II it was again used for defence purposes, when the Germans used it during the occupation years. Sadly however, in the years after this it fell into disrepair.
Restoration and conservation work to turn Fort Grey into the Shipwreck Museum began in 1970 and was finally completed in 1976. New displays were then also installed in 1993.
When visiting today, it is impossible not to be struck by the beauty of Fort Grey. As you walk across the causeway and up to the flight of granite steps you are met with not only a magnificent view, but also a huge eighteenth-century anchor recovered from St Peter Port Harbour..
The museum itself lies within the white tower and is a stunning piece of craftsmanship, filled to the brim with historical information on the many wrecks of Guernsey's west coast.
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