The Queen's Lines are a set of fortified lines, part of the

fortifications of Gibraltar The Gibraltar peninsula, located at the far southern end of Iberian Peninsula, Iberia, has great strategic importance as a result of its position by the Strait of Gibraltar where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean. It has repeatedly ...

, situated on the lower slopes of the north-west face of the

Rock of Gibraltar The Rock of Gibraltar (from the Arabic name Jabal Ṭāriq , meaning "Mountain of Tariq ibn Ziyad, Tariq") is a monolithic limestone mountain high dominating the western entrance to the Mediterranean Sea. It is situated near the end of a nar ...

. They occupy a natural ledge which overlooks the landward entrance to

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

and were an extension to the north-east of the

King's Lines The King's Lines are a walled rock-cut trench on the lower slopes of the north-west face of the Rock of Gibraltar. Forming part of the Northern Defences of the fortifications of Gibraltar, they were originally created some time during the periods ...

. They run from a natural fault called the

Orillon An orillon, also known as an orillion, is an architectural element of a military fortification. The ear-shaped projection of masonry provided defense for guns and soldiers at the flank of a bastion. However, an orillon could also shield a city ga ...

to a cliff above the modern Laguna Estate, which stands on the site of the

Inundation A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant concern in agriculture, civi ...

, an artificial lake created to obstruct landward access to Gibraltar. Hughes & Migos, pp. 344–5 The

Prince's Lines The Prince's Lines are part of the fortifications of Gibraltar, situated on the lower slopes of the north-west face of the Rock of Gibraltar. They are located at a height of about on a natural ledge above the Queen's Lines, overlooking the landw ...

run immediately behind and above them on a higher ledge. All three of the Lines were constructed to

enfilade Enfilade and defilade are concepts in military tactics used to describe a military formation's exposure to enemy fire. A formation or position is "in enfilade" if weapon fire can be directed along its longest axis. A unit or position is "in de ...

attackers approaching Gibraltar's Landport Front from the landward direction. 1908 Queens Lines and Princes Lines Ordnance Survey map

The Lines were built in 1788 but the Spanish or

Moors The term Moor is an Endonym and exonym, exonym used in European languages to designate the Muslims, Muslim populations of North Africa (the Maghreb) and the Iberian Peninsula (particularly al-Andalus) during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a s ...

seem to have constructed a much earlier irregular defensive wall on the same site, as depicted in a 1627 map by Don

Luis Bravo de Acuña Luis Bravo de Acuña (died 1634) was a Spanish people, Spanish soldier known for his work on the fortifications of Gibraltar who also served as Spanish Minister of War, Ambassador to Venice and Viceroy of Navarre. Biography Luis Bravo de Acuña ...

. Hughes & Migos, p. 21 The Lines run along what had been an access path up to the Granada Gate. During the tenure of William Green as Gibraltar's Senior Engineer from 1761–83, the Lines were repaired, improved and fortified, and the cliffs below were scarped to make them impossible to climb. They are connected to the King's Lines via a communication gallery completed on 13 September 1782, and to the Prince's Lines via another gallery constructed in 1790. They saw action during the

Great Siege of Gibraltar The Great Siege of Gibraltar was an unsuccessful attempt by Enlightenment in Spain, Spain and Kingdom of France, France to capture Gibraltar from the Kingdom of Great Britain, British during the American Revolutionary War. It was the largest ba ...

(1779–83) when the Lines were a principal target for Spanish gun batteries; during a heavy bombardment in September 1782, they suffered significant damage. Drinkwater, p. 304 At the far end of the Queen's Lines is the Queen's Lines Battery, which mounted one 12-pdr between 1781–1834. The gun was then replaced by an 8-inch brass

howitzer The howitzer () is an artillery weapon that falls between a cannon (or field gun) and a mortar. It is capable of both low angle fire like a field gun and high angle fire like a mortar, given the distinction between low and high angle fire break ...

, and between 1859–89 a ten-inch howitzer and three 24-pdr

carronade A carronade is a short, smoothbore, cast-iron cannon which was used by the Royal Navy. It was first produced by the Carron Company, an ironworks in Falkirk, Scotland, and was used from the last quarter of the 18th century to the mid-19th cen ...

s were mounted there. Behind the Lines three tunnels called the

Queen's Lines Galleries Queens is a borough of New York City. Queens or Queen's may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * Queens (group), a Polish musical group * Queens (song), "Queens" (song), a 2018 song by Saara Aalto * Queens (novel), ''Queens'' (novel), by Steph ...

were dug out in 1789 to provide bomb-proof shelters. At the eastern end of the Lines, Queen's Advance and

Queen's Lookout Queens is a borough of New York City. Queens or Queen's may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * Queens (group), a Polish musical group * "Queens" (song), a 2018 song by Saara Aalto * ''Queens'' (novel), by Stephen Pickles, 1984 * "Queens", ...

(built in 1727) provide views out over the

isthmus An isthmus (; : isthmuses or isthmi) is a narrow piece of land connecting two larger areas across an expanse of water by which they are otherwise separated. A tombolo is an isthmus that consists of a spit or bar, and a strait is the sea count ...

between Gibraltar and Spain.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * {{Fortifications of Gibraltar Fortifications in Gibraltar 1789 establishments in the British Empire