The People of Gibraltar
1771 - Thomas James - Herculean Straits - A Map of Gibraltar


A detailed Plan of Gibraltar executed by Thomas Davies in 1768 and engraved by Thomas Kitchin, was published in 1771 by Lt Colonel Thomas James in his book - The Herculean Straits . . . is shown below. I have divided the plan into nine sections in order to be able to link the numbers on the plan with their  appropriate  captions as given by James in his book.


Copy of the engraving as it appears in Thomas James’s book


The nine numbered sections


1. The Isthmus


A. Windmill Battery of 18 guns against the town and Willis’s

B. Royal Battery of 21 guns against the town and Willis’s
C. Second Battery of  6 guns against the town and mole (Old Mole)
D. Third Battery of 12 guns against the town and mole (Old Mole)
E. Three batteries of 12, 8, 6, guns against the town
F. A Battery of 4 guns against Willis’s
G, H, I. Three bomb batteries of 3, 5, 6 mortars
K. Three parallels
L. Spanish Approaches
M. The Grand line of Communication
N. Entrance of the mine under Willis’s
O. Works designed by enemy if siege had gone on (Presumably the  13th Siege of 1727)
P. Battery of 40 guns
Q. Four bomb batteries of fifteen morters each intended if siege had gone on
R. Line of huts made since the siege but at present greatly reduced
S. Spanish Lines (Línea de la Contravalación)
T. The artillery practice butt
U. The Devil’s Tower


2. The north section of the upper Rock


T. The artillery practice butt
u. The Devil’s Tower
3. Lord Forbe’s Battery and the amphitheatre also called the Princes Line
51. Middle Hill Guards
56. Artillery Store Houses
59. The Innundation (sic)
68. Catalan Bay (La Caleta)


3. The north section of the town


2. Queen’s and other batteries, formerly Willis’s, between four and five hundred feet above the level of the isthmus
3. Lord Forbe’s Battery and the amphitheatre also called the Princes line
4. The cave and communication under cover within the King’s Lin that leads by a flight of steps up to the Prince’s.
5. The upper, centre and lower Moorish Castle (Moorish Castle prescinct, Villa Vieja, Grand Casemates)
6. Entrance into the lines
7. The Grand Royal Battery and North Bastion, formerly called St Paul’s (Baluarte de San Paulo 
8. The cover port (Land Port)
9. Copmmunication from the Bastion(a) formerly called St Peter (Baluarte de San Pedro - Hesse’s Semi-bastion?)
10. The ordnance Store House and Shot Store on the Esplanade (Casemates) where Moors formerly built their gallies (galleys) and launched through the Waterport 
11.The Waterport Gate with a wet ditch, draw-bridge, Practic House, Guard Room, Covert Way, and Quay for landing goods
12. Old Mole of 23 Guns and 11 Morters, where lies all the small craft, such as tartans, polacres Etc (but mostly Feluccas)
13. The Prince of Orange’s Battery (Plataforma de Santa Ana - Later extended to become Chatham’s Cunterguard?)
14. Montegue’s, formerly St Anne’s Bastion (North  section Plataforma de San Diego, Sout, Paltaforma de San Francisco)
15. Saluting Battery 21 guns
16. The Parade (The piazza) and Fountain (The 0ther 16 at an angle maarks the beginning of Irish Town)
17. The Town’s Battery formery the Main Guard
18.  Paradise in miniature, because a French resident had there a delightful garden.
19. Norman’s formally St Anthony’s Bastion
56. Artillery Store Houses
57. The Hospital
58. The Guard House
59. The Innundation (sic)
60. Sluice to Innundation (sic)

4. Middle section of the upper Rock


49. Charles the fifth’s wall
50. Moorish Wall (Phillip II) and Signal House (Signal Station, el Hacho)
68. Catalan Bay (La Caleta)

Note gallows on the bottom right of the plan. People were hanged in this area known as the Red Sands and left therefore a period as a warning

5. South section of the town


16. The Parade (The Piazza) and Fountain 
16. (Shown at an angle marks the beginning of Irish Town)
17. The Town’s Battery formery the Main Guard
18.  Paradise in miniature, because a French resident had there a delightful garden.
19. Norman’s formally St Anthony’s Bastion
20. Bomb House, the residence of the ordnance store keeper formally the dwelling of the Moorish governour (sic), also Cockayne’s Battery 
(Perhaps after Colonel Thomas Cockayne, secretary to the Governor Lord Portmore and an absolute scoundrel) 
21. Battery before the Governors house and garden
22. Bastion of St Rosia (Baluarte de Nuestra Señora del Rosario - South Bastion)
23. The South Port Magazine
24. 24. South Port Gate, Guard, Bridge, Ditch and Covert Way
25. The New Arsenal 
26. The New Victualling Office
27. The Grand Barracks - (Town Range Barracks)
28. The watering place or little mole, formerly called the Ragged Staff, where fleets send their boats for water
57. The Hospital (Probably being used as “the Garrison Hospital” at the time. Originally known as the hospital of Nuestra Señora de los Desamparados run by Juan Mateos during the 16th century. Converted into a Barracks - known as the “Blue Barracks” - and then again into a hospital)

6. South section of the upper Rock


41. An Oratory of Christ (Capilla de Cristo)
44. The pass of the Moorish Wall (Phillip II) now called the hole in the wall
46. Scarp rock guard-house (Scarped end of path used bt Simon Susarte in 1704?)
47. A sand bank (Sandy Bay?)
48. St Michael’s Cave
70. No caption

7. Lower section South of Charles V Wall


28. The watering place or little mole, formerly called the Ragged Staff, where fleets send their boats for water
29. The ten guns, formerly the Duke’s Bastion, the Redan of which the sailors availed themselves, after they had taken possetion of the New Mole when the English took that fortress in one thousand seven hundred and four
30. Milk House Guard
31. 31.31. Grand Barracks with Pavilions for officers (Soldiers’ Barracks then South Barracks)
32. Double magazines bomb-proof
33. House and Garden for entertainment
34. A Dwelling House formerly an oratory dedicated to St John
35. A Guard House
36. The Fort called by the French Fort Anglois, because the English possessed themselves of that place when they took Gibraltar in 1704 (When they tried to take a tower in this area known as la Torre del Tuerto, it exploded causing serious casualties to the English)
40. An Oratory named St Rosia (Possibly a corruption of Rosa or Rocio)
61. The Aqueduct (Built by the Spaniards in the 16th century it brought water from the south to the fountain at the Parade (Piazza)
62. The New Mole

Note gallows in the middle of the plan. People were hanged in this area known as the Red Sands and left therefore a period as a warning

8. South of the New Mole


32. Double magazines bomb-proof
37. The Vineyard and House belonging there too (Leased to the Picardo Family at the beginning of the 18th century by the then Governor, Colonel Roger Elliott)
38. Rosia Guard House
39. The Navy Hospital  (Later the Old Naval Hospital)
41. An Oratory of Christ (Capilla de Cristo)
42. The Camp Guard
63. Bay of St John’s, now Rosia (Suggests that the name  “Rosia” was adopted by the English after 1704 and is not of Spanish origin)
64. Hospital Bay (Camp Bay)
65. Europa Bay (Little Bay)
70. Not captioned

9. Windmill Hill and Europa Flats


43. Wind Mills
44. The pass of the Moorish Wall (Phillip II) now called the hole in the wall
52. Passage Guard
53. Moorish Bath (Nun’s Well)
54. Our Lady of Europa now Europa Guard
55. Five Gun Battery and Europa Line Wall
65. Europa Bay (Little Bay)
66. Little Europa (Europa Bay)
67. Europa Point


See also:

1771 - Thomas James - Herculean Straits - Gibraltar
1771 - Thomas James - Herculean Straits - The Engravings
1771 - Thomas James - Herculean Straits - The Engravers
1771 - Thomas James - Herculean Straits - The Inquisition
1771 - Thomas James - Herculean Straits - Two Inscriptions