The drawbridge to Fort Manoel’s main gate, on Manoel Island, has been reconstructed in a painstaking process to remain as faithful as possible to the early-19th-century model.
The iroko wood and steel drawbridge reconstruction is the first of its kind on the island. The design was based on evidence found on site, as well as advice from leading fortifications expert Stephen Spiteri.
“The main gate to Fort Manoel is one of the most important features of the fort and we are proud to see it restored to its former condition. Its re-creation adds an important element that has been missing at Couvre Porte for a long while – that of entering this impressive fortified space over the original rock-hewn ditch,” said Ben Muscat, CEO of Midi plc, which is regenerating and developing Manoel Island.
The project, which involved the restoration of the seaward ramparts overlooking Valletta, the main gate and the ditch, cost €35,000, which includes about €15,000 for the drawbridge alone.
Architect Alex Torpiano from AOM Partnership, the firm entrusted with the lead consultancy of the Midi project, explained that the biggest challenge was primarily the research involved to ensure the design remained as faithful to the original as possible.
Prof. Torpiano said that, at the initial stages, the team did not know how the drawbridge worked, how it would be built and what to use to reconstruct the supports.
They had some vague illustrations which confirmed the existence of this type of bridge. However, there are no other fortifications in Malta with an identical drawbridge, although some of the forts of the same period could have had something similar at some stage.
“We knew that the ditch had been filled in by the British in the early 20th century, but we did not imagine that when we excavated the ditch, we would find most of the stone features intact, although no parts were found of the drawbridge in the debris,” said Prof. Torpiano.
“The new drawbridge fits in very nicely with these features and provides the cherry on the cake. We feel it is quite faithful to the original and it actually works.”
The joinery of the drawbridge was undertaken by Woodware Ltd under the supervision of Charles Camilleri.
The restoration works envisaged for Fort Manoel within the perimeter of the bastion walls have all been completed, apart from interventions required for the interiors of the various spaces.
Two of the four bastion walls are also in their final stages, while the Couvre Porte in front of the Main Gate and the steps down to the sea have also been restored.