The following text is from the original listed building designation:
TR 34 SW DOVER DROP REDOUBT ROAD
(south side), Western Heights
865/7/10008
Grand Shaft stairs and attached
railings
II
Underground spiral stair. 1803-05, by Sir Thomas Hyde Page, RE, under Lt Col William Twiss, RE Divisior Engineer. Brick and cast-iron. Three concentric flights of winder stairs round an open shaft, the opening at the top, with curved stairs meeting in a single flight up to the former parade ground in front of the barracks. SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: iron railings with urn finials found top of shaft and to stairs up, with a lamp standard on the stairs. HISTORY: connected the Grand Shaft Barracks (demolished) with Snargate Street at the base of the cliffs, to allow the rapid movement of troops between the barracks and the shore. The three stairs were designated for 'gentlemen and their ladies, officers and their wives, and soldiers and their women'. A 'bold and imaginative solution to communication problems (and) a unique piece of military engineering.' (Coad) (Post Medieval Arch: Coad J: The Later Fortifications of Dover: 1982-: 141-200).
Listing NGR: TR3110241449

Description from record TR 34 SW 210:
(TR 31614090) Grand Shaft (NAT) (1)

The Grand Shaft, a unique structure with triple spiral staircases was completed in 1802 to give rapid access from the harbour area to the defences (TR 34 SW:82) on the Heights as part of a series of permanent defences. (2)

The Grand Shaft is a remarkable structure linking the cliff top with the street below. It consists of two vertical brick shafts, one within the other, giving a light well in the centre and having three spiral staircases in the space between the two brick shafts. From the foot of the shaft a short tunnel leads into Snargate Street. The Snargate Street entrance was found to be in a reasonable state of repair in 1993 (6) (See illustration card). (3)

Reinstatement works carried out in 1994. (4)

Additional information (5, 7, 8, 9)

Captain Hyde Page designed the shaft and Major General Twiss ordered its construction. The Grand Shaft gave its name to the barracks, which were contemporaneously constructed near its top. The Shaft continued to be used until after the Second World War when it closed and slipped in to decay. The Grand Shaft barracks were demolished in 1965. The Shaft has been restored and is in use again. (10)

Evaluation work on entrance. Five small pits were dug suggesting that considerable structural detail could be exposed during restoration work in the future.(12)

Additional information (11)

From the National Heritage list of England:

Troops needed to be able to move rapidly between the Heights and the town below and this was facilitated by the construction of the Grand Shaft staircase. The Grand Shaft was built between 1805 and 1807 to a design by Capt Hyde Page and consists of three spiral staircases around a vertical circular brick shaft which descends for 140 steps to a tunnel linking up with Snargate Street. Slightly north of the Grand Shaft was the Grand Shaft Barracks with accommodation for 1,300 men, 59 officers and eight horses. Both this and a 180 bed military hospital near the Archcliffe Gate were completed in 1804 but have subsequently been demolished to foundation level.

The shaft and the former site of the associated barracks were surveyed in 1999. (13)

English Heritage, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest (Map). SKE16160.

<1> OS 1:1250, 1968 (OS Card Reference). SKE48192.

<2> Bennett, D., 1977, A Handbook of Kent's Defences 1540-1945, H'book of Kent's Defences 1540-1945, 1977, 17, 24 (D Bennett) (Monograph). SKE7811.

<3> Doug Crellin, 1973, Dover's 19th Century Fortifications - Part 2, K A R 33 1973 73-76 (D Crellin) (Article in serial). SKE7827.

<4> Grand Shaft Lower Entrance: Reinstatement Works 1994 (Roger Joyce, Architects, Stowting, Kent) (OS Card Reference). SKE43630.

<5> Canterbury Archaeological Trust, 1990, Dover Western Heights: Grand Shaft Barracks: An Interim Archaeological Assessment Preparatory to Evaluation (Unpublished document). SKE6727.

<6> Canterbury Archaeological Trust, 1993, The Dover Grand Shaft Project: Report on Archaeological Work at the Snargate Street Entrance (Unpublished document). SKE6833.

<7> Roger Joyce Architect, 1994, Status Report on the Grand Shaft Lower Entrance Reinstatement Works for Impact (Unpublished document). SKE6880.

<8> Doug Crellin, 1973, 19th Century Fortifications, Dover - Part 1, KAR 32 p44-46 D Crellin (Article in serial). SKE7826.

<9> Coad, J. G. and Lewis, P. N., 1982, The Later Fortifications of Dover, Post-Medieval Archaeology, Number 16 1982 (Article in serial). SKE7828.

<10> Victor Smith and Andrew Saunders, 2001, Kent's Defence Heritage, KD176 (Unpublished document). SKE6956.

<11> Canterbury Archaeological Trust, The Dover Grand Shaft: Assessment of Archaeological Works Required at Snargate Street Entrance (Unpublished document). SKE8104.

<12> Canterbury Archaeological Trust, 1994, The Dover Grand Shaft Project Snargate Street Entrance Report on Second Phase Ground Works (Unpublished document). SKE8368.

<13> RCHME, 2000, The Western Heights, Dover, Kent. Report No 4: The Grand Shaft Barracks, 19th and 20th-century infantry barracks (Unpublished document). SKE17499.