IN 1957, the date of the last major tattoo, the British Garrison left Bermuda, having been in defensive residence in the island since 1701. Prior to the latter date, we defended ourselves, though only once in 1614 were the early forts challenged.

On that occasion with two Spanish warships offshore, we managed to spill the only cask of powder under the gun as it fired the one and only ball of deterrent we could muster. The Spaniards did not return fire, setting sail for Europe without tasting the delights of early St. George's Town, recorded by them as "New London".

One hundred and sixty years then passed in relative external harmony, though internal strife, some physical but mostly political, arose from time to time. In 1774, the British colonies in New England rebelled against a tax on their tea, perhaps the first consumer revolt of modern times.

Tax-free tea may have become a reality in 1783 as the colonies gained Independence from Britain and set in train the foundations of democratic rule, the United States becoming an icon of political ideals to many nations around the world.

Bermuda played both sides in the war and managed, in exchange for the illegal transfer of some of the governor's gunpowder to the "Americans", to maintain the flow of food to the island. Then as now, we are entirely reliant on the US for our daily bread, both the stuff we eat and the stuff we consume. Kept off the US food embargo of other British colonies, we later benefited immeasurably by the defending of Bermuda against attack by the United States.

For more than a century, the British Army and the Royal Navy spent millions of pounds building a great naval base and several dozen forts. The first period of forts were erected for the use of cannon, a weapon invented in the early Renaissance and lasting for three centuries as the major military tool of many early modern states.

The greatest surviving monuments of this era in Bermuda are the fortifications of the Dockyard and some of the forts in St. George's Parish, the last now World Heritage Site entities.

In the 1850s, technological advances made the cannon obsolete, along with the floating forts that were the great warships of the days of sail. The new guns that came into being at that time were called Rifled Breech Loaders and later on Rifled Muzzle Loaders.

Bermuda has more than 40 of these weapons, one of the largest collections in the world, ranging from guns of half a ton firing six-pound projectiles to 38-ton RMLS lobbing shells over 800 pounds in weight.

The new type of gun required new forms of fortifications and the building boom of the 1820-1840s was repeated in the 1860s and 1870s. This time it extended into the centre of Bermuda, with the building of three major works called the Prospect Position, comprising Forts Langton, Prospect and Hamilton.

Southampton and Sandys Parishes also benefited as two new forts, Whale Bay and Scaur Hill, were thrown up as additional deterrents to the Americans. At the East End, Alexandra Battery was a new work, while Forts Cunningham, Albert, Catherine, Victoria and George received major renovations.

AMAZINGLY, given the destructive proclivities of some, all of these forts survive, with the exception of Fort Langton, demolished in 1984. At that time, we understood little about the value and history of each fort and as it transpired, Fort Langton was the least well recorded in official records.

It was unknown until some time after its demise that it was unlike any other fort in Bermuda, having both coastal and landward components, each firing different types of guns.

In 1984, the sense was that one fort was the same as another and hence the preservation community acquiesced in its destruction for the expediency of a bus depot. Many Bermudian boys knew the fort only as the island's sex education centre and in the broad light of day, it was an adventure to scale the fence and learn by anthropological observation the offensive tactics of the human battleground.

At the time of the demolition, we were able to record some features of Fort Langton, recover three cannon and take away the monumental stones of its gate. This could not have been accomplished without the great assistance of team from Island Construction Services, the management of which later donated funds for the restoration of the gate at the Maritime Museum.

The stones of the gate were pieces of carved hard local limestone, probably from the Dockyard. The keystone is dated 1881, Fort Langton being completed as it was being made obsolete by new gun technology of the early 1880s. Queen Victoria still had 20 years remaining of her long reign and her initials VR also appears on the keystone.

We needed a gate for the courtyard to the west of Commissioner's House and the reconstruction of the Fort Langton stones served that practical purpose, while placing a major piece of military heritage on permanent exhibit.

The stonework was put back together by master mason Dennis Butterfield of Sandys Parish. The magnificent wooden gates were the creation of Austin Collin Carpenter, known to us as "Guns", an outstanding historian of British artillery and maker, with his wife Jenny, of replica cannon and carriages.

THIS was a window, nay, a doorway, of opportunity to give Bermudians and visitors a permanent view of the fine stone carving and proud gateway that once graced a unique fortification. Fort Langton was perhaps needlessly sacrificed on the altar of progress, as we failed to appreciate that the advancement of tourism and the well being of Bermuda is inexorably linked to the preservation and accessibility of its monumental heritage.

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Dr. Edward Harris, MBE, JP, FSA, Bermudian, is the Executive Director of the Bermuda Maritime Museum. The views expressed here are his opinion and not necessarily those of the trustees or staff of the Museum. Comments can be sent to drharrislogic.bm, to PO Box MA 133, Sandys MABX, or by telephone at 734-1298.