St PHILIP’S GUARD ROOM Reconstructed
A hidden defence
Buried below Argotti Gardens is a curious feature for any railway: a hidden gun emplacement protecting the railway tunnel from infiltration. Because the railway penetrated the fortifications protecting Valletta from the landward side, the British Military forces demanded that measures were taken to prevent them being weakened. The guardhouse was one such measure.
The original drawings, signed-off by the military, survive in the National Archives of Malta and offer a detailed basis from which to build a model. Surprisingly, most of the structure still survives where it was built, but, being subterranean, is difficult to appreciate. This model was designed to help understand the series of interconnected spaces as they were first laid out.
One feature of interest was the pit supposed to have been dug below the track in the tunnel, and the “lifting bridge” that was supposed to be installed over it. Frustratingly, there are few details of this on the drawing, but the raised vault over the same section was probably designed for the bridge structure to be elevated into to expose the pit. Whether this was implemented is unclear.
