FORT Marlborough East India Company established under the leadership of Governor Joseph Callet. The fort is south facing and has an area of 44,100 square meters. Form XVIII century castle (1914) resembles a tortoise. Wide moat surrounded the main door and is connected by bridge to the gate inside. According to the local community, this castle has a door out underground.
Fort Marlborough is the biggest legacy of Indonesia's largest English. Marlborough Castle really is not just a military fortress, because it is built for the sake of trade; guarantee the smooth supply of pepper for the British trading companies, East India Company, and supervision of commercial shipping lane through the Sunda Strait. Fortress dual role: military defense headquarters as well as office and commercial center of British rule.
Bengkulu is the capital of the presidency (a collection of area residents) England on the west coast of Sumatra. Region was controlled from Fort Marlborough. Britain had also built forts and functions similar to a larger role in Madras, India, the Fort St. George. From this Madras, East India Company to develop the influence to the Asia Pacific region, including Bengkulu.
Fort Marlborough inhabited by civil servants and British soldiers. In a note the British Library, Oriental and India Office Collections in 1792 there were 90 civilian and military personnel live and work in Fort Marlborough. Officials or senior officers live in the castle with the family environment. This fortress-like dwelling in a small city with thick walls. Like life, the records concerning marriage, baptism, and death "resident" even this fortress can still be saved.
Marlborough Castle spatial design reflects the diversity of community activities. The complex of buildings is 44100.5 square meters, but the total buildings in the fort only about 20 percent. Part fort the rest function as open space. Castle Buildings Marlborough is very strong physically, among others, proved when an earthquake measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale devastated thousands of buildings and settlements Bengkulu earthquake of 2000 and to 7.9 on the Richter scale, the fort was no significant damage. In fact, the construction of the fort was not using reinforced concrete.
The basic design Fort Marlborough quadrangular. This design resembles a turtle, marked with four parts of the buildings angled like legs, and a group of buildings resembling the head of a turtle. The top of this building is connected to a circular courtyard cannon placements, as well as facilitate the mobility shift cannon. Another feature of this fortress are two layers of defense walls, so that when the front wall can be penetrated by the opponent, may soon withdraw troops and conduct the defense of the second wall.
The first phase of construction of the fort completed in 1718 with the main gate of the fort on the west side. Parts of the building resembles a turtle's head and then added in 1783. With this addition to the castle gate system layered defense. Robustness of the castle is reflected from the outer wall thickness of 8.65 meters and thickness as high as three meters. While the wall thickness of about 1.8 meters. Building materials such as rock, stone, and brick with an adhesive mixture of lime, sand, cement and red.
To enter the castle from the main gate, we must pass through two bridges that cross the dry gullies. Berkedalaman trench about 1.8 meters by 3.6 meters wide. Wooden bridges over the dry moat that originally was never to be appointed permanently to inhibit enemy movement. After the first gate, we're going down a short hallway with arched ceiling. Four large stone embedded on one side of these arches. The gravestones is a memorial of death a number of top brass castle, among others, Deputy Governor of England Richard Watts, died in 1705. Although the English-language memorial written in the old-fashioned letter, but most are still clearly readable.
Out of the entrance arches after this, we will down the road in the open space towards the second bridge. On the south side of the road was lined three tombs, one of which grave-Resident Thomas Parr was killed in December 1807. The existence of the cemetery showing the function of the fort to accommodate all the activities of residents from birth to death. Through the second bridge 3.25 meters altitude from the bottom of the ditch below him, arrived at the gate known as the great gate (main gate). Wooden doors on the second gate is still intact despite being nearly 300 years old. This leaves the door wearing lime wood species said to have originated from Kalimantan.
Three room we find on the left once through the great gate had functioned as the residence of the officers. These rooms in 1873 difngsikan as an armory. The first room resembles a 13.5-meter long tunnel with a width of about five meters. Inside there are three "kids room" measuring approximately 1.5 meters x 4.5 meters. This space seemed like a thick concrete closet. At the end of the hall there are doors leading to the basement down the fort buildings. Dark and humid in the spaces below give the impression penyusuran part of this castle smelled adventure. Space below mentioned function as a storage property.
On the other side of the entrance gate, we'll see a room with function is the main guard room or space that is not the castle guards on duty. On the inside, there are two military detention room. On one of the walls of the detention room was seen paintings and charcoal records in the ancient Dutch. Posts made by prisoners in the fortress estimated.
Along the south wing of Fort Marlborough there are rows of barracks room to sleep. Each room has one door facing the courtyard inside the castle. Though made of iron bars, doors are designed arches and pretty impressed. Curved design also looks at the ceiling. Office complex located in the north wing of the castle. Before the 1780s, the north side of this fort functioned into the family room and the senior civilian official residence single officer. While the warehouse and the governor's residence located on the west.
In his day, the castle is managed by a board consisting of the deputy governor as head of the occupied territories, the commander of the fort as a military leader, assisted by two officers. Other high officials is a kind of trade chief (senior merchant). In 1792, registered 18 trade attache office at Fort Marlborough. Some trade chief also serves as head of the territory or resident of the area along the western coast of Sumatra, among others, Manna, Lais, Christmas, Tapanuli, and Krui. In 1792 a clerk carrying nine people work and live in a castle. Technicians, health workers, the organist, until the carpenter had inhabited this castle.
In the middle of the fort, humble page in a grassy green with some shade trees. Pages in this large enough to function for a variety of military activity during that period, such as ceremonies and skill training. In this field also read the court's decision and the testimony of military execution. While the page shaded by trees with views of the high seas, a place to relax. The path connecting the main gate of the south with the north gate are in the middle of the page. North side of the gate is also connected by a wooden bridge outside the castle environment.
From the top wall of the fort or bastion, observed stretch of open sea. To raise the cannon in firing position on the bastion, built some of the incline of the order of bricks at the corners of this fort. In the bastion, we also can observe the channel showcase rooms such as chimneys. The mouth of the chimney was given the umbrella cone made of zinc so that air can circulate, but shielded from the outpouring of water. Exploring this castle would be complete without a down hallways underneath. Underground passageways are narrow and dark was the place where weapons storage. There is also an underground passageway connecting the fort with a way out without passing through the gates.
