| Fort Verdala | |
|---|---|
Il-Fortizza Verdala | |
| Part of theSanta Margherita Lines | |
| Cospicua,Malta | |
 Former barracks of Fort Verdala | |
| Site information | |
| Type | Fort |
| Owner | Government of Malta |
| Condition | Intact |
| Location | |
 | |
| Map of Fort Verdala | |
| Coordinates | 35°52′51.1″N14°31′26.5″E / 35.880861°N 14.524028°E /35.880861; 14.524028 |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1852–1856 |
| Built by | British Empire |
| In use | 1856–1977 |
| Materials | Limestone |
Fort Verdala (Maltese:Il-Fortizza Verdala), also known asVerdala Barracks, is a fortifiedbarracks inCospicua,Malta. It was built by the British in the 1850s within part of the bastions of the 17th centurySanta Margherita Lines. The fort was used as aprisoner-of-war camp in both World Wars, and was later known asHMSEuroclydon. It remained in use by the British military until 1977.
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Fort Verdala was built by theRoyal Engineers between 1852 and 1856. It was built on the central part of theSanta Margherita Lines, incorporating St. Margherita Bastion and St.Helen Bastion. The fort was named after the Verdala Curtain, thecurtain wall linking the two bastions. The fort itself consists of a barrack block surrounded bycasemated walls, which are surrounded by a shallow ditch.
By 1886, the fort was armed with 24-pounder smooth-borehowitzers. These armaments were removed in the 1890s, when the fort was converted into a barrack complex. InWorld War I, it became a prisoner-of-war camp, housing captured German prisoners includingFranz Joseph, Prince of Hohenzollern-Emden,Karl von Müller andKarl Dönitz.[1]Mahmud Hasan Deobandi, an Indian Muslim activist, was interned here after the unsuccessfulSilk Letter Movement against theBritish Raj.[2]
In the interwar period, Fort Verdala housed theRoyal Marines, before being converted into a naval store. In 1940, it was commissioned as astone frigate with the name HMSEuroclydon, and was used as a school for children ofRoyal Navy personnel. The school was closed in 1943 due to the threat ofaerial bombardment, and the fort became a POW camp once again. In 1945 it briefly served as a demobilisation centre, but was converted back into a naval school in 1947, housing only primary age children of Royal Navy personnel from the 1950s.[1][3]
Although it was a school, the fort continued to house navy personnel and Maltese servicemen, and occasionally members of other Commonwealth navies such as theRoyal Pakistan Navy.[4]
The fort was decommissioned and handed to theGovernment of Malta in 1977. It was then used by theVerdala International School, which moved toFort Pembroke,St. Andrew's in 1987. The fort then became astate school, first as Verdala Boys’ Secondary school, and later theco-educational St Margaret College Secondary School, Verdala.[1] The site also includes government housing units.[4][5]
 16th century | |
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| 17th century | |
| 18th century | |
 19th century | |
| 20th century | |