Landport tunnel conservation reveals original masonry beneath modern layers

“There are moments in a city’s history when a gateway is not merely repaired, it is reborn.”

These are the words of project manager Carl Viagas, who is overseeing the transformation of the Landport area.

Landport has been long regarded as little more than a traffic corridor.

Now the area is set to be not only a gateway into town but also into the newly developed historic Northern Defences.

To prepare for this, Mr Viagas recently deployed the team who usually work in the Northern Defences to the tunnel to what was initially a reason to get them out of the rain during the recent storms.

He was not expecting to see what the men uncovered.

“Visitors passing through Landport in recent years will recall walls obscured by heavy cement render, uneven surfaces, and a tunnel whose historic fabric had long been masked beneath layers of modern accretions,” he said.

“Those conditions are now changing.”

“At Landport Tunnel, careful conservation works are underway, including the removal of inappropriate cement render to reveal and breathe life back into the original masonry beneath.”

“The stripping back of modern coatings is not merely cosmetic; it allows the historic walls to function as intended, improves moisture performance, and restores architectural authenticity.”

At present, the team are unsure just how far back this work goes. It could be Moorish or Spanish in origin, and tests are being carried out on samples to determine dates.

A plaque on the entrance to the tunnel states that “Landport was rebuilt in 1727, after being the scene of bitter fighting in thirteen sieges.”

This could now be potentially disputed once findings from the samples are returned to Mr Viagas, who added that, for too long, Landport has been treated as little more than a passageway.

“Our aim is to transform it into a place of arrival, a space that reflects Gibraltar’s history, pride and ambition,” he said.

Therefore, beyond the works in the tunnel itself, the Landport area is being reimagined as a welcoming “entrance that will signal to visitors that they are stepping into something special,” said Mr Viagas added.

“This frontage will serve as a visual and experiential threshold, linking the urban fabric of the Old Town with the dramatic ascents of the Northern Defences, the Moorish Castle complex, and onward to the Gibraltar National Park.”

“For centuries, Landport marked the edge of Gibraltar, the defensive threshold between fortress and frontier,” said Mr Viagas.

“Today, it is becoming a civic gateway, an educational corridor, and the starting point of a renewed visitor journey through the Northern Defences.”

“Landport is no longer a forgotten entrance.”

“It is the front door to a new chapter in Gibraltar’s heritage story.”