The section of the city wall is named after Prince Albert, Queen Victoria’s prince consort. The wall was built by the British in 1842, foundation stone laid on 22nd October 1842. This new straightening of the defence line was a recommendation by Major General Sir John Thomas Jones after his inspection in 1841. Princes Albert’s Front improved the defences by straining the walls and thus further protecting from a possible amphibious landing from the west. The old wall ran behind the current line, and one of the old towers from this wall can be seen in the car park to the rear of Prince Albert Front.
Princes Albert’s Front was built to mount 68-pdr cannon, but lack of funds delayed the arrival of these guns.
In 1859 the Front is shown to be armed with:
- Six 68-pdrs
- Thirteen 32-pdr
Return show that by 1886 the armament was:
- Three 80-pdr RMLs
- One 12.5-inch RML on Zoca Flank.
There is a fire step along much of the wall to allow infantry to fire down from the ramparts. There is one Traverse and one Side Arms Shed on the front, both of which survive today, although the area around is used for parking.
The Front is further protected by Zoca Flank which mounted a 12.5-inch 38-ton rifled muzzle loader (RML) behind a circular iron shield which was installed by 1879. This is similar to the other 12.5-inch guns on the City Walls at: