Old Fortress or Old Cubilete

Santa Cruz de Tenerife · Category: Memory · Subcategory: Sites of memory · Year: 1553 · Authors: Francisco Merino

Due to the limited effectiveness of the first defensive infrastructure that existed in Santa Cruz called “El Baluarte”, in 1547 the Island Council proposed building a new fortress to improve the old one. Lack of funds made this impossible at that time. It was necessary to wait until the French pirate Le Clerc, “Peg Leg”, sacked the prosperous city of Santa Cruz de La Palma in 1553, for the governor of Tenerife, Juan López de Cepeda, to accelerate the procedures to build the long-awaited fortress in Santa Cruz de Tenerife a year later.

The new defensive structure was located next to the old Baluarte, between the Caleta and the Carnicería beach. The work was carried out by the master stonemason Sebastián Merino, based on plans sent by his brother Francisco, a stonemason from Las Palmas.

The construction was a sturdy rectangular structure with irregularities adapting to the terrain, both due to the rugged coastline and the slope of the site. Its main characteristic was the existence of two small towers or cubelos, built on the corners nearest the sea, one facing the Caleta and the other facing the Carnicería beach. Both were topped with battlements for artillery emplacement.

The building was made of ashlar at its base and rubble masonry elsewhere. It had no rooms, only a space for the staircase leading up to the walled parade ground, where the embrasures opened. The main entrance was on the side opposite the sea and was topped by the coats of arms of Spain and Tenerife.

This fortress, also known as cubilete, was armed in 1557. For years, given its structural shortcomings, works were continuously carried out to improve or reform it; such was the case with the addition of a wall on the north side, which gave rise to the formation of a central courtyard. 

Despite everything, this structure never convinced the various military engineers who began arriving on the islands with the aim of fortifying the Canarian coasts, now threatened by multiple fronts during the reign of Philip II. Its poor location and low height caused the War Council in 1575 to resolve to build a new fortress further north, on the site occupied by the hermitage of La Consolación, a much better oriented area for coastal defence. This was the beginning both of the new Castle of San Cristóbal and the dismantling of the Old Fortress, which began to be dismantled in 1576. Its materials were used for the construction of the new Castle of San Cristóbal, destined to become a symbol for the city until its disappearance in the 20th century.

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