St Anthony da Alfândega (fort)
Original title: Forte de Santo António da Alfândega
A redoubt built in 1644–45 on the walls of the Funchal Customs House to cover the beach with crossfire; it was later turned into warehouses.
The order to build a salient in the enclosing walls and in the courtyard of the Alfândega Grande (Great Customs House) dates from 1644. Its purpose was to sweep the beach with crossfire, and the customs-house gate was opened for greater convenience ‘in the loading and unloading of goods’.
This fort had 11 embrasures; the site was later turned into warehouses. It bore the following inscription:
Manuel de Sousa Mascarenhas, being governor and captain-general of this Island of Madeira, had this redoubt and its gates made by order of His Majesty in the year 1645, Manuel Vieira Cardoso being superintendent.