1677. Fears of a Dutch and French attack resulted in the castle being maintained until the 1690s. The castle was neglected at the start of the 18th century, and a survey in 1715 reported that it was in a "ruinous condition" and that none of its artillery had been adequately maintained. A renewed threat from France prompted fresh work: in 1741, Lamberd's Bulwarke was strengthened, and in 1748 the government then renamed the bulwark the Grand Battery, transforming it into a two-tiered platform armed with twelve guns. The older parts of the castle were retained by the town and used primarily for accommodation and storage. The port of Dartmouth began to decline in importance, however, with nearby Plymouth taking over much of its former trade. 19th–21st centuries Dartmouth Castle was garrisoned during the Napoleonic Wars by the volunteer Dartmouth Artillery unit, but saw no active service. At the end of the conflict, the castle's guns were reduced in number and the garrison cut back to a single, caretaker gunner. In 1820, there were only two serviceable guns and, in 1847, the writer Clarkson Stanfield observed that the castle, while picturesque, was "not spacious, and mounts but a few guns". The introduction of shell guns and steam ships during the 1840s created a new risk that the French might successfully attack along the south coast, and fears grew of a conflict in the early 1850s. Further worries about France, combined with the development of rifled cannon and iron-clad warships, led to the Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom being established in 1859, and expressing fears about the security of the south coast. As a result, the Grand Battery at Dartmouth Castle was rebuilt and retitled the Dartmouth Point Battery, with shell-proof, granite defences protecting three traversing gun emplacements for 68-pounder guns looking out to sea, and two 10-inch 86 cwt. guns on the roof; one small 8-inch howitzer protected the entrance to the harbour itself. It was manned by three professional soldiers, and a team of over fifty-five reservists, drawn from the newly formed Sixth Devonshire Artillery Volunteer Corps. The castle, however, was of low military priority, only of importance because the harbour might be used to as a staging post to attack Plymouth, and the guns allocated it were old-fashioned. A further upgrade in 1888 again installed only out-dated artillery pieces. By 1909, the bulk of the