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in the earthen part it has two towers with their blunderbusses and in one of them three very good and very well-mounted bronze cannons. All these cannons are very well provisioned with balls and powder”. Lieutenant Colonel José de Ribas wrote in 1859 that it could have been of great use in the event of maritime war, since it could “act as barracks for infantry and cavalry, quarters for officers, supply stores and other applications useful for war”, since “the buildings currently inhabitable at the Zara castle are big enough to house a considerable force of infantry and cavalry and the spacious yards within the walls are big enough for battle formations three-deep and for inspections or other military exercises with three to four thousand infantry and three to four hundred cavalry. These advantageous proportions offered by the castle of Zara make it highly recommendable in particular for establishing the battery I am proposing, and since some buildings are already available it could be done at little cost. This battery could be of great use because crossing its fire with the Plata tower and with the battery I propose to establish at the Barbate mill, it would provide complete security for the large inlets and anchorages of Zara and Barbate and will protect their beaches.” Inside the site, on the west wall and facing what is now Calle Doctores Sánchez Rodríguez,
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Plano realizado por el Teniente Coronel Comandante de Artillería en el Campo de Gibraltar D. José de Ribas. Año 1859. Biblioteca Nacional.
From 1936 to 1974 the building was used as barracks, first for the army and then for the Guardia Civil
a building constructed by the National TrapNet Fishing Consortium is an important element. This building constitutes a palacete, a small palace; it was erected on part of the pre-existing wall and has two stories plus a watchtower. It is clearly differentiated from the rest of the complex and was built in a round 1930. In the view of María Teresa Pérez Cano and Eduardo Mosquera, it is likely that this building was commissioned by Serafín Romeu, Count of Barbate, who a few years before had taken on the task, together with the architect from Jerez Francisco Hernández, of building a number of structures in the area, including a church, a school and the drinking water supply for Barbate, as well as salting factories in San Fernando and Isla Cristina. This palacete was initially conceived as a residence for the captain of the trap-net fishery and offices. It is likely that the same architect also designed the Zahara’s old school located on Calle Almadraba, built in 1932 by Serafín Romeu. From 1936 to 1974 the building was used as barracks, first for the army and then for the Guardia Civil. This function was combined with other uses, including residential ones, with several local families living on the site, and it was also used as a carpentry workshop, which led to its nickname el motor, by which the Palacio is still known, owing to the generator that was installed there.