Brean Down Fort
Brean Down Fort | |
---|---|
National Trust | |
Open to the public | The site remains unlocked at all times, with volunteers manning buildings on summer weekends and Mon, Wed, Fri in summer school holidays |
Site history | |
Built | 1864–1871 rearmed in World War II |
In use | 1871–1901, 1940–1945 |
Garrison information | |
Garrison | Coast Brigade, Royal Artillery |
Brean Down Fort was a Victorian naval fortification designed to protect the Bristol Channel. It was built 60 feet (18 m) above sea level on the headland at Brean Down, 9 miles (14 km) south of Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, England.
The site has a long history because of its prominent position. The earliest recorded settlement is from the Early to Middle Bronze Age.
The current buildings were constructed in the 1860s as one of the Palmerston Forts to provide protection to the ports of the Bristol Channel, and was decommissioned in 1901. During World War II it was rearmed and used for experimental weapons testing.
The site has been owned by the
The fort was used as a location for filming of the second episode, "Warriors", of the BBC television drama Bonekickers.
The fort was also used for exterior scenes of the Royal Marines attack on the villains base on Cragfest Island in episode six of 1978 HTV series The Doombolt Chase.
Bronze Age to Roman
The earliest record settlement is from the Early to Middle Bronze Age. It is now on an exposed cliff as the land has been eroded by the sea. Bronze Age artefacts from the site include pottery and jewellery. Most of the finds are now in the Museum of Somerset in Taunton.[2] The presence of a probable roundhouse has also been detected.[3]
The site has also produced Roman gold and silver coins of the emperors Augustus, Nero, Drusus and Vespasian and a cornelian ring.[4]
Palmerston Fort
Brean Down Fort forms part of a
Four acres of land at the end of Brean Down were requisitioned in 1862,[5] with construction beginning in 1864 and completed in 1871.
The fort was originally armed with seven
In 1897, following wireless transmissions from
It was then used as a café, owned by the Hillman family from at least 1907 until sold in 1936 to the 'bird sanctuary people'.[citation needed]
World War II
On the outbreak of
Two gun positions were built to mount the ex-naval guns in their turrets. These were later protected with a "plastic" anti-aircraft roof. One position was built over the ruins of the old west battery and the other partly obscures the north west battery. The barrack blocks were converted and the windows partly blocked to reduce the effects of blast. Several other associated structures, including searchlight batteries for illuminating seaborne targets, a command post and the barracks for the garrison were built outside the original Palmeston fort.[12]
The site was manned by 365 and 366 Coast Batteries of
Several experimental weapons were trialled at Brean, by the
Some of the better known weapons trialled were the seaborne
Gallery
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The fort seen from the north path
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Officers quarters
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Gun emplacement
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Engine House
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The fort from the south path
See also
References
- Notes
- ^ "Historic Brean Down Fort re-opens after £431,000 renovation". This is the West County. 27 June 2002. Archived from the original on 11 May 2008. Retrieved 6 May 2008.
- ^ "Brean Down". National Monuments Record. English Heritage. Archived from the original on 2 October 2012. Retrieved 21 March 2011.
- ^ "Brean Down". National Monuments Record. English Heritage. Retrieved 21 March 2011.
- ^ "Hillfort, Brean Down". Somerset Historic Environment Record. South West Heritage Trust. Retrieved 21 March 2011.
- ^ a b "Victorian artillery battery, Brean Down". Somerset Historic Environment Record. South West Heritage Trust. Retrieved 6 May 2008.
- ^ a b "A look at Brean Down's historic background". Burnham on Sea. Archived from the original on 11 May 2008. Retrieved 6 May 2008.
- ^ "Marconi: Radio Pioneer". BBC South East Wales. Archived from the original on 22 July 2012. Retrieved 12 April 2008.
- ^ "Marconi at Brean Down (near Bristol)". International Marconi Day. Archived from the original on 19 February 2014. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
- ISBN 978-0-85296-845-1.
- ISBN 0-9529081-7-4. pages 71-75
- ^ ISBN 1-85306-863-2.
- ^ a b "Second-World-War Coast Artillery battery, Brean Down". Somerset Historic Environment Record. South West Heritage Trust. Retrieved 6 May 2008.
- ^ 571 Coast Rgt at Royal Artillery 1939–1945.
- ISBN 1-85753-080-2, Annexes H and M.
- ^ "Birnbeck Island Pier — A short history". Friends of the Old Pier Society. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 6 June 2007.
- ^ "Experimental weapon rails, Brean Down". Somerset Historic Environment Record. South West Heritage Trust. Retrieved 6 May 2008.
- Sources
- Hogg, Ian V (1974). Coast Defences of England and Wales 1856-1956. David & Charles. ISBN 0-7153 6353-0.
- van der Bijl, Nicholas (2000). Brean Down Fort: Its History and the Defence of the Bristol Channel. Cossington: Hawk Editions. ISBN 0-9529081-7-4.
Further reading
- Brown, Donald (1999). Somerset V Hitler: Secret Operations in the Mendips 1939–1945. Newbury: Countryside Books. ISBN 1-85306-590-0.