Garrison Point Fort
Garrison Point Fort | |
---|---|
Sheerness, Kent, England | |
Coordinates | 51°26′49″N 0°44′40″E / 51.4469°N 0.74441°E |
Type | Fortification |
Site information | |
Owner | Medway Ports Ltd |
Condition | Intact |
Site history | |
Built | 1861–72 |
Built by | United Kingdom |
In use | 1872–1956 |
Materials | Concrete, granite, brick |
Garrison Point Fort is a former
Strategic context
The fort was constructed in response to a naval arms race between Britain and France. Britain's coastal defences had not been substantially upgraded since the Napoleonic Wars, but a new generation of accurate and powerful guns, mounted on fast-moving, manoeuvrable iron-clad warships, had obsoleted the existing 18th and early 19th century forts along the British coastline. The Thames was seen as particularly vulnerable; as well as being one of the country's most important trade routes, it possessed several naval installations of great importance, including the victualling yards at Deptford, the armaments works of Woolwich Arsenal, the shipbuilding yards at North Woolwich, and the magazines at Purfleet.[2]
The government's response to the increased threat was to appoint a Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom, which published a far-reaching report in 1860. It recommended that many existing forts should be upgraded or rebuilt entirely, and that new forts should be constructed to guard particularly strategic or vulnerable points along the coast. In all, around 70 forts and batteries were constructed around the English coast as a result of the Royal Commission's report.[3]
Garrison Point had long been fortified. A square
Construction and layout
Construction began in February 1861[5] and continued until the last of its shielding was installed in June 1872, by which time about half of the guns were already in place.[6] The new fort took the form of a semi-circular structure, one of only two built in the 1860s fortification programme (the other being Picklecombe Fort in Cornwall). It had two gun floors, each with 17 granite-faced casemates, in which 36 heavy guns were mounted behind 2,000 tons of iron shields. Another two gun turrets were planned for the roof but were not built. The magazines were located below ground in the basement of the fort. The bulk of the structure was built of brick, with concrete additions. The walls and piers are 4.4 metres (14 ft) thick. The semi-circular row of casemates is closed off to the rear by a row of defensible buildings constructed from ashlar blocks of Kentish ragstone, with loopholes and gun ports in the flanks to facilitate close defence of the fort. A parade ground occupied the middle of the fort.[1][4]
Operational history
Garrison Point Fort was initially armed with 9-inch and 10-inch rifled muzzle loader (RML) guns. By 1880 its armament had been expanded to include 9-inch, 10-inch, 11-inch and 12.5-inch RMLs. A Brennan torpedo station, used to launch wire-guided torpedoes, was added to the fort's structure in 1884 and remained in use until around 1906. The RMLs were obsolete by the end of the 19th century and had been removed by 1896, when the casemates were all converted to barracks and stores. In 1909 two 6-inch Mk. VII breech-loading (BL) guns were mounted on the fort's roof and four 12-pounder quick-firing guns were installed in a lower tier of the casemates.[1][4]
A coastal artillery searchlight and concrete magazine were constructed to the east of the fort during the
After the war, the fort was used by the
Current status
The fort has been a Grade II listed building since 1977[8] and is part of the wider system of the Sheerness defences, listed as a scheduled monument.[9] It is owned by Medway Ports Ltd, the operators of the Sheerness Docks, and is not publicly accessible as it lies within the port area. Some alterations have been made to the fort to enable its use in connection with the port. It was used for a time in the 1980s as a terminal for a now-defunct ferry service to the Continent, which involved fitting a walkway to the ferries through one of the casemates.[1] A navigational radar control tower was installed on the fort's roof in 1962.[10]
Garrison Point Fort is reportedly in a state of "slow decay" which has led it to be listed on the
References
- ^ a b c d e f Saunders, Andrew; Smith, Victor (2001). "Garrison Point Fort". Kent's Defence Heritage – Gazetteer Part One. Kent County Council.
- ^ Wilson, J.D. (December 1963). "Later Nineteenth Century Defences of the Thames, including Grain Fort". Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research. XLI (168): 182.
- ^ Historic England. "Slough Fort and wing batteries (1021405)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 19 July 2015.
- ^ a b c d Historic England. "Garrison Point Fort (924100)". Research records (formerly PastScape). Retrieved 19 July 2015.
- ^ "Naval and Military Intelligence". Hereford Times. 2 February 1861.
- ^ "Southend". Chelmsford Chronicle. 21 June 1872.
- ISBN 978-0-7509-5331-3.
- ^ Historic England. "Garrison Point Fort (1259029)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 19 July 2015.
- ^ Historic England. "Sheerness defences (420259)". Research records (formerly PastScape). Retrieved 19 July 2015.
- ^ "Exploring Kent's Past - Garrison Point Fort". Kent County Council. Retrieved 19 July 2015.
- ^ "Heritage At Risk Register - Garrison Point Fort". English Heritage. Archived from the original on 21 July 2015. Retrieved 19 July 2015.