Golden Hill Fort

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Golden Hill Fort was a defensible barracks built as part of the Palmerston defences by the 1859 Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom to provide manpower to man the defences at the western end of the Isle of Wight, England. The Fort is a local landmark which is in a very prominent position overlooking much of the land looking south towards Afton Down. Whilst operational, the area was kept clear of vegetation to allow views out to the Solent. The name Golden Hill refers not to the spectacular golden display of gorse but to an historic landowner named Gauden.

The building, which is a Grade 1 Listed Building, is now in private ownership and not open to the public. It is derelict and has been unused for many years, passing through numerous owners. Planning consent was granted some years ago for conversion to residential use, but this has only been recently implemented. The current proposed conversion into 18 luxury apartments is due to be completed towards the end of 2008 to early 2009. The developers are working closely with English Heritage, to restore the fort to its original state.^{[citation needed]}

The surrounding land is open to the public. It is managed as a country park by the Isle of Wight Council, and is an open grassland with bridleways, viewpoints and a small car park.

The soil types on which it stands are complex and support a wide range of plants, including the chalk loving yellow-wort and dwarf thistle, dyer’s greenweed, a feature of neutral soils and gorse which is associated with more acid soils. These attract a good range of butterflies. The habitats vary and there is a transition between open grassland, scrub and woodland.