Grain Fort

Grain Fort was built in the 1860s on the Isle of Grain (not a true island) at the eastern tip of the Hoo peninsula to control the entrance to the Medway, Kent, England. All surface structures were demolished in the 1960s, leaving only underground passages.

Grain Tower Battery

Nearby, about half a mile offshore at 51°27′06″N 0°43′53″E / 51.45168°N 0.73125°E and accessible on foot at low tide, is the 1855 Grain Tower Battery, an extensively remodelled East Coast-type Martello Tower.[1] During the Second World War it was manned and had three guns on the roof.[2] The building, with address Number 1, The Thames, Sheerness ME3, was bought from the Crown Estate in approximately 2005 by a private owner, and offered for sale again from 2010.[3] It was still available as of 2014, with a guide price of £500,000.[4]

Guns

The Battery originally housed three smooth bore guns. These were replaced by two 4.7 Quick Firing guns from the Wing battery in 1912. In 1940, during the Second World War, a pair of 6 pounder QF guns were installed. The battery was disarmed in the 1950s.

Floating boom

At the start of the First World War, in 1914 a floating boom was put across the entrance to the River Medway. It stretched across from Sheerness to the Grain Tower and stopped enemy ships from entering. The remains of the chain are still wrapped around the base of the Tower.

Additional buildings

A 2 storey barrack accommodation block was built, and the 4 storey observation tower was added during the Second World War.

End of military use

After the guns and personnel were removed in the 1950s the site was eventually sold in 2005 to a private owner.

Grain Tower Battery.

Garrison Point Fort lies the other side of the Medway.

References

  1. ↑ Grain Tower Battery
  2. ↑ BBC Kent: Unique fort on the Isle of Grain is up for sale, 11 May 2010. Headline misleadingly implies Grain Fort, but the text correctly names the Tower Battery.
  3. ↑ Zoopla: 1 bed property for sale, Guide price £500,000, No 1 The Thames, Sheerness ME3
  4. ↑ Kennedy, Maev (14 August 2014). "Disused Thames fort for sale at £500,000". Guardian. Retrieved 14 August 2014.

External links

Coordinates: 51°27′26″N 0°43′11″E / 51.45720°N 0.71970°E