Portland Breakwater Fort

Portland Breakwater Fort

The Portland Breakwater Fort is a fort structure built to defend Portland Harbour. It is located at the Isle of Portland, Dorset, England. The fort is located on the outer breakwater in the commercial port of Portland Harbour - 1.5 miles (2.4 km) from the land. Locally known as Palmerston's Folly, it was one of four Victorian Iron Forts, the other three being the Breakwater Fort, Plymouth and two in Spithead Roads - No Man's Land Fort and Horse Sand Fort. It has been a Grade II Listed building since 1978.[1]

The fort is not open to the public and remains derelict.[2] Special permission from the port authority is needed to visit.[3] On the opposite side of the next stretch of the breakwater is the Portland Breakwater Lighthouse.

History and design

Portland Breakwater Fort

The construction of the circular sea fort started in 1868 and the building was completed in 1875, whilst the guns were added in 1892. Designed by Captain E. H. Steward of the Royal Engineers, the circular fort was planned in 1859 and was to be built of stone on a stone rubble base and equipped with 35 guns.[2] Intended as a casemented granite work following the 1859 Commission Report on the Defence of England, however due to subsidence, it was eventually constructed as an iron fort astride a granite base, and was constructed on a 200-foot (61 m) diameter ring of stone laid down on the seabed. The main floor consists of gun rooms and ports for 14 heavy guns. The roof's design allowed it to support two iron turrets for two planned guns each, but these were never installed. Below the gun floor are the shell and cartridge stores and engine rooms. The fort also has its own harbour and ancillary barrack buildings.[4] The fort cost £75,968 to build[5] and was built when Britain's military might was at its height in the 19th century and Portland Harbour was the largest man-made harbour in the world.[3]

In 1892, the fort was installed with seven 12.5-inch Rifled Muzzle-Loading cannons, and these were replaced in 1907 by two 6-inch breech-loading guns and two 12-pounder quick-firing guns, after the Owen review of 1905. For its operation during the First World War it was armed with two 6-inch breech-loading Mk. VII guns in addition to the 12-pounder guns, whilst coast artillery searchlights were also installed. In 1940-41 the fort was recommissioned, where it operated as an examination battery. During combat, thirty men would have been stationed on the fort at any one time, sheltered by the bomb-proof iron roof.[3] It was reduced to care and maintenance by February 1945 before it was abandoned in 1956 and handed over to the navy,[4] who would call the fort its original names Fort Head (North Head) or Fort Chequers.[5] For decades, remains of a 12 inch R.M.L. cannon were cut up and dumped into the sea, and could be seen out of the water.[6]

Since its closure, the National Mullet Angling Society have used the area for their annual fishing championships.[3] In 1995, Dorset Sculpture Trust attempted to seek finds from the Millennium Fund to turn site into an arts centre.[4] In 2005, BBC News published an article based on the fort's history after BBC Spotlight's Jonathan Hudston had an exclusive tour of the fort.[3] As of 2005, it was estimated that it would take £10 million to repair the fort for commercial use, and that it was not a priority for the current port owners.[3] As of 2000, the 19th century fort survives in good condition.[7] In the BBC article on the fort, it was noted that damp, including stalagmites and stalactites, were forming along the corridors.[3]

References

  1. ↑ Good Stuff IT Services. "Breakwater Fort - Portland - Dorset - England". British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 2013-01-25.
  2. 1 2 "Portland Breakwater Fort". Ecastles.co.uk. Retrieved 2013-01-25.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Breakwater Fort. "Dorset - History - Breakwater Fort". BBC. Retrieved 2013-01-25.
  4. 1 2 3 "Detailed Result: BREAKWATER FORT". Pastscape. 2006-08-08. Retrieved 2013-01-25.
  5. 1 2 http://victorianforts.co.uk/pdf/datasheets/portlandbreakwater.pdf
  6. ↑ "Breakwater Fort, Portland (700770)/12 inch R.M.L. remains, which were cut up and dumped into the sea". SouthEast Defence Photos. Retrieved 2013-01-25.
  7. ↑ Anderton, Michael J. (2000). World War Two Coastal Batteries. p. 70.

Coordinates: 50°35′06″N 2°24′51″W / 50.5849°N 2.4141°W / 50.5849; -2.4141

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