Palmerston Forts, Isle of Wight

The Palmerston Forts are a group of forts and associated structures built during the Victorian period on the recommendations of the 1860 Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom. The name comes from their association with Lord Palmerston, who was Prime Minister at the time and promoted the idea.

Isle of Wight
Locations of Palmerston Forts on the Isle of Wight.
Plan of the Victorian defences of the Isle of Wight

The structures were built as a response to a perceived threat of a French invasion. The works were also known as Palmerston's Follies as, by the time they were completed the threat (if it had ever existed) had passed, largely due to the Franco-Prussian war of 1870 and technological advancements leading to the guns becoming out-of-date.[1]

As well as new structures, extensive modifications were made to existing defences.

The defences on the Isle of Wight were built to protect the approaches to the Solent, Southampton and Portsmouth. They consist of three separate groups, those at the western end of the island, those at the eastern end, and four built in the Solent.

The information in the tables is taken from documents for each site, from the Victorian Forts website.[2]

Western end
A 12.5 inch gun from Cliff End Battery
Site name Location Open to the public? Construction began Construction ended Cost Grid reference Map
Fort Victoria Sconce Point, Yarmouth Y 1852 1855 £40,000[3] SZ338897
Fort Albert (aka 'Cliff End Fort') Cliff End, Freshwater N 1854[3] 1856 Unknown SZ329890
Freshwater Redoubt Freshwater Bay N 1855 1856 Unknown SZ344855
The Needles Batteries Alum Bay Y 1861 1863 £7,656 SZ295848
Warden Point Battery Warden Point, Freshwater N 1862 1863 £12,899 SZ325876
Cliff End Battery Cliff End, Freshwater N 1862 1868 £32,714 SZ332890
Golden Hill Fort Afton Down N 1863 1868 £38,022 SZ339879
Hatherwood Battery Alum Bay Y 1865 1869 £5,825 SZ307858
The New Needles Battery Alum Bay Y 1893 1895 £9,821[4] SZ299847
Bouldnor Battery Bouldnor N 1937 1938 Unknown SZ379902

Eastern end
Site name Location Open to the public? Construction began Construction ended Cost Grid reference Map
Puckpool Battery Puckpool Point Y 1863 1865 20,864 SZ615923
Nodes Point Battery Nodes Point Y 1901 1904 £21,654 SZ635898
Steynewood Battery Whitecliff Bay N 1889 1893 Unknown SZ641869
Culver Battery Culver Down Y 1904 1906 Unknown SZ638855
Bembridge Fort Bembridge Down N 1862 1867 £48,925 SZ624861
Redcliff Battery Culver Down Y 1861 1863 £4,776 SZ638855
Yaverland Battery Yaverland Y 1861 1864 15,183 SZ612849
Sandown Fort Sandown Bay Y 1861 1864 £73,876 SZ597839
Sandown Barrack Battery Sandown Bay Y 1861 1863 £62,331 SZ594837
  • List of forts on the Isle of Wight

Solent
gollark: This is also unacceptable discrimination.
gollark: This is actually unacceptable discrimination and banned under UK law.
gollark: The wall bees haven't given me a task yet.
gollark: Yes, that.
gollark: How do you know? You don't have actual ground truth to compare against.

References
  1. "'Palmerston's Follies': a reply to the French 'threat'". www.napoleon.org. Retrieved 3 September 2009.
  2. Victorian Forts website citation sheets for each location. Retrieved 2012-01-22. (PDF files).
    • Cantwell, Anthony (1985). Fort Victoria: 1852–1969. Isle of Wight County Council Cultural Service. ISBN 0-906328-32-2.
  4. "The Needles Battery – History of the New Battery". Archived from the original on 12 June 2009. Retrieved 7 February 2010.

Bibliography
  • Solent Papers No. 2 The Needles Defences by Anthony Cantwell - ISBN 978-0-9513234-9-6
  • Solent Papers No. 10 The East Wight Defences by David Moore - ISBN 978-0-9548453-3-9
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