Fort Brockhurst

Fort Brockhurst was designed by William Crossman[2] in the 19th century to protect Portsmouth. Built between 1858 and 1862, it was one of a chain of five similar forts known as the Gosport Advanced Line. The other forts are Fort Elson to the north and Fort Grange, Fort Rowner and Fort Gomer to the south. With their formidable firepower, their main purpose was to guard the harbour from potential landing areas on the south Hampshire coast.

In August 1914 9th (Heavy) Battery Royal Garrison Artillery was formed at the fort as part of the raising of Kitchener's New Army.[3]

Although modern life has encroached on the fort, its fabric remains largely unaltered and the parade ground, gun ramps and moated keep can all be viewed. Constructional details of the casemates are able to be seen due to unrepaired Second World War bomb damage at the North-East corner. It is currently used as a store for English Heritage's reserve collections. The site is occasionally open to the public.[4]

The polygonal shape of the fort was a revolutionary change from the prevailing orthodoxy of forts designed with angle bastions for defence. The new forts could be more easily adapted to the terrain and allowed a greatly increased number of heavy guns mounted on the ramparts to prioritise offence over defence. Each fort was located within gunshot of the next to allow overlapping fields of fire and mutual support.

The fort was surrounded by a moat and the entrance on the south-east side was approached by a drawbridge much like a medieval castle. This led to a circular keep, also moated, served as a place for local defence, being equipped with twenty light guns. The nineteen heavy guns of the main armament were mounted on the ramparts reached by two ramps on the enclosed parade ground in the middle of the fort. A lower tier of eight guns, four in casements, on each flank provided cross fire support with Elson and Rowner. Beyond the moat on the north side was a triangular redan accessed by a covered way to allow riflemen to cover attempts to bridge the moat. Similarly there were caponiers at the angles of the ramparts to allow riflemen to cover the moat.[5]

Fort Rowner to the South-West is in a similar state of preservation, but is inside HMS Sultan naval base and it is only opened to the public once a year under the banner of "Heritage Open Week".

• Hogg, Ian V (1974). Coast Defences of England and Wales 1856-1956. David & Charles. ISBN 0-7153 6353-0.
• Moore, David (1990). Fort Brockhurst and the Gomer-Elson Forts. Gosport: Solent Papers. ISBN 0951323431.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fort Brockhurst.

• Fort Brockhurst page at English Heritage
• Information for teachers: English Heritage
• The Palmerston Forts Society