Fort Albert
| Fort Albert | |
|
Hampshire | |
|---|---|
 Fort Albert, with Hurst Castle behind | |
| Type: | Palmeston fort |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SZ330890 |
| Location: | 50°41’58"N, 1°31’55"W |
| Village: | Freshwater |
| History | |
| Built 1856 | |
| Information | |
| Owned by: | Hunter Estates |
Fort Albert is a tower fort nestling under the cliffs south-west of Fort Victoria on the Isle of Wight, Hampshire. It was also known as Cliff End Fort, named after the Northern extremity of Colwell Bay (Cliff's End).
The fort is a Grade II* listed building.[1]
History
Fort Albert was one of the Royal Commission forts built in the 19th Century as part of Lord Palmerston's defences against the possibility of a French attack from Napoleon III. Designed to defend the Needles Passage, it was completed in 1856, after 4 years of construction, it would have suffered badly from rifled gunfire, so the Royal Commission enhanced it with batteries on the cliffs above. Even so, with the introduction of armoured ships, the fort became obsolete by 1858. In 1886 it was selected as one of the UK locations for the Brennan torpedo.[2] After this, only small guns were mounted on the fort. It was closed to military use in 1957.[2]
Fort Albert today
The fort is in private ownership and has been converted into private flats. There is no public access, not even to the cliff tops which overlook it. It is most easily viewed from the sea, or from Hurst Castle. The battery above is part of a chalet estate at Brambles Chine.
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Fort Albert) |
References
- ↑ National Heritage List 1291552: Fort Albert
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Historic England. "Monument No. 459489". PastScape. http://www.pastscape.org.uk/hob.aspx?hob_id=459489. Retrieved 2008-12-11
- Cantwell, Anthony (1986). The Needles Defences. Isle of Wight: Solent Papers. ISBN 1870113012.
