Fort Albert
| Fort Albert | |||
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| Location: | United Kingdom | ||
| Specialty: | British Coastal Defense Fort | ||
| Next city: | Portsmouth | ||
| Founding: | 1856 | ||
Fort Albert was a tower-like fortification below the cliffs west of Fort Victoria on the Isle of Wight , England . It was also known as the Cliff End Fort , after its location at the north end of Colwell Bay (Cliff's End).
history
Fort Albert was built for fear of a French invasion under Napoleon III. decided by the Royal Commission on the Defense of the United Kingdom appointed by Lord Palmerston . Like other so-called Palmerston forts , it was built on an artificial island.
It was used to defend the western approach to Portsmouth, specifically the Needles Passage . As one of the last fortification towers built in England, it was planned for 29 cannons in four levels.
It was completed four years after design in 1856, but like the larger contemporary forts of the American Seacoast Defense , it would not have withstood fire from the newly developed rifled cannons . Therefore, more batteries were built on the higher cliff. But as early as 1858 the armored ships made the fort nonsensical. In 1886, Brennan torpedoes were installed that could sweep the waterway. After this technology became obsolete, it was dismantled in 1906 and only small cannons were put into position. During the Second World War it was only used as an observation post and from 1957 it was no longer used by the military.
Today the fort is privately owned and used for apartments. There is no public access, not even to the cliff above.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c PastScape - Fort Albert . www.pastscape.english-heritage.org.uk. Archived from the original on May 3, 2012. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved December 11, 2008.
- ^ Castles and Fortifications of England and Wales - Fort Albert . www.ecastles.co.uk. Retrieved December 11, 2008.
Web links
- Victorian Forts data sheet (PDF; 338 kB)