The Humber Forts are two large fortifications in the mouth of the Humber Estuary in northern England: Bull Sand Fort ( 53°33′43″N0°4′3″E / 53.56194°N 0.06750°E ) and Haile Sand Fort ( 53°32′4″N0°2′1″E / 53.53444°N 0.03361°E ). [1] [2]
The Humber Forts are two large fortifications in the mouth of the Humber Estuary in northern England: Bull Sand Fort ( 53°33′43″N0°4′3″E / 53.56194°N 0.06750°E ) and Haile Sand Fort ( 53°32′4″N0°2′1″E / 53.53444°N 0.03361°E ). [1] [2]
The two forts were planned in 1914, at the start of the First World War, to protect the sea entrance to the Humber Estuary. They stand 59 feet (18 m) above the water and have a diameter of 82 feet (25 m). There was accommodation for 200 soldiers. Started in May 1915, they took more than four years to build and construction was not finished until December 1919, a year after the war ended.
During the Second World War the forts were reactivated and modernised. They were regularly attacked by enemy aircraft. During this time, they installed submerged netting to prevent enemy submarines from travelling up the estuary to Hull or Grimsby. The forts were finally abandoned by the military in 1956. [2] [1]
Bull Sand Fort is 1.5 miles (2.4 km) from shore off Spurn Head. It is a 4-storey concrete building with 12-inch (300 mm) of armour on the seaward side, and originally armed with four 6-inch guns. [3] It was built with great difficulty as its sandbank is 11 feet (3.4 m) below low water.
In 1987 it was given a Grade II Listed Building status. [1] [4] In 1997 it was sold to the Streetwise Charitable Trust, who intended to restore the fort for use as a drug rehabilitation facility. The plan failed eventually. [5] The trust no longer operates. [6] [7] Administratively, it is within the East Riding of Yorkshire and civil parish of Easington. [8]
In July 2022, it was listed for sale by auction, with a guide price of £50,000, through Savills estate agents. [9] [10] The fort was sold for £490,000. [11] [12]
Haile Sand Fort or Sand Haile Fort [13] is the smaller of the two and is situated around the low-water mark between Cleethorpes and Humberston on the Lincolnshire coast. [2]
In February 2016 the fort was put on the market. [14] It remained unsold until it was put up for auction in October 2018. [15] It was sold for £117,000 at the auction to an unnamed purchaser. [16]
Kingston upon Hull, usually abbreviated to Hull, is a port city and unitary authority in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Estuary, 25 miles (40 km) inland from the North Sea, 50 miles (80 km) east of Leeds, 34 miles (55 km) south-east of York and 54 miles (87 km) north-east of Sheffield. With a population of 259,778 (mid-2019 est.), Hull is the fourth-largest city in the Yorkshire and the Humber region.
Spurn is a narrow sand tidal island located off the tip of the coast of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England that reaches into the North Sea and forms the north bank of the mouth of the Humber Estuary. It was a spit with a semi-permanent connection to the mainland, but a storm in 2013 made the road down to the end of Spurn impassable to vehicles at high tide.
The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal rivers Ouse and Trent. From there to the North Sea, it forms part of the boundary between the East Riding of Yorkshire on the north bank and North Lincolnshire on the south bank. Although the Humber is an estuary from the point at which it is formed, many maps show it as the River Humber.
The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a ceremonial county in Northern England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, South Yorkshire to the south-west, and Lincolnshire to the south. It is also a non-metropolitan county for local government purposes. The coastal towns of Bridlington and Hornsea are popular with tourists from inland areas, and the port city of Kingston upon Hull is an economic, transport and tourism centre which also receives much sea freight from around the world. The current East Riding of Yorkshire came into existence in 1996 after the abolition of the County of Humberside. The county's administration is in the ancient market town of Beverley. The landscape is mainly rural, consisting of rolling hills, valleys and flat plains with many small villages and some towns scattered amid the Yorkshire Wolds. Major settlements include Kingston upon Hull, Beverley, Bridlington and Goole. At the 2011 United Kingdom census, its population was 334,179.
North Lincolnshire is a unitary authority area in Lincolnshire, England, with a population of 167,446 in the 2011 census. The borough includes the towns of Scunthorpe, Brigg, Haxey, Crowle, Epworth, Bottesford, Kirton in Lindsey and Barton-upon-Humber. North Lincolnshire is part of the Yorkshire and Humber region.
Humberside was a non-metropolitan and ceremonial county in Northern England from 1 April 1974 until 1 April 1996. It was composed of land from either side of the Humber Estuary, created from portions of the East Riding of Yorkshire, West Riding of Yorkshire, and the northern part of Lindsey, Lincolnshire. The county council's headquarters was County Hall at Beverley, inherited from East Riding County Council. Its largest settlement and only city was Kingston upon Hull. Other notable towns included Goole, Beverley, Scunthorpe, Grimsby, Cleethorpes and Bridlington. The county stretched from Wold Newton in its northern tip to a different Wold Newton at its most southern point.
Barton-upon-Humber or Barton is a town and civil parish in North Lincolnshire, England. The population at the 2011 census was 11,066. It is situated on the south bank of the Humber Estuary at the southern end of the Humber Bridge. It is 6 miles (10 km) south-west of Kingston upon Hull and 31 miles (50 km) north north-east of the county town of Lincoln. Other nearby towns include Scunthorpe to the south-west and Grimsby to the south-east.
Fort Paull was a gun battery situated on the north bank of the Humber, near the village of Paull, downstream from Hull in northern England.
The Spurn Lightship is a lightvessel, previously anchored in Hull Marina in the British city of Kingston upon Hull, England. It was relocated to a shipyard in October 2021 for restoration, prior to becoming a display together with the Arctic Corsair.
Beverley and Holderness is a county constituency for the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) at least once every five years by the first-past-the-post electoral system. The constituency has been represented by Graham Stuart of the Conservative Party since the 2005 general election.
Harrogate and Knaresborough is a parliamentary constituency in North Yorkshire which has been represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Andrew Jones, an MP from the Conservative Party. The constituency was formed in the 1997 boundary changes, before which it was named Harrogate.
Paull is a village and civil parish in Holderness, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, lying on the north bank of the Humber Estuary, east of the watercourse known as Hedon Haven.
Blacktoft is a village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The village is situated on the north bank of the River Ouse, 1 mile (1.6 km) west from where it joins the River Trent and becomes the Humber. It is approximately 6 miles (10 km) east from Howden and 23 miles (37 km) south-east from the county town of York. Blacktoft lies within the Parliamentary constituency of Haltemprice and Howden an area that mainly consists of middle class suburbs, towns and villages. The area is affluent, placed as the 10th most affluent in the country in a 2003 Barclays Private Clients survey, and has one of the highest proportions of owner-occupiers in the country.
Broomfleet is a village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated on the Humber Estuary approximately 4 miles (6 km) west of Brough. According to the 2011 UK Census, Broomfleet parish had a population of 302, an increase on the 2001 UK Census figure of 293.
Sunk Island is a Crown Estate village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies 3+1⁄2 miles (6 km) south of Ottringham and 1 mile (1.6 km) to the north of the Humber Estuary. The Greenwich Meridian passes through the east of the parish.
The Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust (YAS) is the NHS ambulance service covering most of Yorkshire in England. It is one of ten NHS Ambulance Trusts providing England with emergency medical services as part of the National Health Service it receives direct government funding for its role.
Howden Dyke Island is a 19-acre (7.7 ha) island in the River Ouse, Yorkshire. More accurately a shoal between seasonally varying flows, the area regularly above water is roughly 1,380 by 890 feet. A larger example of this same feature is visible where the Ouse widens into the Humber Estuary, 12 miles (19 km) downstream at Faxfleet.
Far Ings national nature reserve is an area of over 90 ha on the southern shore of the Humber Estuary in North Lincolnshire, England. It is immediately west of the town of Barton-upon-Humber and the village of Barton Waterside. In addition to being designated as a national nature reserve, it is within the Humber Estuary Ramsar site, Site of Special Scientific Interest, Special Area of Conservation, and Special Protection Area.
The Yorkshire Coast runs from the Tees estuary to the Humber estuary, on the east coast of England. The cliffs at Boulby are the highest on the east coast of England, rising to 660 feet (200 m) above the sea level.
The Spurn Point Military Railway was a railway line in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It extended for 3+3⁄4 miles (6 km), connecting Kilnsea with Spurn Point in the Humber Estuary. The line was built to supply military installations along this stretch of coast.
Media related to Bull Sand Fort at Wikimedia Commons Media related to Haile Sand Fort at Wikimedia Commons