| St Catherine's Fort | |
|---|---|
| Part of Pembrokeshire | |
| Tenby, Wales | |
 The fort stands on St Catherine's Island next to Castle Rock, Tenby. | |
 St Catherine's Island and Fort | |
| Coordinates | 51°40′14″N4°41′31″W / 51.6706°N 4.6919°W |
| Type | Palmerston Fort |
| Height | Up to 14 metres (46 ft) |
| Site information | |
| Owner | Private |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1870 |
| Materials | Limestone Granite |
St Catherine's Fort is a 19th-century Palmerston Fort on St Catherine's Island, at Tenby, Pembrokeshire, Wales.
The Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom, which Lord Palmerston had established in 1859 in response to a perceived threat of invasion by Emperor Napoleon III of France, recommended the fort's construction. When considering the defence of the Royal Dockyard at Pembroke Dock and the anchorage at Milford Haven, the Commissioners believed that there was a danger that an enemy force might conduct an amphibious landing on a beach on the southern Pembrokeshire coast followed by an overland attack on the naval facilities. The Commissioners envisioned a chain of coastal artillery forts extending along the coast from Tenby to Freshwater West covering all the potential landing sites; ultimately, only this fort at Tenby was constructed. [1]
The design of the fort is credited to Colonel William Jervois. [2] It is a simple rectangular work, consisting of three artillery casemates on two opposite sides, for RML 7-inch guns firing through iron shields. A further three gun platforms for RML 9 inch 12 ton guns are located on the roof. The guns facing north were intended to cover Tenby Harbour and the beach towards Saundersfoot, while those facing south covered the beach towards Penally. The entrance at the western (landward) end of the fort is approached by means of a drawbridge over a dry ditch and is defended by two caponiers or "flanking galleries", each of three storeys pierced with loopholes for small arms fire. At the eastern end at basement level are located the powder magazine and shell store. There was accommodation for a garrison of 150 men. [1]
The Government purchased St Catherine's Island from The Corporation of Tenby for £800 in 1866. In 1867 work began clearing the site and constructing the slopes and cranes for the mammoth task of lifting solid granite blocks onto the island. Construction was undertaken by a local builder, George Thomas of Pembroke. Colonel W. Llewelyn Morgan, Captain Fredrick Clements, and Sergeant Gibbs, all of the Royal Engineers, were the overseers. The work was completed by 1870 at a cost of £40,000 (but not armed); [2] the gun shields were finally installed in 1886. In that year, a report to the Defence Committee described the 9-inch guns as "useless". [1]
In 1895, control of the fort passed to the Royal Naval Reserve, who emplaced a single BLC 5-inch gun on a "Youngman’s compression platform", apparently for training purposes. In 1907 the fort was decommissioned and sold to the Windsor Richards family who converted it into a private house. The gun shields were replaced by windows and the interior was lavishly decorated, although the fort was apparently garrisoned by the army during the First World War. During the Second World War, the fort was compulsory purchased in 1940 and the house contents were auctioned by Harrods. During the war an anti-aircraft battery was built in front of the fort; units serving there included the Royal Marines, 4th Defence Battery and a Light Anti-Aircraft Battery of the Royal Artillery, a detachment of the Belgian Army, the Home Guard, and an Air Sea Rescue detachment of the RAF.
After the war the fort was again decommissioned and sold to a local solicitor who let it to various tenants including the author Norman Lewis. It became a Grade II* Listed building in 1951 because it was considered "an important later 19th century naval fort, superbly built and prominently sited". [3]
The fort was sold again in 1962 and in 1968 the fort was opened as a zoo; in 1979 the zoo relocated to new premises leaving the fort empty. [2]
In May 2015, Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority approved an application to reopen the site to the public due to the economic benefit that it would bring to the area. The site would contain a nature walk, boat landings, and commercial and catering outlets, in addition to the restoration of the fort. [4] During the planned restoration, the fort was open to visitors at weekends during the holiday season, subject to the state of the tides. [5]
In 2016, "The Final Problem", the third and last episode of the fourth series of the BBC TV series Sherlock , was filmed on the island. [6] In August 2016, the fort faced an "uncertain future" and was closed to the public. [7]
The fort was reopened on 12 April 2017 for visits with the support of volunteers [8] and remains open to the public as of 2020.
Tenby is both a walled seaside town in Pembrokeshire, Wales, on the western side of Carmarthen Bay, and a local government community.
The Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom was a committee formed in 1859 to enquire into the ability of the United Kingdom to defend itself against an attempted invasion by a foreign power, and to advise the British Government on the remedial action required. The appointment of the Commission had been prompted by public concern about the growing military and naval power of the French Empire and was instigated by the Prime Minister, Henry Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, who came to be closely associated with the project. In the following year, the Commission's report recommended a huge programme of fortification to defend the country's arsenals and naval bases. Many of the recommendations were acted upon; however, the great expense, the length of time taken to complete the various works and their perceived usefulness were all subjects of critical political, press and public debate.
Fort Gilkicker is a historic Palmerston fort built at the eastern end of Stokes Bay, Gosport, Hampshire England to dominate the key anchorage of Spithead. It was erected between 1863 and 1871 as a semi-circular arc with 22 casemates, to be armed with five twelve-inch guns, seventeen ten-inch guns and five nine-inch guns. The actual installed armament rather differed from this. In 1902 the RML guns were replaced by two 9.2-inch and two six-inch BL guns, and before the First World War the walls were further strengthened with substantial earthwork embankments. The fort was disarmed in 1956 and used for storage until 1999, and is currently in a state of disrepair.
Coastal artillery is the branch of the armed forces concerned with operating anti-ship artillery or fixed gun batteries in coastal fortifications.
Whitsand Bay, situated in south east Cornwall, England, runs from Rame Head in the east to Portwrinkle in the west. It is characterised by sheer, high cliffs, dramatic scenery and long stretches of sandy beaches. The South West Coast Path runs the length of the bay.
Fort Rodd Hill National Historic Site is a 19th-century coastal artillery fort on the Colwood side of Esquimalt Harbour,. The site is adjacent to Fisgard Lighthouse National Historic Site, the first lighthouse on the west coast of Canada. Both the fort and lighthouse are managed and presented to the public by Parks Canada.
The Pembroke Yeomanry was an auxiliary regiment of the British Army dating back to 1794. It saw active service in the French Revolutionary War, the Second Boer War, World War I and World War II. Its lineage is maintained by 224 Transport Squadron, part of 157 (Welsh) Regiment RLC in the Army Reserve.
Thorne Island is a rocky islet and part of the community of Angle, Pembrokeshire, Wales, with an area of 2 acres (8,100 m2), dominated by a coastal artillery fort built to defend the Milford Haven Waterway in the mid-19th century. It has been the site of a number of shipwrecks, including one in 1894 that was carrying a cargo of Scotch whisky.
The RML 64-pounder 71 cwt guns (converted) were British rifled muzzle-loading guns converted from obsolete smoothbore 8-inch 65 cwt shell guns in the 1860s-1870s.
Sandown Barrack Battery is a battery located in Sandown Bay close to Sandown on the Isle of Wight in England. It is one of the many Palmerston Forts built on the island to protect it in response to a perceived French invasion.
Fort St. Catherine, or Fort St. Catherine's, is a coastal artillery fort at the North-East tip of St. George's Island, in the Imperial fortress colony of Bermuda. Successively redeveloped, the fort was used first by Bermudian Militia and then by regular Royal Artillery units from 1612 into the 20th century. Today it houses a museum.
The Historic Town of St George and Related Fortifications is the name used by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's (UNESCO) World Heritage Committee to identify collectively as a World Heritage Site St. George's Town, founded in 1612, and a range of fortifications, batteries, and magazines built between 1612 and 1939, the last of which was removed from use in 1953.
Fort Victoria is a disused British Army fort, built to house coastal artillery atop Retreat Hill, within St. George's Garrison, at the North-East of St. George's Island, in the British colony of Bermuda.
Fort Davis, is a coastal defence fortification close to Whitegate, County Cork, Ireland. Together with similar structures at Fort Mitchel, Fort Camden (Crosshaven), and Templebreedy Battery, the fort was built to defend the mouth of Cork Harbour. Though used as a fortification from the early 17th century, the current structures of the 74-acre site date primarily from the 1860s. Originally named Fort Carlisle and operated by the British Armed Forces, the fort was handed-over to the Irish Defence Forces in 1938, and renamed Fort Davis. The facility is owned by the Department of Defence, and is used as a military training site with no public access.
West Blockhouse Fort is a mid-19th century coastal artillery fort at West Blockhouse Point, a rocky headland near Dale, Pembrokeshire, to the west of Milford Haven in Wales.
Mumbles Battery is a battery on the north coast of the Bristol Channel overlooking Swansea. It was built around the base of the Mumbles Lighthouse. It is one of the many Palmerston Forts built in response to a perceived French invasion, and was designed to protect Swansea Bay. Construction of the battery began in 1859 and was completed by 1861 at a cost of £8,760.
The Pembroke Royal Garrison Artillery was a part-time unit of the British Army that defended the coast of West Wales during both world wars. Although it never saw action in its coastal defence role, it manned a number of siege batteries of heavy howitzers for service on the Western Front and Italian Front in World War I.
Scaur Hill Fort, also called Scaur Hill Lines and Somerset Lines, is a fortified position erected in the 1870s at Scaur Hill, on Somerset Island, in Sandys Parish, the westernmost parish of the Imperial fortress colony of Bermuda.
Fort George is a square fort built on the crest of Mount Hill to the west of St. George's Town, near to, but outside of the boundaries of the original main British Army camp in the Imperial fortress colony of Bermuda, St. George's Garrison.
The Pembrokeshire Militia, later the Royal Pembroke Rifles, was an auxiliary regiment reorganised from earlier precursor units in the Welsh county of Pembrokeshire during the 18th Century. Primarily intended for home defence, it served in Britain and Ireland through all Britain's major wars. It was converted into garrison artillery in 1853 and continued until it was disbanded in 1909.
