Breakwater Fort
Breakwater Fort, also known as Chequered Fort, is a 19th century fort at the north end of the outer breakwater of Portland Harbour, approximately 1.5 miles from land. Built to defend the harbour, the fort was constructed between 1868 and 1879, although work on the original design of the fort had commenced in 1860. The fort is now derelict and under private ownership, and has been a Grade II listed building since September 1978.
History
Original design for fort and laying of foundations (1859-67)
In the mid-19th century, the government approved plans for the transformation of Portland Roads into a harbour of refuge with the building of two breakwater arms. The commissioning of the harbour was prompted by concerns over the security of the English Channel, fears of a French invasion and the development of Cherbourg Harbour. In order to protect the new harbour, which began to be increasingly used by the Royal Navy, a number of defences and fortifications were constructed. The Breakwater Fort was positioned to defend the open water between the outer breakwater arm and Weymouth to the north, in partnership with the Nothe Fort.
The original design for the fort was produced in 1859 by Captain E. H. Steward of the Royal Engineers and depicted a casemated tower of stone with 34 guns installed over three levels (with an alternative proposal to provide up to 74 guns). It was described as such by The Times in 1861: "This will really be a most formidable work, mounting the heaviest guns. It is to be circular, 200ft in diameter, and, as it stands in 11 fathoms water, and will rise 60ft above the sea, the estimated four years required to complete its masonry seems very moderate. Up to six feet above the sea it will be a monstrous column of almost solid granite. There are to be two tiers of casemated batteries, with traversing pivot guns on the summit mounted en barbette. The roof of this will be bomb-proof; there are to be ample store and magazine rooms in it, with quarters for a large garrison."
Once surveying of the proposed site was completed, work began on the fort's foundations, which was carried out by the breakwater contractor John Leather, and supervised and directed by the engineer-in-chief John Coode on behalf of the Admiralty. Circular timber staging was erected on piles to allow stone and rubble to be dropped onto the seabed. As Coode had anticipated, some settlement was recorded early into the works, although no remedial work was carried out and the laying of the foundations continued.
In 1861, the fort's design was altered so that it could carry 35 guns on two tiers. Construction continued according to this design and work commenced on a ring of masonry lying on top of the foundations in December 1862. However, work was halted in 1864 after unprecedented subsidence occurred in the foundations, with cracks appearing in the existing masonry work. The movement and damage was attributed to the gales of October 1864, along with "the yielding of the clay or the strata" on the seabed.
In 1865, some of the masonry work was removed and other parts altered, rebuilt or repaired, and by the end of the year, it had reached around 20 feet above low water mark. Efforts were also made to counter and deter further subsidence by dumping an additional 15,000 tons of rubble onto the seabed, although uncertainty regarding the stability of the foundations remained and resulted in little progress on the fort. Further signs of damage to the fort's masonry was discovered in early 1867, following a period of storms.
Revised plans for the fort, new construction works and armament (1867-84)
As a result of technological advances in warfare and weaponry, new plans for the fort's superstructure were forwarded in 1867, with it now set to have an iron-plated design. By the time the War Department took over construction of the fort in May 1868, the ring of masonry lying on top of the foundations was 12 feet above high water mark. As the new plans resulted in a smaller fort, the centre of the original foundations was removed and replaced by a cylinder of concrete, 10 feet thick, in 1868-69. Although higher levels of subsidence had been seen for a period during 1868-69, only insignificant amounts of movement were recorded thereafter.
Further new proposals for the fort's design were forwarded in 1869. One suggested a two-tiered iron-fronted fort containing 29 guns, another proposed a one-tiered iron fort of 14 guns and the third suggested a defence containing four turrets for 8 guns. The two-tiered fort, which was to hold 14 guns in the lower tier and 15 in the upper, was selected in December 1869. Due to concerns regarding subsidence, the decision was made in 1870 to reduce the number of guns of the upper tier to 7. Another alteration was made in 1871 when the intended armament of rifled muzzle-loading (RML) 10-inch 18-ton guns for the lower tier was modified to RML 12.5-inch 38-ton guns.
The fort's iron skeleton, supplied by Jeavons & Co. of Millwall, was added in 1873 and approximately 220 tons of armour plating arrived in December 1875. The plating, which was supplied by Messrs. Brown of Sheffield, was taken by rail to Stokes Bay and then shipped from there to the fort. The weight of the iron and armour plating caused some new subsidence to occur, but despite some cracks in the foundations, movement had almost ceased by 1878. The Breakwater Fort was declared complete in 1879 for an estimated cost of £202,658. That year, plans for the proposed upper tier were abandoned as the fort as constructed was considered "sufficient for its purpose". Not only was the firepower considered adequate owing to recent technological improvements with the guns, but the concerns over subsidence argued against the additional weight of the upper tier.
The fort's original armament was made up of rifled muzzle-loading (RML) 12.5-inch 38-ton guns, which were evenly distributed to avoid causing excess pressure on the foundations. Of the fourteen intended for the fort, only seven were ever mounted and these were in place by 1884. Steam power for the working of the guns was installed that year at a cost of £8,000. In addition to its defensive role, an oil lamp with fog signals, was installed on top of the fort in 1875 by the Admiralty to serve as a navigational aid for shipping entering the harbour. It had a range of eight nautical miles in clear weather. The 7 cwt fog bell was brought to Portland by train.
Operational use in the late 19th century and early 20th century
By the time of its completion, the Breakwater Fort and its armament was obsolete. As naval warfare continued to advance at an unprecedented rate, RML guns were superseded by breech-loading (BL) and quick-firing (QF) guns, and a range of new technology was available for coastal defence including searchlights, and range-finding and telephonic equipment. The 1890s and early 20th century saw the fort undergo modernisation in the effort to provide better defence for the harbour. During the 1890s, the fort's exterior was painted with a black and white chequer pattern, which was designed to make it difficult for an enemy to discern the gun ports. This provided the fort with its alternative name, Chequered Fort.
By 1895, the fort, now reduced to six 12.5-inch RMLs, had received two 6-pounder QF guns for defence against the rising new threat of torpedo boats. In 1897, six 12-pounder QF guns and three Maxim machine guns arrived at the fort. They were mounted in 1897-98; four of the QF guns and two Maxims on the fort's roof, and two QFs and one Maxim on the jetty. Two defence electric light emplacements for fixed lights were added to the jetty in 1899. The same period saw new ancillary buildings erected around the fort, including two temporary huts for the garrison, a barrack room with latrines, and an engine and dynamo room to power the electric lights. One of the 12.5-inch RMLs was removed in 1901 and another in 1902, reducing the total down to four.
Owing to concerns over the vulnerability of Portland Harbour to torpedo boat attack, a further two breakwater arms were constructed between 1895 and 1905 to fully enclose the harbour. In addition to the Breakwater Fort, other existing defences for the harbour were also modernised and new batteries added during this period. The new Pier Head Batteries (A, B and C Pier Heads) were fortified with their own QF guns, with A Pier Head being located on the other side of the east ship channel from the Breakwater Fort. With the completion of the new breakwaters and the erection of the Breakwater Lighthouse on A Pier Head, the Breakwater Fort's navigational light was replaced with a small subsidiary red light installed on the north-west part of the fort's roof in 1905. The lantern, including its sashes, stays, fittings, reflectors, lamps and blocks, was then sold for £80 at an Admiralty auction in July 1906.
In 1905, a War Office Committee inspected the fort and proposed installing four BL 6-inch Mark VII guns there; two on the roof to replace the four QF guns and two at original gun floor level to replace the four RML guns. This was amended in 1907, with the two BL guns intended for the gun floor level to be sited at B and C Pier Heads instead. Both the RMLs and rooftop QF guns were removed in 1907, with the barrels of the RMLs being salvaged for their steel and the rest of them discarded in a pile on the breakwater arm. The two BL guns were transferred from Blacknor Battery in 1908 and installed in newly-built emplacements on the roof. Each BL gun was served by three compartments at magazine level, and new band and ladder lifts between them and guns were installed. A battery command post, with an electric light directing post and telephone room behind, and a shelter alongside, was built behind the two emplacements.
In 1914, an anti-aircraft electric light was mounted at the end of the fort's ancillary buildings along the breakwater arm. It was moved into a new emplacement on the roof of the fort's largest oil store in 1915. The same year saw a new battery command post built behind the existing one, on account of the original having been found to be in a poor position on account of blast when the BL guns were first test fired. The new three-storey structure contained, from top to bottom, the B.C. post, the telephone room and a shelter. The E.L. directing post was retained and the former telephone room below became a shelter. The two QF guns on the jetty were removed in the 1930s and another storey was added onto the battery command post in 1936.
Use during World War II
Leading up to World War II, HM Naval Base Portland was considered as a base for the Examination Service, which was responsible for checking neutral merchant ships passing through the English Channel and ensuring their cargoes would not be of use to the enemy. In order to check the area's suitability, the Nothe Fort, along with other local forts and batteries, carried out exercises with their artillery. When war erupted, the proposed base was established at Portland, with the Breakwater Fort becoming the main examining battery and Nothe Fort providing a supporting role.
The Breakwater Fort also continued its original function as a coastal defence and was manned by 104 Battery of 522 Coast Regiment. Canopies were erected over the two BL guns, one of concrete, and the other of iron and concrete. The fort was equipped with two coast artillery searchlights used as fighting lights and, in addition to the BL guns, a Bofors 40mm gun was in place by 1943. Two Lewis guns were also mounted at the fort to provide defence against an attack by low flying aircraft. An emergency battery observation post was constructed on the roof of the sergeants' living quarters.
With the outbreak of the war, the fort was occupied by its first garrison since World War I. The accommodation and facilities for them was found to be inadequate and uncomfortable for all ranks, with overcrowding and poor sanitary arrangements being two cited issues. As a result, the fort underwent a major rebuilding and improvement programme from 1940-42. The work primarily involved constructing new buildings outside the fort and along the adjacent section of the outer breakwater, including a regimental institute, officers' living quarters and mess, sergeants' living quarters and mess, a lecture room, men's dining room and men's cookhouse. The main barrack rooms were inside the fort's original gun level. The maximum number of personnel to be accommodated at the fort during the war was 4 officers, 9 warrant officers and sergeants, and 133 other ranks.
Decommissioning of fort and abandonment
In 1954, the fort was placed under care and maintenance, with its two BL guns being put into storage. Like other forts and military defence installations of its type across the UK, the fort was decommissioned as a coastal defence in 1956 and its two BL guns were removed in 1957. The fort was then handed over to the Royal Navy, but remained largely unused. With the closure of HM Naval Base Portland in 1996, the harbour was sold to Portland Port Ltd, who transformed it into a commercial port. During 1995, it was announced that the Dorset Sculpture Trust were attempting to obtain a grant from the Millennium Fund to transform the fort into an arts centre, but the project never came to fruition.
In 2005, BBC Spotlight's Jonathan Hudston was given an exclusive tour of the fort by the Portland Harbour Authority. At the time, an estimated £10 million was believed to be required to transform the fort for commercial use or as a tourist attraction. However, Rupert Best of Portland Port revealed the port had no plans to undertake such a project: "It's not something we're putting our resources into because we have other parts of the port which we want to develop, but we're certainly open to suggestions and if anyone wants to come and talk to us about it with a good idea, we're certainly very receptive."
Design
The fort has a 35 metre diameter iron core with a 61 metre diameter foundation around 9 metres below sea level. A ring of masonry is capped with concrete as the fort's substructure, around 7 metres above sea level. The walls are three thicknesses of 15cm plate backed by armour bars. The concrete-capped iron roof was designed to support two iron turrets for two guns each, but these were not installed. The gun floor was designed for 14 heavy guns and also provided the original accommodation space for the garrison and some stores. Below is the magazine level which contained a number of shell and cartridge stores, as well as other facilities including water tanks, engine rooms and stores. The two levels of the fort are connected by a spiral cast-iron staircase.
The fort has its own small L-shaped jetty. Many of the ancillary barrack and service buildings surviving around the fort and along the breakwater arm date from the early 20th century to World War II. Some of these buildings provided upgraded accommodation, shelters and facilities for the garrison, as well as further stores and an engine room. The Admiralty also had buildings for operating the harbour's boom defences and storing its equipment. The surviving buildings on the jetty includes two electric light emplacements (both dating to 1899), a smith's shop (later used as a guard room), stores, ablutions and latrines.
Condition
The fort has remained derelict since being handed over to the Royal Navy in 1956. In their 1993 report on the naval base and its history, the historic buildings consultants Keystone reported that the inside of the fort was generally damp with a "series of apparently minor leaks". Some of the buildings spanning the breakwater arm were also noted to be in a "poor state of repair". Much of the fort interior's metalwork has suffered from rusting.
References
The following is an A-Z list of references for this page.
1) BBC Dorset - Local History - Breakwater Fort - website page
2) Historic England - The National Heritage List for England - The inner and outer breakwater, including the coaling shed, storehouse jetty, coaling jetty, inner breakwater fort and outer breakwater fort - website page
3) Pastscape - Breakwater Fort - website page
4) Portland Harbour and its Defences Report - anonymous author - undated - pages 44-51
5) Report of the Committee appointed to enquire into the construction, condition, and cost of the fortifications, erected, or in course of erection, under 30th & 31st vict., and previous statutes - 1869 - report
6) Report of the Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom - 1860 - report
7) The British Newspaper Archive - various contemporary newspaper articles - website page
8) The Coastal Defences of Portland and Weymouth - E. A. Andrews and M. L. Pinsent - 1981 - supplement to the journal Fort (Fortress Study Group) - report
9) The National Archives - Defence Committee - Memorandum with reference to the Armament of the Breakwater Fort, Portland - 1879 - website page (with thanks to Duncan Williams)
10) The National Archives - HM Naval Dockyard, Portland: Breakwater Fort - record plan of fort and subsidiary buildings - WORK 41/140 - declassified plan - 1936 - website page
11) The National Archives - HM Naval Dockyard, Portland: Breakwater Fort plans - WORK 41/609 - declassified plan - 1949 - website page
12) The National Archives - Portland, Dorset: Breakwater Fort - WO 192/299 - fort record book - 1933-57 - website page
13) The National Archives - Weymouth and Portland Area - Portland: Breakwater Fort - WO 78/5088 - declassified plans and drawings - 1903 - website page
14) The Portland Naval Base, Dorset K/428 - Keystone (Historic Buildings Consultants) - Volumes 1 and 2 - 1993 - report
History
Original design for fort and laying of foundations (1859-67)
In the mid-19th century, the government approved plans for the transformation of Portland Roads into a harbour of refuge with the building of two breakwater arms. The commissioning of the harbour was prompted by concerns over the security of the English Channel, fears of a French invasion and the development of Cherbourg Harbour. In order to protect the new harbour, which began to be increasingly used by the Royal Navy, a number of defences and fortifications were constructed. The Breakwater Fort was positioned to defend the open water between the outer breakwater arm and Weymouth to the north, in partnership with the Nothe Fort.
The original design for the fort was produced in 1859 by Captain E. H. Steward of the Royal Engineers and depicted a casemated tower of stone with 34 guns installed over three levels (with an alternative proposal to provide up to 74 guns). It was described as such by The Times in 1861: "This will really be a most formidable work, mounting the heaviest guns. It is to be circular, 200ft in diameter, and, as it stands in 11 fathoms water, and will rise 60ft above the sea, the estimated four years required to complete its masonry seems very moderate. Up to six feet above the sea it will be a monstrous column of almost solid granite. There are to be two tiers of casemated batteries, with traversing pivot guns on the summit mounted en barbette. The roof of this will be bomb-proof; there are to be ample store and magazine rooms in it, with quarters for a large garrison."
Once surveying of the proposed site was completed, work began on the fort's foundations, which was carried out by the breakwater contractor John Leather, and supervised and directed by the engineer-in-chief John Coode on behalf of the Admiralty. Circular timber staging was erected on piles to allow stone and rubble to be dropped onto the seabed. As Coode had anticipated, some settlement was recorded early into the works, although no remedial work was carried out and the laying of the foundations continued.
In 1861, the fort's design was altered so that it could carry 35 guns on two tiers. Construction continued according to this design and work commenced on a ring of masonry lying on top of the foundations in December 1862. However, work was halted in 1864 after unprecedented subsidence occurred in the foundations, with cracks appearing in the existing masonry work. The movement and damage was attributed to the gales of October 1864, along with "the yielding of the clay or the strata" on the seabed.
In 1865, some of the masonry work was removed and other parts altered, rebuilt or repaired, and by the end of the year, it had reached around 20 feet above low water mark. Efforts were also made to counter and deter further subsidence by dumping an additional 15,000 tons of rubble onto the seabed, although uncertainty regarding the stability of the foundations remained and resulted in little progress on the fort. Further signs of damage to the fort's masonry was discovered in early 1867, following a period of storms.
Revised plans for the fort, new construction works and armament (1867-84)
As a result of technological advances in warfare and weaponry, new plans for the fort's superstructure were forwarded in 1867, with it now set to have an iron-plated design. By the time the War Department took over construction of the fort in May 1868, the ring of masonry lying on top of the foundations was 12 feet above high water mark. As the new plans resulted in a smaller fort, the centre of the original foundations was removed and replaced by a cylinder of concrete, 10 feet thick, in 1868-69. Although higher levels of subsidence had been seen for a period during 1868-69, only insignificant amounts of movement were recorded thereafter.
Further new proposals for the fort's design were forwarded in 1869. One suggested a two-tiered iron-fronted fort containing 29 guns, another proposed a one-tiered iron fort of 14 guns and the third suggested a defence containing four turrets for 8 guns. The two-tiered fort, which was to hold 14 guns in the lower tier and 15 in the upper, was selected in December 1869. Due to concerns regarding subsidence, the decision was made in 1870 to reduce the number of guns of the upper tier to 7. Another alteration was made in 1871 when the intended armament of rifled muzzle-loading (RML) 10-inch 18-ton guns for the lower tier was modified to RML 12.5-inch 38-ton guns.
The fort's iron skeleton, supplied by Jeavons & Co. of Millwall, was added in 1873 and approximately 220 tons of armour plating arrived in December 1875. The plating, which was supplied by Messrs. Brown of Sheffield, was taken by rail to Stokes Bay and then shipped from there to the fort. The weight of the iron and armour plating caused some new subsidence to occur, but despite some cracks in the foundations, movement had almost ceased by 1878. The Breakwater Fort was declared complete in 1879 for an estimated cost of £202,658. That year, plans for the proposed upper tier were abandoned as the fort as constructed was considered "sufficient for its purpose". Not only was the firepower considered adequate owing to recent technological improvements with the guns, but the concerns over subsidence argued against the additional weight of the upper tier.
The fort's original armament was made up of rifled muzzle-loading (RML) 12.5-inch 38-ton guns, which were evenly distributed to avoid causing excess pressure on the foundations. Of the fourteen intended for the fort, only seven were ever mounted and these were in place by 1884. Steam power for the working of the guns was installed that year at a cost of £8,000. In addition to its defensive role, an oil lamp with fog signals, was installed on top of the fort in 1875 by the Admiralty to serve as a navigational aid for shipping entering the harbour. It had a range of eight nautical miles in clear weather. The 7 cwt fog bell was brought to Portland by train.
Operational use in the late 19th century and early 20th century
By the time of its completion, the Breakwater Fort and its armament was obsolete. As naval warfare continued to advance at an unprecedented rate, RML guns were superseded by breech-loading (BL) and quick-firing (QF) guns, and a range of new technology was available for coastal defence including searchlights, and range-finding and telephonic equipment. The 1890s and early 20th century saw the fort undergo modernisation in the effort to provide better defence for the harbour. During the 1890s, the fort's exterior was painted with a black and white chequer pattern, which was designed to make it difficult for an enemy to discern the gun ports. This provided the fort with its alternative name, Chequered Fort.
By 1895, the fort, now reduced to six 12.5-inch RMLs, had received two 6-pounder QF guns for defence against the rising new threat of torpedo boats. In 1897, six 12-pounder QF guns and three Maxim machine guns arrived at the fort. They were mounted in 1897-98; four of the QF guns and two Maxims on the fort's roof, and two QFs and one Maxim on the jetty. Two defence electric light emplacements for fixed lights were added to the jetty in 1899. The same period saw new ancillary buildings erected around the fort, including two temporary huts for the garrison, a barrack room with latrines, and an engine and dynamo room to power the electric lights. One of the 12.5-inch RMLs was removed in 1901 and another in 1902, reducing the total down to four.
Owing to concerns over the vulnerability of Portland Harbour to torpedo boat attack, a further two breakwater arms were constructed between 1895 and 1905 to fully enclose the harbour. In addition to the Breakwater Fort, other existing defences for the harbour were also modernised and new batteries added during this period. The new Pier Head Batteries (A, B and C Pier Heads) were fortified with their own QF guns, with A Pier Head being located on the other side of the east ship channel from the Breakwater Fort. With the completion of the new breakwaters and the erection of the Breakwater Lighthouse on A Pier Head, the Breakwater Fort's navigational light was replaced with a small subsidiary red light installed on the north-west part of the fort's roof in 1905. The lantern, including its sashes, stays, fittings, reflectors, lamps and blocks, was then sold for £80 at an Admiralty auction in July 1906.
In 1905, a War Office Committee inspected the fort and proposed installing four BL 6-inch Mark VII guns there; two on the roof to replace the four QF guns and two at original gun floor level to replace the four RML guns. This was amended in 1907, with the two BL guns intended for the gun floor level to be sited at B and C Pier Heads instead. Both the RMLs and rooftop QF guns were removed in 1907, with the barrels of the RMLs being salvaged for their steel and the rest of them discarded in a pile on the breakwater arm. The two BL guns were transferred from Blacknor Battery in 1908 and installed in newly-built emplacements on the roof. Each BL gun was served by three compartments at magazine level, and new band and ladder lifts between them and guns were installed. A battery command post, with an electric light directing post and telephone room behind, and a shelter alongside, was built behind the two emplacements.
In 1914, an anti-aircraft electric light was mounted at the end of the fort's ancillary buildings along the breakwater arm. It was moved into a new emplacement on the roof of the fort's largest oil store in 1915. The same year saw a new battery command post built behind the existing one, on account of the original having been found to be in a poor position on account of blast when the BL guns were first test fired. The new three-storey structure contained, from top to bottom, the B.C. post, the telephone room and a shelter. The E.L. directing post was retained and the former telephone room below became a shelter. The two QF guns on the jetty were removed in the 1930s and another storey was added onto the battery command post in 1936.
Use during World War II
Leading up to World War II, HM Naval Base Portland was considered as a base for the Examination Service, which was responsible for checking neutral merchant ships passing through the English Channel and ensuring their cargoes would not be of use to the enemy. In order to check the area's suitability, the Nothe Fort, along with other local forts and batteries, carried out exercises with their artillery. When war erupted, the proposed base was established at Portland, with the Breakwater Fort becoming the main examining battery and Nothe Fort providing a supporting role.
The Breakwater Fort also continued its original function as a coastal defence and was manned by 104 Battery of 522 Coast Regiment. Canopies were erected over the two BL guns, one of concrete, and the other of iron and concrete. The fort was equipped with two coast artillery searchlights used as fighting lights and, in addition to the BL guns, a Bofors 40mm gun was in place by 1943. Two Lewis guns were also mounted at the fort to provide defence against an attack by low flying aircraft. An emergency battery observation post was constructed on the roof of the sergeants' living quarters.
With the outbreak of the war, the fort was occupied by its first garrison since World War I. The accommodation and facilities for them was found to be inadequate and uncomfortable for all ranks, with overcrowding and poor sanitary arrangements being two cited issues. As a result, the fort underwent a major rebuilding and improvement programme from 1940-42. The work primarily involved constructing new buildings outside the fort and along the adjacent section of the outer breakwater, including a regimental institute, officers' living quarters and mess, sergeants' living quarters and mess, a lecture room, men's dining room and men's cookhouse. The main barrack rooms were inside the fort's original gun level. The maximum number of personnel to be accommodated at the fort during the war was 4 officers, 9 warrant officers and sergeants, and 133 other ranks.
Decommissioning of fort and abandonment
In 1954, the fort was placed under care and maintenance, with its two BL guns being put into storage. Like other forts and military defence installations of its type across the UK, the fort was decommissioned as a coastal defence in 1956 and its two BL guns were removed in 1957. The fort was then handed over to the Royal Navy, but remained largely unused. With the closure of HM Naval Base Portland in 1996, the harbour was sold to Portland Port Ltd, who transformed it into a commercial port. During 1995, it was announced that the Dorset Sculpture Trust were attempting to obtain a grant from the Millennium Fund to transform the fort into an arts centre, but the project never came to fruition.
In 2005, BBC Spotlight's Jonathan Hudston was given an exclusive tour of the fort by the Portland Harbour Authority. At the time, an estimated £10 million was believed to be required to transform the fort for commercial use or as a tourist attraction. However, Rupert Best of Portland Port revealed the port had no plans to undertake such a project: "It's not something we're putting our resources into because we have other parts of the port which we want to develop, but we're certainly open to suggestions and if anyone wants to come and talk to us about it with a good idea, we're certainly very receptive."
Design
The fort has a 35 metre diameter iron core with a 61 metre diameter foundation around 9 metres below sea level. A ring of masonry is capped with concrete as the fort's substructure, around 7 metres above sea level. The walls are three thicknesses of 15cm plate backed by armour bars. The concrete-capped iron roof was designed to support two iron turrets for two guns each, but these were not installed. The gun floor was designed for 14 heavy guns and also provided the original accommodation space for the garrison and some stores. Below is the magazine level which contained a number of shell and cartridge stores, as well as other facilities including water tanks, engine rooms and stores. The two levels of the fort are connected by a spiral cast-iron staircase.
The fort has its own small L-shaped jetty. Many of the ancillary barrack and service buildings surviving around the fort and along the breakwater arm date from the early 20th century to World War II. Some of these buildings provided upgraded accommodation, shelters and facilities for the garrison, as well as further stores and an engine room. The Admiralty also had buildings for operating the harbour's boom defences and storing its equipment. The surviving buildings on the jetty includes two electric light emplacements (both dating to 1899), a smith's shop (later used as a guard room), stores, ablutions and latrines.
Condition
The fort has remained derelict since being handed over to the Royal Navy in 1956. In their 1993 report on the naval base and its history, the historic buildings consultants Keystone reported that the inside of the fort was generally damp with a "series of apparently minor leaks". Some of the buildings spanning the breakwater arm were also noted to be in a "poor state of repair". Much of the fort interior's metalwork has suffered from rusting.
References
The following is an A-Z list of references for this page.
1) BBC Dorset - Local History - Breakwater Fort - website page
2) Historic England - The National Heritage List for England - The inner and outer breakwater, including the coaling shed, storehouse jetty, coaling jetty, inner breakwater fort and outer breakwater fort - website page
3) Pastscape - Breakwater Fort - website page
4) Portland Harbour and its Defences Report - anonymous author - undated - pages 44-51
5) Report of the Committee appointed to enquire into the construction, condition, and cost of the fortifications, erected, or in course of erection, under 30th & 31st vict., and previous statutes - 1869 - report
6) Report of the Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom - 1860 - report
7) The British Newspaper Archive - various contemporary newspaper articles - website page
8) The Coastal Defences of Portland and Weymouth - E. A. Andrews and M. L. Pinsent - 1981 - supplement to the journal Fort (Fortress Study Group) - report
9) The National Archives - Defence Committee - Memorandum with reference to the Armament of the Breakwater Fort, Portland - 1879 - website page (with thanks to Duncan Williams)
10) The National Archives - HM Naval Dockyard, Portland: Breakwater Fort - record plan of fort and subsidiary buildings - WORK 41/140 - declassified plan - 1936 - website page
11) The National Archives - HM Naval Dockyard, Portland: Breakwater Fort plans - WORK 41/609 - declassified plan - 1949 - website page
12) The National Archives - Portland, Dorset: Breakwater Fort - WO 192/299 - fort record book - 1933-57 - website page
13) The National Archives - Weymouth and Portland Area - Portland: Breakwater Fort - WO 78/5088 - declassified plans and drawings - 1903 - website page
14) The Portland Naval Base, Dorset K/428 - Keystone (Historic Buildings Consultants) - Volumes 1 and 2 - 1993 - report
Gallery
These images can be enlarged by clicking on them. Some images have information attached to them, and to view this you can either enlarge the image or hover the mouse over each thumbnail.
Photographs of the fort both exterior and interior can be seen on The Urban Explorer website by clicking here.
More can be seen at Andrew Blackmore's photography website by clicking here.
Photographs of the fort both exterior and interior can be seen on The Urban Explorer website by clicking here.
More can be seen at Andrew Blackmore's photography website by clicking here.
