buffnut453
Captain
There were a few posts on the Ukraine thread about forts and fortresses and some thought it might be a good idea to create a separate thread...so here goes.
Please post your pics/stories about defensive fortifications in here. They can be of any era and any topic from a castle down to a pillbox. If there are stories associated, then so much the better...whether they be a personal association or just a fond memory from a holiday/vacation.
I'll kick things off with a trip I made a few weeks ago to Fort Purbrook, one of the Victorian defensive forts (often known as "Palmerston's Follies") placed on Portsdown Hill to protect Portsmouth from landward attack. A great x4 uncle was posted there in 1889 as part of the South Lancs Regt and was arrested, and imprisoned for 30 days, for assaulting a police officer and a local man. Today, the Fort is operated as an outward bound activity centre for kids. We were able to get a 2-hr private guided tour, which was simply AWESOME! Here are a few pics.
First up, here's an overview of the Fort courtesy of t'interwebbythingy. The lower right corner is pointing south towards Portsmouth:
Main entrance located on the far side of the pointy-out section to the right of the above image:
View over Portsmouth from the main entrance:
Barrack room near the main entrance where the soldiers would have been billeted:
Interior of the pointy section which was used as officers' quarters. The soldiers' barrack rooms are on the right, with windows so the officers could see if trouble was occurring. The white paint on the lower walls was to help find doorways in the dark:
One of many tunnels under the fort. This was used as the brig and, given my relative's track record, it's likely he knew this area intimately. Today, this area is used as a kindergarten, with the cells converted into small classrooms for a teacher plus a few children:
Another of the long underground tunnels that connect the outer battlements and the magazines to the soldiers' barracks:
Surviving winch and tray, located at the bottom of an open spiral staircase, for lowering ammunition into the magazines:
View up the spiral staircase:
One of the many gun positions (note the heavy anchor eyelets in the wall) with the main gun opening now bricked up. Originally, these were fitted with iron plates to prevent fire entering the gun position:
View of the interior "moat" area with criss-crossing arcs of fire to prevent any attacking force from gaining a foothold within the fort boundary. Today, it's used as a laser tag range (how cool is that?):
There are additional defences on the roof of the fort, some of which are more modern. Here a are few pics, together with the most excellent view:
And, finally, a view across the terrain that the fort was built to defend against. It doesn't look very hostile today:
There is a museum in one of the other Palmerston Forts on Portsdown Hill but I really liked seeing the rather rough-and-ready nature of Fort Purbrook, particularly given its family association.
Over to other Forum members to add their pictures/memories/stories.
Please post your pics/stories about defensive fortifications in here. They can be of any era and any topic from a castle down to a pillbox. If there are stories associated, then so much the better...whether they be a personal association or just a fond memory from a holiday/vacation.
I'll kick things off with a trip I made a few weeks ago to Fort Purbrook, one of the Victorian defensive forts (often known as "Palmerston's Follies") placed on Portsdown Hill to protect Portsmouth from landward attack. A great x4 uncle was posted there in 1889 as part of the South Lancs Regt and was arrested, and imprisoned for 30 days, for assaulting a police officer and a local man. Today, the Fort is operated as an outward bound activity centre for kids. We were able to get a 2-hr private guided tour, which was simply AWESOME! Here are a few pics.
First up, here's an overview of the Fort courtesy of t'interwebbythingy. The lower right corner is pointing south towards Portsmouth:
Main entrance located on the far side of the pointy-out section to the right of the above image:
View over Portsmouth from the main entrance:
Barrack room near the main entrance where the soldiers would have been billeted:
Interior of the pointy section which was used as officers' quarters. The soldiers' barrack rooms are on the right, with windows so the officers could see if trouble was occurring. The white paint on the lower walls was to help find doorways in the dark:
One of many tunnels under the fort. This was used as the brig and, given my relative's track record, it's likely he knew this area intimately. Today, this area is used as a kindergarten, with the cells converted into small classrooms for a teacher plus a few children:
Another of the long underground tunnels that connect the outer battlements and the magazines to the soldiers' barracks:
Surviving winch and tray, located at the bottom of an open spiral staircase, for lowering ammunition into the magazines:
View up the spiral staircase:
One of the many gun positions (note the heavy anchor eyelets in the wall) with the main gun opening now bricked up. Originally, these were fitted with iron plates to prevent fire entering the gun position:
View of the interior "moat" area with criss-crossing arcs of fire to prevent any attacking force from gaining a foothold within the fort boundary. Today, it's used as a laser tag range (how cool is that?):
There are additional defences on the roof of the fort, some of which are more modern. Here a are few pics, together with the most excellent view:
And, finally, a view across the terrain that the fort was built to defend against. It doesn't look very hostile today:
There is a museum in one of the other Palmerston Forts on Portsdown Hill but I really liked seeing the rather rough-and-ready nature of Fort Purbrook, particularly given its family association.
Over to other Forum members to add their pictures/memories/stories.
