Fort Burt is a colonial fort that was erected on the southwest edge of Road Town

Road Town

-See also:* Government House, the official residence of the Governor of the British Virgin Islands located in Road Town-External links:*****...

, Tortola

Tortola

Tortola is the largest and most populated of the British Virgin Islands, a group of islands that form part of the archipelago of the Virgin Islands. Local tradition recounts that Christopher Columbus named it Tortola, meaning "land of the Turtle Dove". Columbus named the island Santa Ana...

 in the British Virgin Islands

British Virgin Islands

The Virgin Islands, often called the British Virgin Islands , is a British overseas territory and overseas territory of the European Union, located in the Caribbean to the east of Puerto Rico. The islands make up part of the Virgin Islands archipelago, the remaining islands constituting the U.S...

 above Road Reef Marina. The site is now a hotel and restaurant of the same name, and relatively little of the original structure remains. However, one of the original cannons has survived and stands on the veranda of the hotel, vigilantly looking over the harbour.

The original structure is believed by some to have been built at an unascertained date by the original Dutch settlers of the islands, although this is not certain as Spanish documents from this time refer to other forts on Tortola (which they attacked) and they make no mention of a defensive fortification at Fort Burt although the route of their attack (from Soper's hole, through Fort Purcell

Fort Purcell

Fort Purcell is a ruined fort near Pockwood Pond on the island of Tortola in the British Virgin Islands.-History:...

 and on to Fort George

Fort George, Tortola

Fort George is a colonial fort which was erected on the northeast edge of Road Town, Tortola in the British Virgin Islands above Baugher's Bay. The site is now a ruin....

 would have taken them directly by the site of Fort Burt. In his book, Vernon Pickering suggests that the British erected the Fort on a site that they "erroneously believed" to have been the site of an earlier Dutch fort. However, the main fortification was built (or rebuilt) by the British in 1776 at the outbreak of the American war of independence.

The fort was named after William Mathew Burt, Governor of the Leeward Islands from 1776 to 1781 (but not to be confused with Colonel William Burt, his great grandfather, who took the Territory for the British from the Dutch with a token force at the outbreak of the Third Anglo-Dutch War

Third Anglo-Dutch War

The Third Anglo–Dutch War or Third Dutch War was a military conflict between England and the Dutch Republic lasting from 1672 to 1674. It was part of the larger Franco-Dutch War...

 in 1672). Descendants of this family now live in Western Australia.

Fort Burt formed part of a formidable defensive network of forts around Road Town at this time, including Fort Road Town (under what is now the site of the Boungainvillea clinic), Fort George

Fort George, Tortola

Fort George is a colonial fort which was erected on the northeast edge of Road Town, Tortola in the British Virgin Islands above Baugher's Bay. The site is now a ruin....

 on Fort Hill on the north east side of the harbour, and Fort Charlotte

Fort Charlotte, Tortola

Fort Charlotte is a fort built on Harrigan's Hill , Tortola, British Virgin Islands. The fort was named after Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, who was the wife of King George III....

 set high above on Harrigan's Hill.

Fort Burt never actually fired a shot in anger under British command. The combination of the formidable martial defences of Road Town, and relatively small strategic and economic importance of Tortola persuaded both foreign colonial powers and privateer

Privateer

A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend public money or commit naval officers...

s and pirates alike to focus on other targets within the region.

The fort later fell again into disrepair, and it was acquired in 1953 by Commander Christopher Hammersley and his socialite wife, who built what was then the only hotel on Tortola. The hotel has changed hands several times since, and is now in the ownership of the Pusser's chain.