Fort Gilkicker
Encyclopedia
Fort Gilkicker is a historic Palmerston
Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom
In 1859 Lord Palmerston instigated the Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom because of serious concerns that France might attempt to invade the UK...
fort built at the eastern end of Stokes Bay
Stokes Bay
Stokes Bay is an area of the Solent that lies just south of Gosport, between Portsmouth and Lee-on-the-Solent, Hampshire. There is a shingle beach that has a great view of Ryde and East Cowes on the Isle of Wight to the south and also Fawley in the south west. The village of Alverstoke is close by...
, Gosport
Gosport
Gosport is a town, district and borough situated on the south coast of England, within the county of Hampshire. It has approximately 80,000 permanent residents with a further 5,000-10,000 during the summer months...
, Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
to dominate the key anchorage of Spithead
Spithead
Spithead is an area of the Solent and a roadstead off Gilkicker Point in Hampshire, England. It is protected from all winds, except those from the southeast...
. It was erected between 1863 and 1871 as a semi-circular arc with 22 casemate
Casemate
A casemate, sometimes rendered casement, is a fortified gun emplacement or armored structure from which guns are fired. originally a vaulted chamber in a fortress.-Origin of the term:...
s, to be armed with 5 12" guns, 17 10" guns and 5 9" guns. The actual installed armament rather differed from this. In 1902 the RML guns were replaced by 2 9.2" and 2 6" BL
Rifled breech loader
A rifled breech loader is an artillery piece which, unlike the smooth-bore cannon and rifled muzzle loader which preceded it, has rifling in the barrel and is loaded from the breech at the rear of the gun....
guns, and before the First World War the walls were further strengthened with substantial earthwork embankments.
Currently the fort is in the ownership of Hampshire County Council. It is inaccessible, as various plans come and go to convert the site to housing with an attached museum. It is on the Buildings at Risk Register, and support is being sought for its conservation and for an alternative use.