Cliffe Fort - Report - cc2021
Cliffe Fort is a disused and abandoned artillery fort built in the cc1860s to guard the entrance to the Thames from seaborne attack.
The fort was constructed during a period of tension with France.
It stands on the south bank of the river at the entrance to Cliffe Creek - in the 'Cliffe marshes' on the Hoo Peninsula in North Kent.
The guns that were once in place were first tried and tested at the Old Ranges in Shoeburyness.
Its location on marshy ground caused problems from the very beginning and necessitated changes to its design after the structure begin to crack and subside during construction.
The fort was equipped with a variety of large-calibre artillery guns which were intended to support two other nearby Thamesside forts.
Cliffe Fort saw was utilsed as a artillery fortfor aprox sixty years - from its completion in cc1870 to its disarmament in cc1927.
The fort was repurposed during the 2nd World War - (to serve as an anti-aircraft battery on the approaches to London).
The fort's military career ended when it was sold off after the war to the owners of a neighbouring aggregates works.
Today the fort lies derelict, overgrown and heavily flooded.
Cliffe Fort is in a poor and slowly deteriorating condition with grafitti sprawled all over it. This has led the structure to be listed as an "at risk" heritage asset.
More info coming soon !!
- DE-eVOLVED
Cliffe Fort is a disused and abandoned artillery fort built in the cc1860s to guard the entrance to the Thames from seaborne attack.
The fort was constructed during a period of tension with France.
It stands on the south bank of the river at the entrance to Cliffe Creek - in the 'Cliffe marshes' on the Hoo Peninsula in North Kent.
The guns that were once in place were first tried and tested at the Old Ranges in Shoeburyness.
Its location on marshy ground caused problems from the very beginning and necessitated changes to its design after the structure begin to crack and subside during construction.
The fort was equipped with a variety of large-calibre artillery guns which were intended to support two other nearby Thamesside forts.
Cliffe Fort saw was utilsed as a artillery fortfor aprox sixty years - from its completion in cc1870 to its disarmament in cc1927.
The fort was repurposed during the 2nd World War - (to serve as an anti-aircraft battery on the approaches to London).
The fort's military career ended when it was sold off after the war to the owners of a neighbouring aggregates works.
Today the fort lies derelict, overgrown and heavily flooded.
Cliffe Fort is in a poor and slowly deteriorating condition with grafitti sprawled all over it. This has led the structure to be listed as an "at risk" heritage asset.
More info coming soon !!
- DE-eVOLVED
