History of Fort Gilkicker
Fort Gilkicker is a historic Palmerston fort built at the eastern end of Stokes Bay, Gosport, Hampshire to dominate the key anchorage of Spithead. It was erected between 1863 and 1871 as a semi-circular arc with 22 casemates, to be armed with five twelve-inch guns, seventeen ten-inch guns and five nine-inch guns. The actual installed armament rather differed from this.
In 1902 the RML guns were replaced by two 9.2-inch and two six-inch BL guns, and before the First World War the walls were further strengthened with substantial earthwork embankments. The fort was disarmed in 1956 and used for storage until 1999 and is currently in a state of disrepair.
1999 – Present
The Phoenix Trust proposed to convert the fort to apartments in 1999 but pulled out in 2001. A similar redevelopment scheme was posited by Try Homes from 2003-2006, and Assett Hawk from 2007-2012. The latter did engage in some work on the site clearing overgrowth in 2012, but none of the schemes came to fruition. In 2016, the fort was earmarked for restoration and conversion to modern apartments by Fort Gilkicker Developments Ltd, and work began on site with the erection of a fence, however these plans were again dropped in 2018 due to financial issues, and the fort was put on sale again in November 2019 with a guide price of 5 to 5.5 million pounds.
It is a Grade II Listed Building and on the Buildings at Risk Register, but is currently in extremely poor condition due to a lack of maintenance and numerous break-ins. The site suffered a major fire in March 2019.
Exploring Fort Gilkicker
Managed to get in and out really easily uninterrupted. Spent about an hour or so here, it was getting really dark so it wasn’t the best time to explore. Will most likely re-visit during day light to photograph it properly.
Started walking around the ground floor and come across stairs which had completely deteriorated. There were a few fire places and the original light switches were still intact – some in better condition than others.
On the second floor there were original signs which were amazing. The tunnels were really cool and still had modern (not working) lighting running through where assumingly they were previously working in the tunnels.
The top floor (roof) was fairly sturdy however, there was scaffolding holding up part of the roof and was very unstable and is unlikely to hold a lot of weight if you were to stand on it. Beautiful view from the top, especially at night where everything is lit up.
Please enjoy the photos
Fort Gilkicker is a historic Palmerston fort built at the eastern end of Stokes Bay, Gosport, Hampshire to dominate the key anchorage of Spithead. It was erected between 1863 and 1871 as a semi-circular arc with 22 casemates, to be armed with five twelve-inch guns, seventeen ten-inch guns and five nine-inch guns. The actual installed armament rather differed from this.
In 1902 the RML guns were replaced by two 9.2-inch and two six-inch BL guns, and before the First World War the walls were further strengthened with substantial earthwork embankments. The fort was disarmed in 1956 and used for storage until 1999 and is currently in a state of disrepair.
1999 – Present
The Phoenix Trust proposed to convert the fort to apartments in 1999 but pulled out in 2001. A similar redevelopment scheme was posited by Try Homes from 2003-2006, and Assett Hawk from 2007-2012. The latter did engage in some work on the site clearing overgrowth in 2012, but none of the schemes came to fruition. In 2016, the fort was earmarked for restoration and conversion to modern apartments by Fort Gilkicker Developments Ltd, and work began on site with the erection of a fence, however these plans were again dropped in 2018 due to financial issues, and the fort was put on sale again in November 2019 with a guide price of 5 to 5.5 million pounds.
It is a Grade II Listed Building and on the Buildings at Risk Register, but is currently in extremely poor condition due to a lack of maintenance and numerous break-ins. The site suffered a major fire in March 2019.
Exploring Fort Gilkicker
Managed to get in and out really easily uninterrupted. Spent about an hour or so here, it was getting really dark so it wasn’t the best time to explore. Will most likely re-visit during day light to photograph it properly.
Started walking around the ground floor and come across stairs which had completely deteriorated. There were a few fire places and the original light switches were still intact – some in better condition than others.
On the second floor there were original signs which were amazing. The tunnels were really cool and still had modern (not working) lighting running through where assumingly they were previously working in the tunnels.
The top floor (roof) was fairly sturdy however, there was scaffolding holding up part of the roof and was very unstable and is unlikely to hold a lot of weight if you were to stand on it. Beautiful view from the top, especially at night where everything is lit up.
Please enjoy the photos
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