Shoreham Fort

Of the many small forts and gun batteries built along the coast of Southern England during the past few centuries only two survive in anything like their original form. Shoreham Fort, also known as Kingston or Shoreham Redoubt, was completed in June 1857. In the 1850s, when the intentions of the French military was causing apprehension, it was then decided to man and defend the harbour mouth with a permanent fort. The newly constructed harbour entrance, as it was then, was selected as the site for Shoreham Fort – just on the wide shingle spit immediately to the west. This was so that the guns could defend and command the harbour entrance, its approaches and the beach. The fort was built to accommodate two Officers, one Master Gunner and 35 NCO’s and Privates all housed in the barracks. Soon after the fort was completed it was proposed that the fort should be remodelled after criticism in parliament that Shoreham Fort alone would find it difficult to protect the harbour. This criticism seems to have been justified and lead to a new inquiry in about 1859 and three additional fortification expansion works were generously proposed. Although this work never happened the fort was still manned by the volunteers until at least 1896, although the regiment were still in Shoreham until after 1906 and at least one cannon stayed until after 1918, so the fort was manned for a period of roughly 49 years and used for longer. In the Second World War a battery of six-inch guns was erected on the fort, but these have since been removed and only part of the footings survive. The Barrack Block was variously used as a film studio and private dwelling before being demolished in 1959.