Victorian Forts and Artillery: List of Royal Commission Forts

The Victorian Forts

The great Victorian Fortification programme began in 1852 with the construction of two forts to guard the western approaches to Portsmouth Harbour at Gosport. Fort Gomer was commenced in 1853 and completed in 1858. Fort Elson was commenced in 1855 and completed in 1860. When the Royal Commission reported in 1860 it recommended a new construction programme incorporating pre-existing forts into the scheme but proposing a complete ring of forts to guard the major dockyards of Portsmouth, Plymouth, Pembroke (Milford Haven), Portland, Thames, Medway, Doverand Cork.

In 1869 A report was produced entitled 'Report of the Committee Appointed to Enquire into the Construction, Condition and Cost of Fortifications Erected in 30, 31 Victoria and Previous Statutes, Together with minutes of Evidence.'

It listed the following forts and defences, constructed as part of, or incorporated into the Royal Commission Defence Scheme:

Portsmouth	Sea Defences Outer line: Spithead Defences	Horse Sand Fort
		No Man's Land Fort
		Spit Bank Fort
		St. Helens Fort
		Puckpool Battery
	Sea Defences Inner Line	Gilkicker Battery
		Southsea Castle
		Eastney Batteries
		Lumps Battery
	Needles Passage Defences	Hurst Castle
	Isle of Wight Defences	Needles Battery
		Hatherwood Battery
		Warden Point Battery
		Cliff End
		Golden Hill Barrack
	Isle of Wight Coast Defences	Bembridge Fort
		Redcliff Battery
		Yaverland Battery
		Sandown Fort
		Sandown Barrack Battery
	Portsdown Defences	Fort Purbrook and outworks
		Fort Widley
		Fort Southwick
		Fort Nelson
		Fort Wallington
	Portsmouth Northern Land Defences	Hilsea Lines
	Gosport Advanced Lines	Fort Grange
		Fort Rowner
		Fort Brockhurst
		Fort Fareham
	Stokes Bay Defences	Stokes Bay Lines
Plymouth	Sea Defences Outer Line	Bovisand or Staddon Point Battery
		Breakwater Fort
		Picklecombe Battery
		Cawsand Battery
	Sea Defences Inner Line	Drakes Island
		Garden Battery, Mount Edgecumbe
		Eastern and Western Kings
	Western Defences	Fort Tregantle
		Fort Scraesdon
		Polhawn Battery
	North Eastern Defences	Ernesettle Fort
		Agaton Fort
		Knowles Battery
		Woodlands Fort
		Crownhill Fort
		Bowden Fort
		Egg Buckland Keep
		Forder Battery
		Austin Fort
		Fort Efford
		Laira Battery
	Staddon Position	Fort Staddon
		Fort Stamford
Pembroke	Sea Defences	Stack Rock
		South Hook
		Hubberstone Battery
		Popton Point Battery
		Chapel Bay Battery
	Land Defences	Fort Scoveston
Portland		Verne Citadel
		The East Weir Batteries
	Portland Breakwater	Inner Pier Fort
		Portland Breakwater Fort
		The Nothe Fort
Thames		Coalhouse Fort
		Cliffe Fort
		Shornmead
		Slough Fort
Medway and Sheerness	Sea Defences	Grain Fort
		Isle of grain Battery
		Garrison Point Fort
		Hoo and Darnet forts
	Land Front of Sheerness	Queenborough lines and Cheyney Batteries
Dover		Western Outwork
		The Citadel
		North Centre Bastion and North Entrance
		Drop Redoubt and East Lines
		South Front Barrack, South Entrance and Lines
		Castle Heights
		Castle Hill Fort
Cork		Spike Island
		Carlisle Fort
		Fort Camden

The nomenclature 'Fort' or 'Battery' applied to the defences was done so without clarification. In some cases a battery eventually became known as a fort i.e. 'Hubberstone Battery' became 'Hubberstone Fort'. Likewise there has never been any clarification as to why the term 'fort' was applied before or after the name i.e. 'Crownhill Fort' but 'Fort Nelson'.