Lumps Fort
Encyclopedia
Lumps Fort is a disused fortification built on Portsea Island
as part of the defences for the naval base at Portsmouth.
Lumps Fort dates from the 18th century. The earliest reference is in the records of the Board of Ordnance in 1805 which mention "Lumps Fort-three 32-pounder guns".
By 1822 the fort was the site of a semaphore station on the semaphore line from London to Portsmouth. It was constructed here to avoid the smog of the town of Portsmouth which would impede direct optical communications from Portsdown Hill
. The fort was out of use as a defensive fort by the 1820s and in 1827 part of the fort fell into the sea. The semaphore station was closed in 1847 when the electrical telegraph took over.
The fort was reconstructed between 1859 and 1869 as one of the Palmerston forts
in the line of Portsmouth Harbour
defences. It became a coastal battery with two 6-inch rifled breech-loader Mk. IV guns. These guns were taken away in 1906, but the fort was rearmed in 1914. It was then a beach defence battery and was armed with a 6-pounder Hotchkiss anti-aircraft gun. At the end of the World War I
, it was demolished, leaving only an outline.
The fort was brought by the city in 1932. Plans to develop the site were interrupted by World War Two and it ended up as a rose garden. Adjacent to the site is the Canoe Lake, constructed from a large area of marshland, which was opened on 17 June 1886 and used as a boating lake. The fort also became the site of the Southsea Model Village
Portsea Island
Portsea Island is a small, flat and low lying island just off the south coast of England. The island is totally within, and contains a large proportion of, the city of Portsmouth. It has the third-largest population of any island in the British Isles, after the mainlands of Great Britain and...
as part of the defences for the naval base at Portsmouth.
Lumps Fort dates from the 18th century. The earliest reference is in the records of the Board of Ordnance in 1805 which mention "Lumps Fort-three 32-pounder guns".
By 1822 the fort was the site of a semaphore station on the semaphore line from London to Portsmouth. It was constructed here to avoid the smog of the town of Portsmouth which would impede direct optical communications from Portsdown Hill
Portsdown Hill
Portsdown Hill is a long chalk hill in Hampshire, England, offering good views over Portsmouth, The Solent, Hayling Island and Gosport, with the Isle of Wight beyond. The hill is on the mainland, just to the north of Ports Creek, which separates the mainland from Portsea Island, on which lies the...
. The fort was out of use as a defensive fort by the 1820s and in 1827 part of the fort fell into the sea. The semaphore station was closed in 1847 when the electrical telegraph took over.
The fort was reconstructed between 1859 and 1869 as one of the Palmerston forts
Palmerston Forts, Portsmouth
The Palmerston Forts that encircle Portsmouth were built in response to the 1859 Royal Commission dealing with the perceived threat of a French invasion. The forts were intended to defend the Dockyard in Portsmouth. Construction was carried out by the Royal Engineers and civilian contractors...
in the line of Portsmouth Harbour
Portsmouth Harbour
Portsmouth Harbour is a large natural harbour in Hampshire, England. Geographically it is a ria: formerly it was the valley of a stream flowing from Portsdown into the Solent River. The city of Portsmouth lies to the east on Portsea Island, and Gosport to the west on the mainland...
defences. It became a coastal battery with two 6-inch rifled breech-loader Mk. IV guns. These guns were taken away in 1906, but the fort was rearmed in 1914. It was then a beach defence battery and was armed with a 6-pounder Hotchkiss anti-aircraft gun. At the end of the World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, it was demolished, leaving only an outline.
The fort was brought by the city in 1932. Plans to develop the site were interrupted by World War Two and it ended up as a rose garden. Adjacent to the site is the Canoe Lake, constructed from a large area of marshland, which was opened on 17 June 1886 and used as a boating lake. The fort also became the site of the Southsea Model Village