Shornemead Fort
Encyclopedia
Shornemead Fort is a gun battery dating from the 1790s, built to support New Tavern Fort
New Tavern Fort
New Tavern Fort was built at Gravesend, Kent, England in the 1780s against the threat of invasion from France. It was one of the Palmerston Forts, also known as Royal Commission forts. The fort was extensively rebuilt by General Gordon about 1870. It was regunned in 1904...

 at Gravesend
Gravesend, Kent
Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, on the south bank of the Thames, opposite Tilbury in Essex. It is the administrative town of the Borough of Gravesham and, because of its geographical position, has always had an important role to play in the history and communications of this part of...

, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...

. It was redeveloped in the
1850s to a pentagonal plan, one of the first "polygonal" works in Britain
with 13 32-pounders
Naval artillery in the Age of Sail
Naval artillery in the Age of Sail encompasses the period of roughly 1571-1863: when large, sail-powered wooden naval warships dominated the high seas, mounting a bewildering variety of different types and sizes of cannon as their main armament. By modern standards, these cannon were extremely...

 (15 kg) on three faces.

Shornemead Fort was designed to be able to house 13 cannon, and work began in 1847, finishing six years later. However, the ground upon which the fort stands is marshy and proved incapable of supporting such a structure and the fort was completely rebuilt.

The new fort was in the shape of a D, with the curved area for gun placements and casemates, and behind that were barracks and admin buildings. The same problems with the marshy ground caused further problems and in spite of superficial strengthening work on the magazines, it was decided by 1904 that Shornemead Fort could not withstand an attack. It was disarmed and no further work took place around the fort until two 5.5in guns were fitted during the Second World War; these were decommissioned at the end of hostilities.

Post-war, Shornemead Fort’s only use came as target practice for the Royal Engineers' demolition squad, and their effectiveness is evident from the concrete, bricks and rubble at the site; they are all that remain of the barracks and administrative buildings.

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