Cliffe Fort

Cliffe Fort
The remains of the Brennan Torpedo launch tracks at Cliffe Fort.

Cliffe Fort is a Royal Commission fort built in the 1860s on the edge of the Cliffe marshes on the Hoo Peninsula in north Kent to protect against invasion via the Thames. It is opposite Coalhouse Fort in Essex: they are 2 km apart. Construction was difficult due to the marshy ground and the malaria-carrying mosquitos. It was armed with 12.5-inch 38-ton and 11-inch 25-ton rifled muzzle-loading guns. Protection of these guns was provided by granite-faced casemates with shields for added defence. The shields, casemates and the rails on which the gun carriages stood are all still visible today.

A Brennan Torpedo station was added in 1890. This was a wire-guided missile used for harbour defence: the launching rails are still visible at low water. It was replaced around 1910 with quick firing guns. The fort was armed in World War I and was used as an anti-aircraft battery in World War II. It is now inside a gravel extraction site and is inaccessible and very overgrown. It can however be viewed from the riverside path.

See also

Media related to Cliffe Fort at Wikimedia Commons

External links


Coordinates: 51°27′49″N 0°27′21″E / 51.46361°N 0.45583°E / 51.46361; 0.45583


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Cliffe, Kent — Coordinates: 51°27′43″N 0°29′51″E / 51.4619°N 0.4975°E / 51.4619; 0.4975 …   Wikipedia

  • Cliffe, Richmondshire — For the other village of the same name in North Yorkshire, see Cliffe, Selby. Cliffe George Hotel at Cliffe Population 1,447  OS  …   Wikipedia

  • Coalhouse Fort — in East Tilbury. Coalhouse Fort is a large casemated fort in East Tilbury, near the modern town of Tilbury, in Thurrock, Essex, 2.3 miles (3.7 km) downstream from Tilbury Fort. It contains a museum of memorabilia from World War I and II …   Wikipedia

  • John Cliffe Watts — (7 May, 1786 ndash; ?? 1873) was a British military officer and architect who designed some of the first permanent public buildings in the young British colony of New South Wales, and who also later became Postmaster General in South Australia.He …   Wikipedia

  • Maunsell Forts — Maunsell Sea Forts Thames and Mersey estuaries Type …   Wikipedia

  • Saxon Shore Way — Coastline= The Saxon Shore Way starts at Gravesend, Kent and traces the coast as it was in Roman times (note the changed coastline around Romney Marsh) as far as Hastings, East Sussex, 163 miles (262 km) in total.HistoryThe line of the Roman… …   Wikipedia

  • List of forts — This is a list for articles on notable historic forts which may or may not be under current active use by a military. There are also many towns named after a Fort, the largest being Fort Worth, Texas, USA. Contents 1 Australia 2 Bahamas …   Wikipedia

  • Liste De Forts, Fortifications, Citadelles Et Places Fortes Au Royaume-Uni — Sommaire 1 General 2 SE England 3 Tamise 4 Medway …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Liste de forts, fortifications, citadelles et places fortes Royaume-Uni — Liste de forts, fortifications, citadelles et places fortes au Royaume Uni Liste de forts, fortifications, citadelles et places fortes au Royaume Uni Sommaire 1 General 2 SE England 3 Tamise 4 Medway …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Liste de forts, fortifications, citadelles et places fortes au Royaume-Uni — Sommaire 1 Généralités 2 Angleterre du Sud Est 3 Tamise 4 Medway …   Wikipédia en Français

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”