2016

SZ6393 : No Man's Land Fort - Gun

taken 8 years ago, near to Seaview, Isle of Wight, England

No Man's Land Fort - Gun
No Man's Land Fort - Gun
This is a replica of one of the enormous guns which used to be housed in No Man's Land fort. The maximum armament of the fort was in 1898 when it held 49 guns, comprising:
Lower level:
8 @ 12½" RML + 4 @ 12" BL + 12 @ 6-pounder QF
Upper level:
9 @ 10" RML + 4 @ 12" BL + 12 @ 6-pounder QF
(RML = Rifled Muzzle Loading; BL = Breech Loading; QF = Quick Firing)
The 12½" guns weighed in at 38 tons, while the 10" were a mere 18 tons. The big Breech Loaders however were a colossal 45 tons and could fire an 850lb (386kg) shell up to 10,000yds (over 9km)
see LinkExternal link (Archive LinkExternal link ) for more details of the different armament held by the fort at different times.
No Man's Land Fort

No Man's Land Fort is a circular sea fort built at the behest of Prime Minister Lord Palmerston as one of a series of forts, batteries and other defences intended to protect the south coast of England from attack by Napoleon III (Louis Napoleon)'s France.
It is one of four forts positioned in the Solent and is equal largest with Horse Sands Fort. It was first commenced in July 1861 but work was suspended in Spring the following year due to political wrangling over their effectiveness and suitability. Work recommenced in March 1865 and was completed in March 1880. The cost at the time was £462,500 (equivalent to about £50m in today's money* [2016]).
No Man's Land held 49 guns and barracks for 5 officers and at least 72 men.
It is built of granite, concrete and iron, has a diameter at sea level of about 220' narrowing to 205' at its top. Its main roof rises about 60' above sea level, with the lighthouse adding perhaps another 30' to its highest point.
It is now a luxury (and very unusual) hotel with 22 bedrooms, run by Solent Forts LinkExternal link
For more detailed technical specification and history see LinkExternal link
And its Ancient Monument listing with English Heritage LinkExternal link
It is also Grade II listed LinkExternal link
One interesting fact about this fort is that in 1971 it was used as one of the locations for the Dr Who story "The Sea Devils" - see LinkExternal link and LinkExternal link for more information.
*Note: It is very difficult to compare monetary values over such time periods - it would certainly cost more than £50m to build such a fort today due to vastly increased costs, particularly the much higher wages (in real terms) that are paid to workmen now compared to the C19th. I would think such a fort would cost at least £500m these days.


Creative Commons Licence [Some Rights Reserved]   © Copyright Rob Farrow and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
Geographical Context: Sport, Leisure Business, Retail, Services Defence, Military Place: No Mans Land Fort Primary Subject: Gun other tags: Fort Hotel Palmerston Fort Click a tag, to view other nearby images.
This photo is linked from: Automatic Clusters: · Lower Level [3] ·
1:50,000 Modern Day Landranger(TM) Map © Crown Copyright
+
1:50,000 Modern Day Landranger(TM) Map © Crown Copyright
TIP: Click the map for more Large scale mapping
Grid Square
SZ6393, 42 images   (more nearby 🔍)
Photographer
Rob Farrow   (more nearby)
Date Taken
Monday, 2 May, 2016   (more nearby)
Submitted
Tuesday, 10 May, 2016
Subject Location
OSGB36: geotagged! SZ 6397 9377 [10m precision]
WGS84: 50:44.4015N 1:5.6876W
Camera Location
OSGB36: geotagged! SZ 6397 9377
View Direction
North-northwest (about 337 degrees)
Clickable map
+
NW N NE
W Go E
SW S SE
Image classification(about): Supplemental image
This page has been viewed about 147 times
You are not logged in login | register