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Fort Nelson, Portsmouth
Fort Nelson, in the civil parish of Boarhunt in the English county of Hampshire, is one of five defensive forts built on the summit of Portsdown Hill in the 1860s, overlooking the important naval base of Portsmouth. It is now part of the Royal Armouries, housing their collection of artillery, and a Grade I Listed Building. Description Fort Nelson is a typical Polygonal or Palmerston Fort. It is six-sided with a deep ditch protected by three caponiers. Above each caponier is a well-protected emplacement for 13-inch mortars. It was originally entered by two Guthrie rolling bridges and has a barrack block for 172 officers and other ranks, protected by a V-shaped redan. A large open parade ground gives access to the magazines 40 feet underneath it. There are open emplacements on the ramparts for 64 pounder rifled muzzle-loading guns and RML 6.6-inch howitzers. There are also three Haxo casemates for 7 inch rifled breech-loaders. The Nelson Monument, which gave the fort its nam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Palmerston Fort
The Palmerston Forts are a group of forts and associated structures around the coasts of the United Kingdom and Ireland. The forts were built during the Victorian period on the recommendations of the 1860 Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom, prompted by concerns about the strength of the French Navy, and strenuous debate in Parliament about whether the cost could be justified. The name comes from their association with Lord Palmerston, who was Prime Minister at the time and promoted the idea. The works were also known as Palmerston's Follies, partly because the first ones which were around Portsmouth, had their main armament facing inland to protect Portsmouth from a land-based attack, and thus (as it appeared to some) facing the wrong way to defend from a French attack. The name also derived from the use of the term "folly" to indicate " a costly ornamental building with no practical value". They were criticized because at the time of their completion, the th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Magazine (artillery)
Magazine is the name for an item or place within which ammunition or other explosive material is stored. It is taken originally from the Arabic word "makhāzin" (مخازن), meaning 'storehouses', via Italian and Middle French. The term is also used for a place where large quantities of ammunition are stored for later distribution, or an ammunition dump. This usage is less common. Field magazines In the early history of tube artillery drawn by horses (and later by mechanized vehicles), ammunition was carried in separate unarmored wagons or vehicles. These soft-skinned vehicles were extremely vulnerable to enemy fire and to explosions caused by a weapons malfunction. Therefore, as part of setting up an artillery battery, a designated place would be used to shelter the ready ammunition. In the case of batteries of towed artillery the temporary magazine would be placed, if possible, in a pit, or natural declivity, or surrounded by sandbags or earthworks. Circumstances might ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fort Widley
Fort Widley is one of the forts built on top of Portsdown Hill between 1860 and 1868 on the recommendation of the Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom. It was designed, along with the other Palmerston Forts atop Portsdown, to protect Portsmouth from attack from the rear. Design and construction Fort Widley was a polygonal Fort designed by William Crossman, an officer of the Royal Engineers, who was part of the staff of the Inspector General of Fortifications at the War Office. The fort was built up from chalk, with red brick and local flint being used for buildings and revetment to the large dry ditch which was also dug at the same time. Armament was fitted into three different categories - the main armament which was mounted on a semi-circular rampart, high angle armament provided by 13-inch mortars, mounted in two protected mortar batteries and close range armament, mounted in one full and two demi-caponiers. Barracks accommodation was also provided for both ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fort Southwick
Fort Southwick is one of the forts found on Portsdown Hill, which overlooks the naval base of Portsmouth in the county of Hampshire, England. History Fort Southwick was built to defend the landward approaches to the naval base on the recommendation of the Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom which reported in 1860. It is the highest fort on the hill, and holds the water storage tanks for the other forts, supplying them via a brick lined aqueduct. Construction was started in 1861 and completed by 1870. It was designed to house a large complement of men (about 220) in a crescent-shaped barrack block. Its north projection has one full caponier to defend the dry ditch, and has two smaller demi-caponiers at the corners. A small musketry gallery crosses the ditch at the south-west angle to cover a minor branch of the ditch. Mortar batteries of five mortars each can be found set into the rampart behind the demi-caponiers. In 1893 the fort was armed with a total of 23 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wallington, Hampshire
Wallington is a village in Hampshire, part of the borough of Fareham. It is situated between Portsmouth and Southampton near where the River Wallington enters Portsmouth Harbour. The name Wallington probably means 'settlement of the Welsh' (or Britons) – ''Weala-tun'' / ''Walintone'' (Old English) and not 'walled town' as might be inferred. Industry The village is now an affluent residential suburb of Fareham, but was once a separate entity with a brewery and tannery as its main industries. Wallington was also important in brickmaking and pottery. The bricks known as " Fareham reds" were made locally – the most famous use of which is the Royal Albert Hall. Wallington also boasts the largest collection of ''Fareham pots'' – chimney pots. Fort Wallington In the 1860s the Royal Commission on the Defences of the United Kingdom recommended that a line of forts be built along Portsdown Hill. The western end of this line was Fort Wallington. Building of the fort was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hilsea Lines
The Hilsea Lines are a line of 18th- and 19th-century fortifications built at Hilsea to protect the northern approach to Portsea Island, an island off the southern coast of England which forms the majority of the city of Portsmouth and its key naval base. They are now used as a greenspace and leisure area, also known locally as ''Foxes Forest''. Natural defences The island is separated from the mainland by a narrow stretch of water called Portsbridge Creek. The first means of crossing the creek was by stepping stones, followed by a single track bridge, built to allow the passage of pedestrians and horse-drawn carts to have access to Portsea Island. Early defences Early defences were focused on the 'Portsbridge' that crossed the creek. A fortification is thought to have been built at the mainland end of the bridge during the reign of King Henry VIII. In 1642 the fort was captured by parliamentary forces as part of the English Civil War. It was rebuilt in 1688 and again in 1746. D ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
French People
The French people (french: Français) are an ethnic group and nation primarily located in Western Europe that share a common French culture, history, and language, identified with the country of France. The French people, especially the native speakers of langues d'oïl from northern and central France, are primarily the descendants of Gauls (including the Belgae) and Romans (or Gallo-Romans, western European Celtic and Italic peoples), as well as Germanic peoples such as the Franks, the Visigoths, the Suebi and the Burgundians who settled in Gaul from east of the Rhine after the fall of the Roman Empire, as well as various later waves of lower-level irregular migration that have continued to the present day. The Norse also settled in Normandy in the 10th century and contributed significantly to the ancestry of the Normans. Furthermore, regional ethnic minorities also exist within France that have distinct lineages, languages and cultures such as Bretons in Brittany, Occi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Henry Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston
Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, (20 October 1784 – 18 October 1865) was a British statesman who was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century. Palmerston dominated British foreign policy during the period 1830 to 1865, when Britain stood at the height of its imperial power. He held office almost continuously from 1807 until his death in 1865. He began his parliamentary career as a Tory, defected to the Whigs in 1830, and became the first prime minister from the newly formed Liberal Party in 1859. He was highly popular with the British public. David Brown argues that "an important part of Palmerston's appeal lay in his dynamism and vigour". Henry Temple succeeded to his father's Irish peerage (which did not entitle him to a seat in the House of Lords, leaving him eligible to sit in the House of Commons) as the 3rd Viscount Palmerston in 1802. He became a Tory MP in 1807. From 1809 to 1828 he served as Secretary at War, organising the fina ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Commission On The Defence Of The United Kingdom
The Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom was a committee formed in 1859 to enquire into the ability of the United Kingdom to defend itself against an attempted invasion by a foreign power, and to advise the British Government on the remedial action required. The appointment of the Commission had been prompted by public concern about the growing military and naval power of the French Empire and was instigated by the Prime Minister, Henry Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, who came to be closely associated with the project. In the following year, the Commission's report recommended a huge programme of fortification to defend the country's arsenals and naval bases. Many of the recommendations were acted upon; however, the great expense, the length of time taken to complete the various works and their perceived usefulness were all subjects of critical political, press and public debate. Background In the late 1850s, there were serious concerns that France might attem ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nelson Monument, Portsdown Hill
The Nelson Monument, tall on a granite base, stands on Portsdown Hill about north of Portsmouth Harbour on the south coast of England. It was the eventual outcome of a movement started during Horatio Nelson's lifetime to "perpetuate the glorious victories of the British Navy". By 1799 Nelson's prize agent Alexander Davison was able to use the Nelson name to spearhead a campaign to honour "Britain's naval glory and pre-eminence". It was, however, Nelson's death at Trafalgar, 21 October 1805, that galvanized the campaign. A design for the monument by John Thomas Groves of the Board of Works was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1807, The monument is modelled on the Aksum Stele, Ethiopia: Groves was inspired by the findings in Aksum of Henry Salt who visited Ethiopia in 1805. However, letters were written to ''The Times'' asking where the money Davison had raised had gone, but the £4050 he raised was never recovered. The final (and successful) attempt was paid for by the Navy i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RBL 7 Inch Armstrong Gun
The Armstrong RBL 7-inch gun, also known as the 110-pounder, was an early attempt to use William Armstrong's new and innovative rifled breechloading mechanism for heavy rifled guns. Description The Armstrong "screw" breech mechanism used a heavy block inserted in a vertical slot in the barrel behind the chamber, with a large hollow screw behind it which was manually screwed tight against the block after loading. A metal cup on the front of the block, together with the pressure of the screw behind it, provided "obturation" and sealed the breech to prevent escape of gasses rearward on firing. The sliding-block was known as the "vent-piece", as the vent tube was inserted through it to fire the gun. In modern terms it was a vertical sliding-block. To load the gun, the vent-piece was raised, the shell was inserted through the hollow screw and rammed home into the bore, and the powder cartridge was likewise inserted through the screw into the chamber. The vent-piece was lowered, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Casemates
A casemate is a fortified gun emplacement or armored structure from which guns are fired, in a fortification, warship, or armoured fighting vehicle.Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary When referring to antiquity, the term "casemate wall" means a double city wall with the space between the walls separated into chambers, which could be filled up to better withstand battering rams in case of siege (see Antiquity: casemate wall). In its original early modern meaning, the term referred to a vaulted chamber in a fort, which may have been used for storage, accommodation, or artillery which could fire through an opening or embrasure. Although the outward faces of brick or masonry casemates proved vulnerable to advances in artillery performance, the invention of reinforced concrete allowed newer designs to be produced well into the 20th century. With the introduction of ironclad warships, the definition was widened to include a protected space for guns in a ship, either within the hu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
