Forder Battery is a former 19th-century

fort A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

, built as a result of the Royal Commission on National Defence of 1859. Part of an extensive scheme known as

Palmerston Forts 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 ...

, after the prime minister who championed the scheme, it was built to defend the landward approaches to the north east of

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

, as an element of the plan for the defence of the Royal Naval Dockyard at Devonport. Designed by Captain (later Maj General)

Edmund Frederick Du Cane Sir Edmund Frederick Du Cane (23 March 1830 – 7 June 1903) was an English major-general of the Royal Engineers and prison administrator. Early life Born at Colchester, Essex on 23 March 1830, he was youngest child in a family of four sons and ...

, it was built by George Baker and Company and finished by the Royal Engineers. The fort was connected by a military road to the nearby

Fort Austin Fort Austin is a former 19th-century Fort, built as a result of the Royal Commission on National Defence of 1859. It was built to defend the landward approaches to the North East of Plymouth. This was part of an overall scheme for the defence ...

and Bowden Fort, which both provided overlapping fire. It was originally designed to be armed with 16 guns. By 1893 it mounted four 64 Pounder Rifled Muzzle Loading Guns, one 7-inch Rifled Breech Loading (RBL) gun and two 32 Pounder Smooth Bore Breech Loading (SBBL) guns.The National Archives WO196/31, Ports and harbours Western District: Revision of Coast defence armaments prior to June 1894 By the early 1900s the fort had become obsolete as a defensive position and was disarmed. It was subsequently disposed of by the War Office, with much of the fort being redeveloped for housing. Some of the expense magazines and gun positions survive.

References

Bibliography

* *{{cite book, first=Freddy, last=Woodward, title=The Historic Defences of Plymouth, publisher=Cornwall County Council, year=1996, isbn=978-1898166467 Forts of Plymouth, Devon Palmerston Forts Military history of Devon