Fort Darnet, is a nineteenth-century military installation on the

River Medway The River Medway is a river in South East England. It rises in the High Weald AONB, High Weald, East Sussex and flows through Tonbridge, Maidstone and the Medway conurbation in Kent, before emptying into the Thames Estuary near Sheerness, a to ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, England, that formed part of the defences of

Chatham Naval Dockyard Chatham Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the River Medway in Kent. Established in Chatham in the mid-16th century, the dockyard subsequently expanded into neighbouring Gillingham (at its most extensive, in the early 20th century, ...

. Fort Darnet, like its twin

Hoo Fort Hoo Fort is a nineteenth-century military installation on the River Medway in Kent, England, that formed part of the defences of Chatham Naval Dockyard. Hoo Fort, like Fort Darnet downstream, was built on the recommendations of the Royal Commis ...

upstream, was built on the recommendations of the 1859 Royal Commission on an island covering Pinup Reach, the inner navigable channel of the River Medway. Building started on the island in 1870 and then finished in 1872. Originally designed for two tiers of guns mounted in a circle, with a

boom Boom may refer to: Objects * Boom (containment), a temporary floating barrier used to contain an oil spill * Boom (navigational barrier), an obstacle used to control or block marine navigation * Boom (sailing), a sailboat part * Boom (windsurfi ...

strung between them, there were many problems with subsidence, and after extensive cost overruns the forts were completed in 1872 with one tier, and 11 guns : a mixture of 8 9-inch and 3 7-inch rifled muzzle-loaders. The boom was not implemented though there were plans to mine the channel if thought needed. It was originally designed for a garrison of up to 100 men. The fort was used for gunnery practice until one of the guns cracked in its

casemate A casemate is a fortified gun emplacement or armored structure from which artillery, guns are fired, in a fortification, warship, or armoured fighting vehicle.Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary When referring to Ancient history, antiquity, th ...

, as reported in ‘The Chatham Observer’ on 25 January 1879. The forts were never used in anger, and were decommissioned before the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. In the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

the fort was used as an observation post, with platforms and pillboxes built on top. The fort is still in fair condition, however the magazine level is flooded. The island can be freely visited by boat, though the landing is muddy. Up to the 1980s, the island was used for picnicking and other leisure pursuits. It is scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979. MedwayDarnet4288c

References

Bibliography

*Crowdy, R, Medway's Island Forts, (1979) *Gulvin, K R, The Medway Forts, (1976), 18-19 *Smith, V T C, Strategic Study of Kents Defences - Fort Darnet, (1999)

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Darnet Palmerston Forts Forts in Medway