Fort Grange is one of the

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 ...

, in

Gosport Gosport ( ) is a town and non-metropolitan borough on the south coast of Hampshire, South East England. At the 2011 Census, its population was 82,662. Gosport is situated on a peninsula on the western side of Portsmouth Harbour, opposite ...

, England. After Gomer and Elson forts had been approved in 1852, further consideration led to a decision to fill the gap between them by three more forts, and Grange is the most southerly of the three. Work began in 1858 and it was completed in 1863. Built as part of the outer defence line for Gosport along with Fort Brockhurst,

Fort Elson Fort Elson was one of the early Palmerston Forts, in Gosport, England, the northernmost polygonal land fort in the defence line to the west of Gosport. It was located on land immediately to the south of Elson Creek, to which it was connected by ...

and

Fort Rowner Fort Rowner is one of the Palmerston Forts, in Gosport, England. Built circa 1858 as part of the outer defence line for Gosport along with Fort Brockhurst and Fort Elson to the North East and Fort Grange and Fort Gomer to the South West. The for ...

to the North East and

Fort Gomer Fort Gomer was one of the Palmerston Forts, in Gosport, England, the southernmost and first-built Polygonal fort in the defence line to the west of Gosport. It was located on land immediately to the west of the present Gomer Lane. Fort Gomer was ...

to the South West. In 1914 23 (Siege) Company

Royal Garrison Artillery The Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) was formed in 1899 as a distinct arm of the British Army's Royal Regiment of Artillery serving alongside the other two arms of the Regiment, the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) and the Royal Horse Artillery (R ...

was based at the Fort. It was used to create number 3 and 4 Siege Batteries Royal Garrison Artillery. The fort is a Grade II

Listed Building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern I ...

and is virtually identical with Forts Brockhurst and Rowner. In 1917, the Fort Grange Aerodrome became the home to

Robert Smith-Barry Robert Raymond Smith Barry (4 April 1886 – 23 April 1949) was an officer in the Royal Flying Corps and its successor, the Royal Air Force. His most notable contribution was in developing flying instruction methods. In December 1916 he maste ...

's School of Special Flying. There are many surviving details and the main structure is intact, however the earthworks have been much reduced and much of the moat is infilled. In 1916 it was armed with a 1-pounder heavy anti aircraft gun on a travelling carriage. The fort was used as a military headquarters from 1910 and was derelict by 1983. In 1984 Fort Grange became the home of Royal Naval

Volunteer Cadet Corps The Volunteer Cadet Corps (VCC) is a national youth organisation managed by the United Kingdom's Royal Navy and sponsored by the UK's Ministry of Defence. The VCC comprises: * Headquarters VCC. Based at in Gosport. * VCC Training Centre. B ...

, and continues to fulfil this role today.

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

Victorian Forts data sheetVCC Website
Forts in Hampshire Palmerston Forts Grade II listed buildings in Hampshire 1858 establishments in England {{Hampshire-struct-stub