St Helens Fort is a sea fort in the

Solent The Solent ( ) is a strait between the Isle of Wight and Great Britain. It is about long and varies in width between , although the Hurst Spit which projects into the Solent narrows the sea crossing between Hurst Castle and Colwell Bay t ...

close to the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a Counties of England, county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the List of islands of England#Largest islands, largest and List of islands of England#Mo ...

, one of the Palmerston Forts near Portsmouth. It was built as a result of the Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom of 1859, in order to protect the St Helens anchorage. The fort was designed by Captain E. H. Stewart, overseen by Assistant Inspector General of Fortifications, Colonel W. F. D. Jervois. Construction began in 1865 and was completed in 1878, at a cost of £123,311. It suffered badly from subsidence which forced many changes to the plans, ending up with two 10-inch 18-ton rifled muzzle-loading (RML) guns to landward and one 12.5-inch 38-ton RML gun to seaward. The fort is now in private hands and not open to the public. It was offered for sale in 2003. Any private resident would not have access to local authority services, although it has its own artesian well. A National Trust report states that during WW II, it was "used as a searchlight and anti-aircraft gun platform". Periodically (often in August), on one of the lowest tides of the year, there is a mass walk from St Helens beach out to the fort and back. At this day the causeway appears from the sea upon which the original materials were carried out from the shore at St Helen's Old Church, where there was formerly a quarry. Access is from this point, but also along the spit from

Bembridge Bembridge is a village and civil parish located on the easternmost point of the Isle of Wight. It had a population of 3,848 according to the 2001 census of the United Kingdom, leading to the implausible claim by some residents that Bembridge ...

. It has become traditional to hold a barbecue on the beach thereafter. This event is entirely spontaneous but safety boat services are provided by local yacht clubs. The other sea forts, all larger, are Spitbank Fort, Horse Sand Fort and

No Man's Land Fort No Man's Land Fort, also referred to as No Man's Fort, is a sea fort in the Solent, near Portsmouth, England. It is one of the Palmerston Forts built between 1867 and 1880 after the recommendations of the 1859 Royal Commission. It is 200 ...

. The Solent Forts - often known as "Palmerston's Follies" - were built in response to a French invasion scare under

Louis Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...

. This was due in part to the doctrines of the ''

Jeune École The ''Jeune École'' ("Young School") was a strategic naval concept developed during the 19th century. It advocated the use of small, heavily armed vessels to combat larger battleships, and the use of commerce raiders to cripple the trade of the ...

'' of French naval thinking, which emphasised attacking ports with small craft, instead of fleet action, as well as the launch of the first ironclad warship, the ''Gloire''. The threat of war with France receded after the Franco-Prussian War in 1870-71 ended in French defeat. The forts were later used for defence in both

World War I 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 ...

and

WWII 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 ...

, although the heavier armaments proved unpopular with local householders due to the concussion breaking windows during firing practice. Subsequently their main useful role has been as navigational lighthouses. As of 2020, Spitbank, No Man's Land and Horse Sand Fort were also privately owned (by Clarenco); the first two had been converted into hotels after a major restoration.Solent Forts an amazing visit off the Hampshire coast
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{{Palmerston Forts on the Isle of Wight Sea forts Sea Forts in the Solent Palmerston Forts Coastal artillery Military installations established in 1880