BEMBRIDGE FORT AND THE NATIONAL TRUST
Bembridge Fort was acquired by the National Trust in 1967 as part of its Enterprise Neptune campaign. The campaign was involved with the acquisition of coastline and the fort was taken on by the Trust as part of Bembridge and Culver Down. At that time the significance of Palmerstonian forts was not fully realised.
In 1968 the Trust let the Fort to Micronair who occupied the whole site and operated a manufacturing business from it until 1998 when the firm went into liquidation. The western end of the Fort is now leased to Micron who run a similar business.
When the original tenants vacated the Fort in 1998 the National Trust was faced with the question of what to do with the part which remained unoccupied by the new tenants. The Fort was in a derelict condition and was full of debris.
Various meetings were held in the early 2000s and it was realised that it would not be financially possible to fully restore and open it as at the Needles Old Battery. It was therefore decided that action should be taken to stop it falling into further disrepair and to have a programme of increased public access through guided tours.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE FORT
Bembridge is a Victorian fort built between 1862 and 1867. It formed part of a ring of defences protecting the island and the naval dockyards at Portsmouth from the threat of a French invasion. As such, it shares its history with the Needles Old Battery as well as other forts and batteries in the immediate area including:
St Helens (in the Solent)
Steyne Fort
Yaverland Battery
Sandown Fort (Sandown Zoo)
Redcliff (now gone)
Nodes Point (now gone)
In the event the French never came and no shots were fired in anger with the result that the fortifications became known as Palmerston’s Follies, after Lord Palmerston who was Prime Minister at the time and who commissioned their construction.
It is believed that the Bembridge Fort was briefly occupied during the First World War and then by representatives of all three forces during the Second World War.
THE STRUCTURE OF THE FORT
The Fort is an elongated hexagon and is situated on the highest point of Bembridge Down. As soon as it was built it was realised that it needed altering and so from its earliest days through both World Wars modifications were made resulting in a building with multiple layers of history.
However the Fort is now a Scheduled Ancient Monument so any renovation or repairs to the fabric require the consent of English Heritage.
Because it is a Scheduled Ancient Monument the factory buildings are not permanently fixed to the Fort so have not damaged the fabric and the factory building is actually protecting the brickwork at that end from the elements.
VOLUNTEERS AND BEMBRIDGE FORT
Without the help of volunteers access to the Fort would not be available to the extent it is, and the Fort itself would not be in such a good condition as it is today.
Clearance work was carried out in 2005/06 by volunteer work parties to remove major debris. Little happened in 2007 then in 2008 work began in earnest with a small group of volunteers and is ongoing.
Please click here to see some examples of how the Fort looked in 2005 compared with the same features today.