Report - Cliffe Fort, Sept 2009

As part of our trip to Middleton we decided to vistit a couple more places on our way back. I did this place early last year but didn’t have my camera with me so have been meaning to get back up and get some photos. I think this has to be one of my favorite places to explore and is great for photography. Visited with Frosty, Fortknox0, gizmo and my misses.

Cliffe fort is a Royal commission fort built in the 1860’s. Situated near the village of Cliffe on the Hoo Peninsula in kent, it provided defence against the invasion of London via the thames estuary.
The Fort is now derelict but can be viewed from the outside via a public footpath. It is opposite coalhouse fort in Essex. Construction proved difficult due to the marshy land and malaria-carrying mosquitoes. The fort was armed with 12.5” and 11” RML guns weighing around 35tons.

In 1890 a Brennan Torpedo station was added (see last picture). Louis Brennan invented the guided torpedo which became a state of the art costa2l wepon from 1887 to 1903. An example of these torpedos can be seen today in the royal engineer’s museum at chatam. This was replaced around 1910 with quick fireing guns. The fort sits within a live gravel excavation works and is not open to the public. The future for this amazing place is unknown as it is left to sit and decay.