The Humber Forts are two large

fortification A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere' ...

s in the mouth of the Humber Estuary in northern England: Bull Sand Fort () and Haile Sand Fort ().

History

The two forts were planned in 1914, at the start of 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 ...

, to protect the sea entrance to the Humber Estuary. They stand above the water and have a diameter of . There was accommodation for 200 soldiers. Started in May 1915, they took more than four years to build and construction was not finished until December 1919, a year after the war ended. During 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 opposi ...

the forts were reactivated and modernised. They were regularly attacked by enemy aircraft. During this time, they installed submerged netting to prevent enemy submarines from travelling up the estuary to Hull or

Grimsby Grimsby or Great Grimsby is a port town and the administrative centre of North East Lincolnshire, Lincolnshire, England. Grimsby adjoins the town of Cleethorpes directly to the south-east forming a conurbation. Grimsby is north-east of L ...

. The forts were finally abandoned by the military in 1956.

Bull Sand Fort

Bull Sand Fort is from shore off

Spurn Head Spurn is a narrow sand tidal island located off the tip of the coast of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England that reaches into the North Sea and forms the north bank of the mouth of the Humber Estuary. It was a spit with a semi-permanent con ...

. It is a 4-storey concrete building with of armour on the seaward side, and originally armed with four 6-inch guns. It was built with great difficulty as its sandbank is below low water. In 1987 it was given a Grade II Listed Building status. In 1997 it was sold to the Streetwise Charitable Trust, who intended to restore the fort for use as a drug rehabilitation facility. The plan failed eventually. The trust no longer operates. Administratively, it is within the

East Riding of Yorkshire The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a ceremonial county and unitary authority area in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, South Yorkshire to t ...

and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

of Easington. In July 2022, it was listed for sale by auction, with a guide price of £50,000, through Savills estate agents. The fort was sold for £490,000.

Haile Sand Fort

Haile Sand Fort or Sand Haile Fort is the smaller of the two and is situated around the low-water mark between Cleethorpes and Humberston on the

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-we ...

coast. In February 2016 the fort was put on the market. It remained unsold until it was put up for auction in October 2018. It was sold for £117,000 at the auction to an unnamed purchaser.

References

External links

* *
Humber Forts page on North East Lincolnshire Council website

Island of Hope Charitable Trust
{{authority control Buildings and structures in Lincolnshire Grade II listed buildings in the East Riding of Yorkshire Grade II listed forts 20th-century forts in England Humber World War I sites in England Sea forts

History

Bull Sand Fort

Haile Sand Fort

See also

References

External links