Hoo Fort is a nineteenth-century military installation on the
River Medway
The River Medway is a river in South East England. It rises in the High Weald AONB, High Weald, East Sussex and flows through Tonbridge, Maidstone and the Medway conurbation in Kent, before emptying into the Thames Estuary near Sheerness, a to ...
in
Kent, England, that formed part of the defences of
Chatham Naval Dockyard. Hoo Fort, like
Fort Darnet
Fort Darnet, is a nineteenth-century military installation on the River Medway in Kent, England, that formed part of the defences of Chatham Naval Dockyard. Fort Darnet, like its twin Hoo Fort upstream, was built on the recommendations of the ...
downstream, was built on the recommendations of the
1859 Royal Commission. It is located on Hoo Island covering Pinup Reach, the inner navigable channel of the River Medway. Hoo Island sits to the south of the
Hoo Peninsula and is within the parish of
Hoo,
Kent. The fort can be viewed from along the
Saxon Shore Way, accessible from Vicarage Lane in Hoo.
History
Originally designed for two tiers of guns mounted in a circle, with a boom strung between Hoo Fort and
Fort Darnet
Fort Darnet, is a nineteenth-century military installation on the River Medway in Kent, England, that formed part of the defences of Chatham Naval Dockyard. Fort Darnet, like its twin Hoo Fort upstream, was built on the recommendations of the ...
, there were many problems with subsidence, and after extensive cost overruns the forts were completed in 1871 with a single tier of eleven
9-inch rifled muzzle-loading guns, and no boom.
Each gun was mounted in an individual
casemate
A casemate is a fortified gun emplacement or armored structure from which artillery, guns are fired, in a fortification, warship, or armoured fighting vehicle.Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary
When referring to Ancient history, antiquity, th ...
with heavily armoured firing port.
The forts were decommissioned before the
First World War. In the
Second World War, the fort was used as an observation post, with platforms and
pillboxes built on top. The fort is still in fair condition. It is a Scheduled Monument
and is owned by
Medway Ports
Medway Ports, incorporating the Port of Sheerness and Chatham Docks is part of Peel Ports, the second largest port group in the United Kingdom. The Ports authority is also responsible for the harbour, pilotage and conservancy matters for of th ...
.
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoo
Forts in Medway
Palmerston Forts