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Monument details

HER Number:TQ 76 NE 57
Type of record:Monument
Name:Fort Horsted, Chatham

Summary

Artillery fort completed c.1889 as part of the Chatham Ring Fortresses. It was the largest of these forts which were built in a half-ring two miles outside Chatham. The regular Pentagon shaped forts were made from brickwork and cement but due to improved gunnery they were out of date almost as soon as they were complete. The ring forts are scheduled due to their importance as the last major work of traditional fortificiations in the country.

Grid Reference:TQ 7510 6509
Map Sheet:TQ76NE
Parish:ROCHESTER & CHATHAM, MEDWAY, KENT

Monument Types

  • FORT (Post Medieval to Modern - 1889 AD? to 2050 AD (between))
  • PILLBOX (Modern - 1914 AD to 1918 AD)
  • ANTI AIRCRAFT BATTERY (Modern - 1939 AD to 1945 AD)
  • ORDNANCE DEPOT (Modern - 1939 AD to 1945 AD)
Protected Status:Scheduled Monument 1003401: Fort Horstead

Full description

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(Centred TQ 751 651) Fort Horsted [NAT] (1)
TQ 756 656 Fort Horsted, Chatham (erroneously sited, grid reference should be TQ 751 651). (2)
Constructed after 1860 and completed in 1889. Fort Horsted was the largest of the Chatham 'ring forts' (TQ 76 NE 398), which were built in a half-ring two miles outside Chatham. In plan a regular pentagon with tunnels and counterscarp galleries at three courses. Some brickwork but mostly cement centred. Some details such as iron railings survive. These forts were out of date, due to improved gunnery, almost as soon as they were built. The last major work of traditional fortificiations in the country. Overall condition fair, now used as a car depot. Scheduled. (3-5)
Destruction of part of the rampart noticed in 1994 [6].
Part of a possible access tunnel seen to the NE during site visit by Andrew Mayfield and Adam Single in december 2004.


<1> OS 1:10000 1981 (OS Card Reference). SKE48167.

<2> DOE(IAM) AMs Eng 2 1978 111 (OS Card Reference). SKE41413.

<3> DOE(IAM) Record Form 01.07.71 plan (OS Card Reference). SKE41433.

<4> Post Md Arch 10 1076 110-115 plan (OS Card Reference). SKE48530.

<5> Handbook of Kent's Defences 1540-1945 1977 (D Bennett) 10-12 (OS Card Reference). SKE43669.

<6> Victor Smith and Ron Crowdy, 1994, From Tudor Rose to Mushroom Cloud. The Gazetter of Defence Heritage Sites in the Kentish Part of the Thames Gateway. An Overview (Unpublished document). SKE12458.

<7> Wessex Archaeology, 2004, Land adjacent to Fort Horsted, Chatham, Kent: desk-based assessment (Unpublished document). SKE52174.

<8> Kent Defence Research Group, c. 1993, Kent Defence Research Group 'Fort Logs' (Unpublished document). SKE52251.

Sources and further reading

Cross-ref. Source description
<1>OS Card Reference: OS 1:10000 1981.
<2>OS Card Reference: DOE(IAM) AMs Eng 2 1978 111.
<3>OS Card Reference: DOE(IAM) Record Form 01.07.71 plan.
<4>OS Card Reference: Post Md Arch 10 1076 110-115 plan.
<5>XYOS Card Reference: Handbook of Kent's Defences 1540-1945 1977 (D Bennett) 10-12. [Mapped feature: #291 fort, ]
<6>Unpublished document: Victor Smith and Ron Crowdy. 1994. From Tudor Rose to Mushroom Cloud. The Gazetter of Defence Heritage Sites in the Kentish Part of the Thames Gateway. An Overview.
<7>Unpublished document: Wessex Archaeology. 2004. Land adjacent to Fort Horsted, Chatham, Kent: desk-based assessment.
<8>Unpublished document: Kent Defence Research Group. c. 1993. Kent Defence Research Group 'Fort Logs'.

Related records

TQ 76 NE 398Part of: The Chatham Ring Fortresses (Monument)