Shornemead Fort

Shornemead Fort
close to Higham, Kent
View of the exterior of the casemates of Shornemead Fort
Shornemead Fort
Coordinates	51°26′48″N 0°26′03″E / 51.446768°N 0.434059°E / 51.446768; 0.434059
Type	Fortification
Site information
Controlled by	Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
Open to the public	Yes
Condition	Mostly demolished
Site history
Built	ca. 1861–70
Built by	United Kingdom
In use	1870–1950s
Materials	Concrete, granite
Demolished	1960s
Battles/wars	First World War, Second World War

Shornemead Fort is a now-disused artillery fort that was built in the 1860s to guard the entrance to the Thames from seaborne attack. Constructed during a period of tension with France, it stands on the south bank of the river at a point where the Thames curves sharply north and west, giving the fort long views up and downriver in both directions. It was the third fort constructed on the site since the 18th century, but its location on marshy ground led to major problems with subsidence. The fort was equipped for a time with a variety of large-calibre artillery guns which were intended to support two other nearby Thamesside forts. However, the extent of the subsidence meant that it became unsafe for the guns to be fired and the fort was disarmed by the early 20th century.

Shornemead Fort was in use from its completion in 1870 to its abandonment in the 1950s. Much of it was demolished by the Army Demolition School of the Royal Engineers in the 1960s. The barracks and administrative buildings have been completely destroyed and only the front of the casemates survives along with the magazines underneath, though the latter are now flooded and inaccessible. The surviving fragments of the fort and the area around it are part of a nature reserve and can be visited by the public.