Crownhill Fort

Crownhill Fort stands on a high natural outcrop above Crownhill in Plymouth. Built in the 1860s as part of Lord Palmerston’s ring of land defences, it was designed by Captain Edmund Frederick Du Cane to protect Devonport Dockyard from possible French attack. The fort is a seven-sided polygon with massive ramparts and a deep dry ditch cut from bedrock. Around 350 rifle loopholes line its walls, and it once held 32 guns on the ramparts plus six mortars in two pits. The fort was finished by the Royal Engineers after the original contractor went bankrupt, costing £76,009 at the time. The fort played a key role in both world wars. In the First World War it served as a recruitment and transport centre for troops bound for Turkey and Africa. During the Second World War anti-aircraft guns were mounted here, and later a Gun Operations Room was built on the parade ground. After the Falklands War it became home to the 59 Independent Commando Squadron Royal Engineers until 1983. The Landmark Trust bought the fort in 1986 and restored it, receiving help from the European Committee, English Heritage and the Heritage Lottery Fund. Visitors today can explore the underground rooms and passages on guided tours. The fort still holds a working collection of artillery, including a rare Moncrieff disappearing gun and two 13-inch mortars from the Crimean War. On event days the guns are fired to recreate the sounds of a Victorian fortress. Small businesses and a holiday apartment now occupy parts of the site, while the ramparts and ditch remain well preserved.