Fort Gilkicker

Fort Gilkicker stands at the eastern end of Stokes Bay in Gosport, Hampshire. It is a semi-circular Palmerston fort built between 1863 and 1871 to defend Spithead, the deep-water anchorage where the Royal Navy anchored. The fort’s granite face is 4.3 metres thick, with 22 brick-vaulted casemates for heavy guns. Behind each embrasure is a barrack room for the gun crew, linked by a verandah. Below the gun floor lie magazines for shells and cartridges, supplied by vertical lifts. The parade at the rear once held five open gun emplacements for the heaviest weapons. The fort’s design changed several times. In 1902 its original guns were replaced by two 9.2-inch and two six-inch breech-loaders, and earth embankments were added for protection. Colonel Montgomery had recommended these changes to fit the latest artillery. By 1906 the magazines and barrack block were rebuilt to store 3,000 rounds of ammunition. The Owen Committee later decided the heavy guns were unnecessary, and in 1916 an anti-aircraft gun was installed instead. After disarming in 1956, the fort served as a store until 1999. Visitors today see the massive granite front and the long verandah connecting the barrack rooms. The parade leads up to the upper battery, where the open gun positions still overlook Spithead. Inside, the brick-vaulted casemates and ammunition lifts remain intact. The two-storey barrack block at the rear once housed officers, with bedrooms, a mess, and a shell-filling laboratory. Outside, an artillery store and a smith’s shop stand beside the entrance. The fort’s Grade II* listing recognises its historic military architecture.