Fort Borstal

Fort Borstal stands on high ground southwest of Rochester in the Medway valley. Built between 1875 and 1895 by convict labour, it was one of four forts designed to protect the Chatham Dockyard. The fort follows a polygonal plan and was first used as an unarmed coastal defence. During the Second World War an anti-aircraft battery was stationed here. A narrow-gauge railway once linked the four ring forts, and a rope incline ran down to the River Medway. The fort’s military life ended when it became a pig farm and later a store for the nearby Young Offenders Institution. In 1991 a private company tried to turn it into a museum, but the plan failed. Today the site is private housing, with no public entry. Only about 550 metres of the old railway track remain in place. The fort’s polygonal walls still mark the skyline above the Medway. Inside the converted ramparts, modern homes sit behind the original brickwork. The remaining railway line runs through the grounds, a quiet reminder of the fort’s past. Views stretch across the Medway valley towards Rochester. The site keeps its military shape even as it shelters new lives.