Fort Fareham

Fort Fareham stands on the west bank of Salterns Creek, just west of Fareham town centre. It is one of the Palmerston Forts built in the 1860s to defend Portsmouth and Gosport from attack by land. The fort sits two miles in front of the Gosport Advanced Line, linking the Portsdown Hill forts to the north with the Gosport forts to the south. Its position on the Fareham Gap made it a key hinge in the defence plan. The fort is a Grade II listed building, recognised for its historic importance since 1976. The fort was designed as a polygonal work with strong self-defence features. Its pentagonal shape includes a west-facing rampart for main guns and a north flanking rampart to cover the Fareham Gap towards Fort Wallington. The south ramparts were protected by Haxo casemates, a rare feature among Palmerston Forts. A deep ditch surrounds the fort, though water problems meant much of it stayed dry. The west caponier and smaller demi-caponiers defend the ditch, while a redan closes the rear gorge instead of a keep. Visitors today find a mix of overgrown ramparts and surviving structures. The parade is covered by a business park, but the Haxo casemates remain intact, now used as industrial units. The five Moncrieff pits are still visible, and the southwest and south casemates stand bricked-up. The west caponier shows damage from years of neglect, and the mortar battery and caponiers are mostly derelict. Despite its overgrown state, the fort’s outline and surviving features offer a clear picture of its military past.