Scraesdon Fort

Scraesdon Fort stands on high ground above Antony in south-east Cornwall. Built in the late 19th century, it was one of several forts designed to protect Plymouth Sound and Devonport dockyard from naval attack. Lord Palmerston’s government ordered the ring of forts after fears of French aggression. Captain William Crossman drew up the plans in 1859 and F Roach and Company of Plymouth built it for £137,000. The fort’s polygonal shape and dry ditch show the advanced military engineering of the time. The fort once bristled with heavy guns: twenty-seven 7-inch breech-loaders on the ramparts. By 1893 its armament included one 64-pounder, eight 7-inch rifles, two 32-pounders and two 5-inch guns. It served as a training barracks for Royal Navy artificer apprentices and later for Royal Marine Commandos. Local Army Reserve units still use parts of the site for exercises. A pair of elusive brothers, the Scraesdonians, are said to know every corner of the fort. Visitors find a large, overgrown ruin with two levels rising from 173 to 254 metres above sea level. The dry ditch and ramparts remain intact, and fragments of the old military railway can be seen nearby. A metal bridge, tunnel and sections of track once linked the fort to Wacker Quay on the River Lynher. The site is Grade II listed and retains an air of military history despite decades of neglect.