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Fort Borstal
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| Fort Borstal | |
|---|---|
| Borstal, Kent, England | |
 | |
| Site information | |
| Type | Palmerston fort |
| Owner | Private |
| Location | |
  Fort Borstal | |
| Coordinates | 51°22′14″N 00°29′21″E / 51.37056°N 0.48917°E |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1885 |
| Built by | Captain Siborne, R.E. |
| Materials | Brick and earthworks |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
| Events | |
| Official name | Fort Borstal |
| Reference no. | 1003402 |
Fort Borstal was built as an afterthought from the 1859 Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom, by convict labour.[1] Construction started in 1875 but was suspended in 1885. The fort was completed around 1895. it was one of a series of four forts that ringed Chatham.[2][3]
Fort Borstal was designed to hold the high ground southwest of Rochester, South East England. It is of polygonal design and was not originally armed. An anti-aircraft battery was based there in the Second World War.[4][5]
A 18 in (457 mm) gauge railway was built connecting the four Chatham ring forts of Borstal, Bridgewoods, Horsted and Luton. A rope-worked incline led west from Fort Borstal down to a gravel pit and wharf on the River Medway. About 600 yards (550 m) of track remains intact at Fort Borstal.[2]
After many years' use as a pig farm and store for the nearby Young Offenders Institution it was sold in 1991 to a company hoping to make it a museum, but that proved unsuccessful and the fort has been converted into living accommodation. There is no public access to the site.
References
[edit]- ^ Jane Phimester (2020). A National Planning Overview for 19th Century Forts and Associated Defence Structures (Report). Historic England. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
- ^ a b Lyne, R.M. (1983). Military Railways in Kent. Ramsgate: North Kent Books. ISBN 0-948305-04-5.
- ^ "Borstal Prison". The Institutional History Society. 10 March 2021. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
- ^ "Exploring Kent's Past". webapps.kent.gov.uk. 25 January 2008. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
- ^ "Defending Chatham 1939–1941: Kent Defence Research Group Study & Fieldwork Project". Kent Archaeological Society. 28 March 2025. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
Bibliography
[edit]Out Of The Shadows, A History Of Borstal Village, by Stephen Hannington, 2015. ISBN 978-0-9564677-7-5
External links
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