Forts · South East England
Grain Fort
In or near St Mary Hoo.
Grain Fort is a fort in the United Kingdom.
Wikimedia Commons licence
Plan your visit
- Typical visit
- 45 min–1.5 h
- Nearest railway station
- Sheerness-on-Sea · 3.2 km
Getting there & planning your visit
Grain Fort is located in Medway, South East England, with the postcode ME3 0DW. The nearest railway station is Sheerness-on-Sea, which is 3.2 km away. Entry details are not provided, so please check in advance for accessibility information.
About
Grain Fort is a historic fort or fortified site in the United Kingdom. Records date its origin to 1861. Coordinates: 51.4572°, 0.7196°.
Photo gallery
Protected designations
- Site of Special Scientific Interest: Medway Estuary and Marshes SSSI
- Site of Special Scientific Interest: South Thames Estuary and Marshes SSSI
- Ramsar wetland: Thames Estuary & Marshes
Designations sourced from Natural England open data under OGL v3.
From the Wikipedia article
Grain Fort is a former artillery fort located just east of the village of Grain, Kent. It was constructed in the 1860s to defend the confluence of the Rivers Medway and Thames during a period of tension with France. The fort's location enabled its guns to support the nearby Grain Tower and Garrison Point Fort at Sheerness on the other side of the Medway. It was repeatedly altered and its guns upgraded at various points in its history, before being decommissioned in 1956 when the UK abolished its coastal defence programme. It was subsequently demolished. The remnants of the fort are still visible and have been incorporated into a coastal park.
Excerpt from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0. See the source article linked in Sources below.
Background
Architecture
Grain Fort was constructed between 1861–68 to a heptagonal design. It initially had thirteen open emplacements carried on an earthwork, under which lay the magazines and linking passages. A semi-circular brick keep on a north–south alignment stood at the centre of the fort. It provided barrack accommodation for the garrison and was designed to be defensible, with loopholes in its front face to facilitate musket fire. Similarly, its gorge at the rear, where the main entrance stood, had crenelations to provide protection for defenders faced with a rearward attack. In front of the keep was a ditch, accessed via a gate at the rear of the fort. It had four caponiers that guarded the angles and…
Sourced from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Coordinates
- 51.4572, 0.7196
- District
- Medway
- Parish
- Isle of Grain
- Postcode
- ME3 0DW
- Parliamentary constituency
- Rochester and Strood
- Established
- 1861
- Nearest railway station
- Sheerness-on-Sea — 3.2 km
Sources
- osm: w1237238535 (ODbL)
- wikipedia: Grain Fort (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Other places nearby
Isle of Grain
Islands · 0.3 km
Grain Beach
Beaches · 0.4 km
Grain
Villages · 0.6 km
Dummy Battery
Forts · 1.0 km
Grain Tower
Historic houses · 1.0 km
Medway Ports
Harbours & ports · 2.1 km
Garrison Point Fort
Castles · 2.1 km
Garrison Point Fort
Castles · 2.1 km
Sheerness Harbour
Harbours & ports · 2.2 km
Little Nore
Marinas · 2.3 km
Cockleshell Hard
Beaches · 2.3 km
Figurhead
Public art & sculpture · 2.7 km
Nearby
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📷 5Frequently asked questions
- Where is Grain Fort?
- Grain Fort is in South-East England, United Kingdom (postcode ME3 0DW), in the parish of Isle of Grain.
- What is Grain Fort?
- Grain Fort is a fort in the United Kingdom.
- How do I get to Grain Fort?
- The nearest railway station is Sheerness-on-Sea, about 3.2 km away. Drivers can use postcode ME3 0DW.
- When was Grain Fort built?
- Built or established in 1861.
- Is Grain Fort a protected site?
- Yes — Grain Fort is part of the Medway Estuary and Marshes SSSI Site of Special Scientific Interest and the South Thames Estuary and Marshes SSSI Site of Special Scientific Interest.
- How do I get to Grain Fort?
- The nearest railway station is Sheerness-on-Sea, about 3.2 km away. Drivers can navigate to postcode ME3 0DW.