Site Records

Site Name: Fort Southwick

James Callaghan Drive
Portsmouth, Hampshire
OS Grid Ref: SU628069

Sub Brit site visit 3rd December 2002

THE FORT & TUNNELS TODAY
Having only recently been released by the MOD the fort is generally in good external condition. The main barrack block is completely derelict and internally has been stripped of most of its original fittings. It is currently being renovated and converted into luxury flats. Being a listed building this conversion will ensure that all external features will remain unaltered as will original internal walls. Only later partition walls will be removed. Three staircases lead up to the flat, grass covered roof, one at either end of the building and one in the centre.

On the south east corner of the roof there is as small observation post for bombing triangulation, working in conjunction with similar posts at Fort Widley and Fort Purbrook.

In the centre of the roof there is a large two roomed signal station accessed by a flight of external wooden steps. One room looks over the parade ground and gun emplacements of the fort while the other looks over Portsmouth and out to sea. There would be direct communication from here to the signal tower in the dockyard and any ships in the harbour. There is an iron ladder fixed to the wall giving access to the flat roof.

All the external gun emplacements on the ramparts are intact together with their hold fasts, ready ammunition lockers and adjacent expense magazines. From east to west these consist of one pair of 64 pounder RML's, one Moncrief pit on the salient angle for a 7" RBL on a disappearing carriage. This emplacement has been roofed over with corrugated metal sheeting and now houses the forts incinerator with a small chimney on the roof. Two pairs of 64 pounder RML's, a second Moncrief pit, a fourth pair of 64 pounder RML's and finally a single 64 pounder RML emplacement.

In the centre of the parade ground is the earth covered top of the spiral staircase with a winch mounted in the stairwell. Immediately to the north a stairway leads down to the upper level of the main caponier and from the upper level two stairways lead down to the lower caponier. Close to the two Moncrief pits, further stairways lead down to the casemated mortar batteries which are each laid out in an arc of five mortar emplacements. These would have fired a heavy projectile weighing 200 lbs at 45 degrees elevation to provide plunging shot that was to be employed against enemy siege works and breeching batteries. The mortars were never fitted as they were considered obsolete by the time the fort was completed and they were replaced by 8" RML Howitzers which were mounted, in a more favorable position on the ramparts. Today some of the mortar casemates are open while others have been bricked up to form rooms. From the bottom of the tunnel to the mortar batteries there is access out to the sentry path (chemin de ronde) and firing step at the base of the ramparts running around the inner ditch wall. This allowed soldier to step up and fire into the ditch.

On the western side of the parade ground there is a final stairway down to a two level flanking gallery which also acted as a traverse, a defensive position overlooking the firing step and chemin de ronde on either side. At the western end of the ditch steps lead down to a small musketry gallery for defending the short western branch of the ditch.

Several original buildings can still be seen on the parade ground, the largest, on the east side, was the secondary senior officers' mess which was later used by the ATS. The most prominent building to the rear of the parade ground is the windowless prefabricated 1974 commcen and in front of it a small brick tower is the top of the ventilation shaft from the main magazine below.

The main entrance to the Victorian tunnel network is from the centre of the gorge, in front of the barracks. From here a tunnel runs north to the base of the spiral staircase where a winch is still to be found in the stairwell. A short distance along the tunnel on the left hand side there is a metal grille gate at the top of a flight of steps (known as the north west stairs or galley stairs) down to the WW2 Combined Underground Headquarters. Half way along this tunnel the main magazine is located on the west side. This originally consisted of two vaulted chambers for the storage of barrels of black powder stored on racks in bays.

By the 1880s forts no longer stored powder in barrels. Instead they held made-up cartridges which were in turn stored in metal lined boxes on the racking in the main cartridge store. The other chamber was converted for use as a shell store. Immediate use ammunition was stored closer to the guns on the main ramparts in expense magazines. In more recent times the magazine has been used a wireless room. There are two small rooms on the opposite side of the tunnel to the magazine, they were the shifting lobbies. A semi-circular passage known as a 'D' tunnel, bypasses the magazine.

At the spiral staircase there are three further tunnels radiating from it, those to the north west and north east lead to the demi-caponiers while the short tunnel straight ahead (north) leads to the main caponier. A short distance along this tunnel on the right hand side there is a small room constructed during WW2, lined with corrugated metal sheeting; this was the WT store.

Further information and pictures about this site continues here

Return to Fort Southwick home page .................................
Gallery 1 Entrance to the fort and the barrack block ...........
Gallery 2 The parade ground, dry ditch & Chemin de Ronde
Gallery 3 Victorian gun emplacements .................................
Gallery 4 Victorian tunnels, magazines and caponiers ..........
Gallery 5 Underground Combined Headquarters ................
Gallery 6 Underground Combined Headquarters ................
Paulsgrove Quarry - Underground radio station..................
1974 NATO Commcen ....................................................

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