#NinjaSkills
TheSecretVault
I N THIS 4 PART SERIES WE WILL TAKE YOU TO ALL THE 4 SEA FORTS IN THE SOLENT. KEEP YOUR EYES PEELED FOR THE NEW PARTS TO THIS SERIES OVER THE NEXT WEEK. ***WARNING: THE 2 HOTELS HAVE ALARMS AND SECURITY GUARDS POSTED ON THEM. WE FOUND THIS OUT THE HARD WAY... WE THEN GOT PERMISSION TO VISIT BUT THIS TOOK DAYS TO REQUEST, SO PLAN YOUR TRIPS ACCORDINGLY.*** WIKI INFO Active naval installation, 1878-1956 The four armour-plated forts were designed by Captain E. H. Stewart overseen by Assistant Inspector General of Fortifications, Colonel W. F. D. Jervois. Construction started in 1867, and was completed in 1878, at a cost of £167,300.[1] Spitbank is smaller than the two main Solent forts, Horse Sand Fort and No Man's Land Fort. Its main purpose was as a further line of defence for ships that made it past the two main forts. It is 49.4 metres (162 ft) in diameter across at its base, with one floor and a basement and armour plating only on the seaward side. It was originally planned to have been armed with nine 10" 18-ton rifled muzzle loader (RML) guns on the seaward side, and six 7" seven-ton RML guns on the landward side. However, by the time of completion the plan had changed so that the seaward side received nine 12.5-inch muzzle-loading (RML) guns. From 1884 more modern 12-inch breechloading guns were installed and these were in service until after World War I.[2] In 1898 the role of the fort was changed to defend against light craft and the roof was fitted out with two 4.7" guns and searchlights. In the early 1900s all but three original large guns were removed. Disused, 1956-1982 The fort remained unused after the abolition of coastal artillery in 1956[4]. The fort was declared surplus to requirements in 1962, and put up for sale the following year unsuccessfully. The fort was declared a Scheduled Monument in 1967.[5] The Ministry of Defence sold the fort to a private buyer in 1982, amid other defence spending cuts in the early 1980s. Museum, 1982-2009 Following the purchase of the fort, it underwent restoration and was opened to the public as a museum. Beginning June 4, 2002 the fort was used as a location for Banged Up With Beadle. For six weeks British TV personality Jeremy Beadle was locked in its dungeons. . These skills were put to the test as a live insert each Saturday evening into Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway. The fort was also featured on a 2006 episode of Most Haunted, as part of series 8. It was the venue for the Coalition Festival in the summer of 2009, and other psytrance[7] and hard dance[8] parties. Hotel, 2012- present In 2009 it was put on sale for £800,000[9] but was sold before auction, reportedly for more than £1m. The fort was remodelled, with works reportedly costing around £8m, and opened in 2012 as a luxury spa hotel and retreat with nine bedroom suites. In 2020, use of the hotel was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic. The hotel was unable to reopen as other English hotels did in July, "due to their unique requirements in both transportation and sanitisation requirements". All three Clarenco Forts were listed for sale in July. Spitbank Fort was described as a "33,000 sq ft boutique retreat on three floors". On September 14th, 2020, Pendulum recorded a concert at Spitbank Fort to promote their new single Driver/Nothing for Free that was streamed live on YouTube on October 2nd, 2020. The other sea forts, all larger, are Spitbank Fort, Horse Sand Fort and No Man's Land Fort. The Solent Forts - often known as "Palmerston's Follies" - were built in response to a French invasion scare under Louis Napoleon III. This was due in part to the doctrines of the Jeune École of French naval thinking, which emphasised attacking ports with small craft, instead of fleet action, as well as the launch of the first ironclad warship, the Gloire. The threat of war with France receded after the Franco-Prussian War in 1870-71 ended in French defeat. The forts were later used for defence in both World War I and WWII, although the heavier armaments proved unpopular with local householders due to the concussion breaking windows during firing practice. Subsequently their main useful role has been as navigational lighthouses. As of 2020, Spitbank, No Man's Land and Horse Sand Fort were also privately owned (by Clarenco); the first two had been converted into hotels after a major restoration.
