13 Forts in Medway

Fort Amherst, in Medway, South East England, was constructed in 1756 at the southern end of the Brompton lines of defence to protect the southeastern approaches to Chatham Dockyard and the River Medway against a French invasion. Fort Amherst is now open as a visitor attraction throughout the year with tours provided through the tunnel complex.

Dummy Battery, originally known as Grain Battery, is a disused fortified gun battery located about 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) south of the village of Grain, Kent at the confluence of the Rivers Thames and Medway. Completed in 1865, it supported two nearby coast artillery batteries at Grain Fort and Grain Wing Battery, a short distance to the north. The battery's arc of fire overlapped with Grain Tower just offshore and with Garrison Point Fort on the Isle of Sheppey across the other side of the Medway. It consisted of an earthwork with a concrete core supporting several gun emplacements with magazines below. It appears to have gone out of service as a battery by the time of the First World War, though it briefly took on a role in anti-aircraft defence. It was subsequently abandoned and was severely damaged by demolitions and the removal of its earthworks, leaving only the substantial remains of its concrete core standing today.

Fort Horsted is a scheduled monument that lies in the Horsted Valley to the South of Chatham, Kent, England. It is a late 19th-century Land Fort, and one of six constructed around Chatham and Gillingham, Kent to protect HM Dockyard Chatham from attack. Originally proposed in the Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom Report, published in 1860, it and the other land defences were omitted as part of general cost cutting with only the coastal defences on the River Medway being retained and completed under the original 1860 proposals. It was not until the mid-1870s that a revised programme was accepted, which included the construction of a convict prison at Borstal, Rochester, to provide low cost labour for the construction of a line of four forts, Fort Borstal, Fort Bridgewood, Fort Horsted and Fort Luton. Its construction started in 1879 and was complete by 1889 after much delay.

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.

Grain Tower is a mid-19th-century gun tower situated offshore just east of Grain, Kent, standing in the mouth of the River Medway. It was built along the same lines as the Martello towers that were constructed along the British and Irish coastlines in the early 19th century and is the last-built example of a gun tower of this type. It owed its existence to the need to protect the important dockyards at Sheerness and Chatham from a perceived French naval threat during a period of tension in the 1850s.

Grain Wing Battery is a former gun battery located just east of the village of Grain, Kent at the confluence of the Rivers Thames and Medway. It supported two existing and adjacent artillery batteries at Grain Fort and Dummy Battery, overlapping its arc of fire with Grain Tower just offshore and with Garrison Point Fort on the Isle of Sheppey across the other side of the Medway. The battery consisted of an earthwork with several gun emplacements. It was only in use as a battery for a few years after its completion in 1895, though its interior continued to be occupied by Army buildings. It was abandoned in 1956 and its remains were demolished and infilled a few years later. The site is now part of a coastal park owned by the local council.

Grange Redoubt, also known as one of the two Twydall Redoubts, was constructed in 1885. It was not included in the original list of defensive structures proposed by the Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom in 1860, but was conceived later and implemented as an experimental redoubt as opposed to a more substantial fort.

Hoo Fort, like Fort Darnet, was built on the recommendations of the 1859 Royal Commission. It is located on Hoo Island covering Pinup Reach, the inner navigable channel of the River Medway. Hoo Island sits to the south of the Hoo Peninsula and is within the parish of Hoo, Kent. The fort can be viewed from along the Saxon Shore Way, accessible from Vicarage Lane in Hoo.

Fort Luton was built between 1876 and 1892 south of Chatham, Medway, South East England. It is one of the five late Victorian land front forts built to defend the overland approaches to Chatham. It is the smallest of the Chatham forts and was built near to the village of Luton.

Fort Pitt is a Napoleonic era fort on the high ground of the boundary between Chatham and Rochester, Kent. A fort on the site was proposed in the 1790s, and finally built between 1805 and 1819. Not finally used as a fort, it became a hospital and is now a girls' grammar school.

Rochester Castle stands on the east bank of the River Medway in Rochester, Kent, South East England. The 12th-century keep or stone tower, which is the castle's most prominent feature, is one of the best preserved in England or France.

Upnor Castle is an Elizabethan artillery fort located on the west bank of the River Medway in Kent. It is in the village of Upnor, opposite and a short distance downriver from the Chatham Dockyard, at one time a key naval facility. The fort was intended to protect both the dockyard and ships of the Royal Navy anchored in the Medway. It was constructed between 1559–67 on the orders of Elizabeth I, during a period of tension with Spain and other European powers. The castle consists of a two-storeyed main building protected by a curtain wall and towers, with a triangular gun platform projecting into the river. It was garrisoned by about 80 men with a peak armament of around 20 cannon of various calibres.

Woodlands Redoubt, also known as one of the two Twydall Redoubts, was constructed in 1888. It was not included in the original list of defensive structures proposed by the Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom in 1860, but was conceived later and implemented as an experimental redoubt as opposed to a more substantial fort.