At their October meeting, members of Ferring Conservation Group were treated to an excellent presentation by Gary Baines from the Friends of Shoreham Fort, entitled “Shoreham Fort – Past, Present and Future”. The aims of the Friends group are to conserve, maintain and restore the fort (which is designated as an Ancient Scheduled Monument) back to its 1857 former glory, so the talk fitted in well with our interests in the local built environment as well as the natural world.
They were told that the fort is now only one of two along the South Coast in anything like their original form – the other being at Littlehampton – and were built as a protection against possible French invasion during the Napoleonic period. It was manned by the 1st Sussex Artillery Volunteers and was designed to position six muzzle loaded guns giving good cover against attack. It was still operative beyond the turn of the century with one cannon remaining in place until the end of WW1, when the fort had been used for training and storage.
Prior to that in 1913, a Francis Lyndhurst (Grandfather of actor Nicholas Lyndhurst) brought film making to the fort, where at least 4 films were made within its confines. Subsequently during WW2, more guns were installed there but have since been removed, with only the original footings surviving.
Then into the 1970s and 80s, some restoration of the fort started, with the Friends group being launched later on in 2010, which really accelerated matters. Much restoration work has already been completed, for example on the Caponiers (or covered bastions) and also the gun emplacements, and also a Nissen hut from Chidham has been installed there, along with an atmospheric memorial WW1 training trench, constructed from 2800 filled sandbags.
For the future, it is hoped for a full restoration of the fort including the reinstatement of the barrack block, which would create a multi purpose community facility. There is no doubt that it is a fine local historical asset and a visit there is very much recommended.