Nothe Fort

Work began in 1860, when a civil engineering contractor started levelling the site and building a sea wall. When the contractor ran into financial difficulties, 26 Company of the Royal Engineers took over the construction in 1862. The upper earthen parapet was complete by 1869, and the fort was fully commissioned in 1872 at a total cost of £117,049 — a coastal defence intended to protect Portland and Weymouth Harbours, with Portland by then an important Royal Navy base.

The first soldiers stationed here were No. 2 Battery Royal Artillery (Tatton-Browns), who installed the original armament of two 64 pounders, four 9-inch rifled muzzle loaders and six 10-inch cannons. Seven of the guns were replaced by 12.5-inch RML guns during the 1890s, and with the arrival of breech-loading weapons in the early twentieth century these in turn gave way to three 6-inch Mark VII breechloading naval guns on the ramparts, served by hoists that carried the 100-pound shells up from the magazines. In 1938 the fort was adapted as a central anti-aircraft ammunition depot for the south west. It did not see combat until the Second World War, and one of its most notable moments came in July 1940, when two unidentified ships entered the area and the fort fired its guns as a warning; the ships immediately switched on their lights, revealing themselves to be refugees from the Channel Islands.

Abandoned as a coastal defence in 1956 and used by the Royal Navy for stores and degaussing equipment, the fort was sold to Weymouth and Melcombe Regis Borough Council in 1961. It stood empty, suffered vandalism and slid towards dereliction; an attempt to convert it into a hotel began in 1971 and was quickly abandoned. Rescue came in 1980, when Weymouth Civic Society took on a lease and restoration began. Part of the magazine level was later fitted out as a nuclear shelter for civil administration during the Cold War, complete with heavy blast doors. The fort and its outer gateway have been Grade II* listed since 1974.

Nothe Fort is open to the public as a museum, standing beside Nothe Gardens at the tip of the peninsula and within easy walking distance of Weymouth Harbour. Displays include models, Second World War memorabilia, original cannons and guns, and audio-visual exhibits, while the courtyard regularly hosts community events — military festivals, concerts and drama among them. The Grade II listed fusee steps in Nothe Gardens, built for hauling trolleys of ammunition, spares and stores up from the quay, are worth seeking out on the way in or out.

Organised public ghost hunts are also held at the fort, which is the most straightforward way to see the casemates and magazine level after dark and under supervision. Book directly with the venue, dress for cool, enclosed spaces whatever the season, and bear in mind that this is a scheduled monument and a working museum staffed largely by volunteers — treat it, and the history it holds, with the respect it deserves.