Castle Map

Fortress

St Catherine's Fort

Wales · 19th century

Founded
1870
Heritage status
Grade II* listed building · scheduled monument
Location
Tenby
Elevation
22 m
Coordinates
51.67065°, -4.69205°
Links
Wikimedia Commons
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St Catherine's Fort in Wales
Photo: TenbyIsland.co.uk · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons

Description

St Catherine's Fort is a 19th-century Palmerston Fort on St Catherine's Island, at Tenby, Pembrokeshire, Wales.

The Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom, which Lord Palmerston had established in 1859 in response to a perceived threat of invasion by Emperor Napoleon III of France, recommended the fort's construction. When considering the defence of the Royal Dockyard at Pembroke Dock and the anchorage at Milford Haven, the Commissioners believed that there was a danger that an enemy force might conduct an amphibious landing on a beach on the southern Pembrokeshire coast followed by an overland attack on the naval facilities. The Commissioners envisioned a chain of coastal artillery forts extending along the coast from Tenby to Freshwater West covering all the potential landing sites; ultimately, only this fort at Tenby was constructed.

The design of the fort is credited to Colonel William Jervois. It is a simple rectangular work, consisting of three artillery casemates on two opposite sides, for RML 7-inch guns firing through iron shields. A further three gun platforms for RML 9 inch 12 ton guns are located on the roof. The guns facing north were intended to cover Tenby Harbour and the beach towards Saundersfoot, while those facing south covered the beach towards Penally. The entrance at the western (landward) end of the fort is approached by means of a drawbridge over a dry ditch and is defended by two caponiers or "flanking galleries", each of three storeys pierced with loopholes for small arms fire. At the eastern end at basement level are located the powder magazine and shell store. There was accommodation for a garrison of 150 men.

The Government purchased St Catherine's Island from The Corporation of Tenby for £800 in 1866. In 1867 work began clearing the site and constructing the slopes and cranes for the mammoth task of lifting solid granite blocks onto the island. Construction was undertaken by a local builder, George Thomas of Pembroke. Colonel W. Llewelyn Morgan, Captain Fredrick Clements, and Sergeant Gibbs, all of the Royal Engineers, were the overseers. The work was completed by 1870 at a cost of £40,000 (but not armed); the gun shields were finally installed in 1886. In that year, a report to the Defence Committee described the 9-inch guns as "useless".

Text adapted from “St Catherine's Fort” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

In the rankings

St Catherine's Fort ranks #7,202 of 9,902 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #107 of the 110 mapped in Wales. Founded 1870, it is older than 6% of the atlas's dated landmarks, one of 782 atlas entries founded in the 19th century. 12 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Swansea, 52 km away. See how Wales compares in the castle statistics.

Castles nearby

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