Lumps Fort

Lumps Fort, originally a 16th-century defense against French attacks, was rebuilt in the 18th century and mentioned in records from 1805 with three 32-pounder guns. By 1822, it housed a semaphore station, avoiding Portsmouth’s smog for clearer communication, but fell out of use by the 1820s. Part collapsed into the sea in 1827, and the semaphore station closed in 1847.

Reconstructed between 1859 and 1869 as a Palmerston fort, it was designed for 17 guns and 100 men but was rarely manned. Volunteer artillery units trained there, and in the 1890s, it was rearmed with three 6-inch rifled breech-loader Mk. IV guns, later removed in 1906. In 1914, it became a beach defense battery with a 6-pounder Hotchkiss anti-aircraft gun. After World War I, much of it was demolished.

Purchased by Portsmouth City Council in 1932, plans for redevelopment were delayed by World War II. In 1942, it was used for training by the Combined Operations Development Centre and Royal Marine Boom Patrol Detachment, including preparations for Operation Frankton. After the war, it became a rose garden, with part converted into Southsea Model Village in 1956.

Today, Lumps Fort remains open as a rose garden and model village.

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Source

• Text: TracesofWar
• Photos: Tim Sheerman-Chase