New Tavern Fort

New Tavern Fort
Gravesend, Kent
Ramparts and emplacements at New Tavern Fort
New Tavern Fort
Coordinates	51°26′37″N 0°22′36″E / 51.443626°N 0.376782°E / 51.443626; 0.376782
Type	Fortification
Site information
Controlled by	Gravesham Borough Council
Open to the public	Yes
Condition	Interior buildings mostly demolished, emplacements and magazines preserved
Site history
Built	ca. 1780–83
Built by	United Kingdom
In use	ca. 1780–1950s
Materials	Earth, brick, concrete

New Tavern Fort is an historic artillery fort in Gravesend, Kent. Dating mostly from the 18th and 19th centuries, it is an unusually well-preserved example of an 18th-century fortification and remained in use for defensive purposes until the Second World War. It was built during the American War of Independence to guard the Thames against French and Spanish raiders operating in support of the newly formed United States of America. It was redesigned and rebuilt in the mid-19th century to defend against a new generation of iron-clad French warships.

By the start of the 20th century, the Thames defences had been moved further downriver to the estuary and the fort was disarmed. Its grounds were opened to the public as pleasure gardens, but the fort was taken back into military use temporarily during the Second World War. Today the fort and its magazines and other underground structures have been restored and are open to the public. It is unique in the UK for its display of guns and emplacements ranging from the 18th to the 20th centuries.

The fort is situated on the south bank of the River Thames and was intended to support the much older Tilbury Fort on the north bank. The structure consists of a broad earthen rampart constructed in a zig-zag pattern, with a broad ditch in front of it. Eight emplacements, six of brick and two of concrete, are contained within the rampart with magazines underneath them. The interior of the fort - originally its parade ground - is occupied by a grass-covered lawn with flowerbeds, trees, ornamental bushes and a bandstand at the centre.

The ramparts face the river and can be divided into three sectors. The northern sector, originally called the North Face, contains two concrete semi-circular emplacements in which two 6" breech-loading guns were installed in 1904. They are still occupied by guns of this type, though not the originals; this makes New Tavern Fort the only example in the UK of a fully re-armed two-gun 6" battery for breech-loading guns. A concrete fire position is located immediately to the west and the remains of its instrument pillar can still be seen.

The middle sector - the easternmost part of the north rampart - was originally known as the Garden Face for its proximity to the gardens in the interior of the fort. It contains four brick emplacements built in 1868-72 to house rifled muzzle loader (RML) guns. One is protected by a thick iron shield with a gun-port in the middle, while the other three have unprotected open embrasures. All four are very well-preserved and still retain the rails on which the guns traversed. Doors on either side give access to the ammunition shafts which brought shells and cartridges up from the magazine. The shielded embrasure has been re-armed with an RML gun, making it a rare example of an embrasure of this type that has retained its original appearance.