Usually it is the Dutch that are associated with building things on the water once they’ve run out of space on land, but in the 1850s it was the British Government that decided to do something similar, in response to rising tensions with France (because who could’ve seen that coming?). This is Spitbank Fort, and it is one of the four “Palmerston Forts” built in the Solent estuary between 1865 and 1880. Of course, given warming Anglo-French relations in the latter part of the 19th century, by the time they were completed the perceived threat of French invasion had passed, and the armour-plated forts have never been used in anger. In particular, Spitbank fort was to be used as a third line of defence for any ships which made it past the former three – No Man’s Land, St. Helen’s, and Horse Sand – on the way to Portsmouth from the English Channel. Upon completion, the fort received nine 12.5 inch muzzle loading guns facing out to see, though these were replaced multiple times from its completion in 1880 to its decommissioning as a fort in 1956. After a brief stint as a museum from 1982 to 2009, the fort has played host to a hotel since 2012, though this has been closed since March 2020 due to current events.

If you’re ever interested when it opens up again, the fort hotel boasts nine bedroom suites, a restaurant, a jacuzzi, and guided tours of a fort once described as so grim to man that the men stationed there were picked solely for their inability to swim so that they couldn’t escape. Fun! :D

Hope you enjoy!