CROWNHILL FORT
The Fort at Crownhill is the best preserved of Lord Palmerston’s Ring of Fire which surrounded Plymouth in Victorian times, protecting the Royal Dockyard at Devonport from French attack and bombardment. Crownhill represented the cutting edge of fortress design during that period. However, Crownhill’s guns were never put to the ultimate test, for advances in artillery soon overtook it, and fortresses became obsolete. Unlike many of the mid Victorian forts in Plymouth and elsewhere, Crownhill was retained by the army for over a century, and therefore has not suffered any irreversible alterations.
The Landmark Trust acquired Crownhill Fort in 1987, and sympathetically restored it to its original state before opening the gates to the public. The role The Fort plays today is an important one to many people in Plymouth – it offer a full wedding and events package via Wedding Matters and Emotive Events, school tours, group visits and open days.
