Fort Purbrook

Fort Purbrook stands on Portsdown Hill above Portsmouth and was built around 1860 to a design by Captain William Crossman of the Royal Engineers. It formed one of a chain of forts constructed along the ridge for the landward defence of Portsmouth, structures popularly known as the Palmerston Forts. The fort has a polygonal plan with brick and flint defensive walls, a deep dry ditch and underground tunnels linking its gun emplacements. It is listed at Grade II* on the National Heritage List for England, recognising its significance as a well-preserved example of mid-nineteenth-century coastal fortification.