In common with the other major naval bases, Portsmouth has an important range of fortifications against seaward and landward attack. These vary in date from the late medieval period up to and including the 20th century and they mirror technological developments in artillery. A major programme of fort building followed the 1860 Royal Commission into the defence of the United Kingdom but there are also significant forts of the 18th-century. Individual components of this system cannot be seen in isolation and it must be viewed as a whole. Most of the sites are scheduled as ancient monuments and vary in their ownership and usage (some are museums, some are retained by the military and are still in use, some are owned by civilian bodies and are put to a variety of uses, and others are derelict). There is a constant flow of issues arising from the management and repair of the scheduled fortifications, and this constitutes a significant part of the work of the regional team. In addition the future of some sites is uncertain as they become surplus to military requirements and informed decisions about their future are required.
In response to the need to approach such a diverse and important range of sites in a systematic way EH commissioned 2 major studies that can be used to inform and develop a strategy for the future of the Portsmouth fortifications. A historical survey has been completed to set each site within its historic context and to identify important surviving features of individual sites. This information can then be used in conjunction with the second study, a detailed condition survey of each site, which sought rapidly to identify the repair costs for immediate conservation needs, the potential of sites to provide reusable space, and any common conservation problems. EH is now well advanced with a strategy for the Portsmouth fortifications that will provide a view on how individual sites should be seen within the system as a whole and on what an acceptable future for such sites might be. This can then be used to inform individual case work decisions as and when applications for repair or conversion are made.
