Scheduled MonumentsEnglandBreakwater fort

Breakwater fort

England
List entry 1002623
Nation
England
The designation
Reference
List entry 1002623
Authority
Historic England (NHLE)
Status
Scheduled Monument
Scheduled area
0.13 hectares
Grid reference
SX 47161 50486
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Historic England (NHLE)

Overview

History & significance

Breakwater Fort is a nineteenth-century coastal defence fortification located at Plymouth, Devon. Constructed during the 1860s as part of the wider programme of Victorian coastal fortifications, the fort was built to protect Plymouth Sound and the naval dockyard from potential enemy attack. The structure is a polygonal casemated fort built of granite and brick, designed to mount artillery and equipped with gun positions to command the approaches to the harbour. The fort remains substantially intact and represents an important example of mid-nineteenth-century military engineering adapted to the requirements of steam-powered naval warfare.

Breakwater fort is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1002623. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Breakwater fort?

Breakwater Fort is a nineteenth-century coastal defence fortification located at Plymouth, Devon. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1002623.

Who is responsible for protecting Breakwater fort?

Breakwater fort is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic England (NHLE) — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in England. The official designation reference is 1002623.

What other scheduled monuments are near Breakwater fort?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Fort Bovisand (1.6 km), Staddon Heights Defences including Fort Staddon Fort, Brownhill Battery, Watch House Battery, Staddon Heights Battery, Staddon Battery and associated features and structures (2 km), Battery and Royal Commission fortification called Grenville Battery (3.4 km).

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Everything a full report reveals about Breakwater fort

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Breakwater fort's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Domesday
The settlement's entry in the 1086 Domesday Book: who held it, what it was worth, and the people who worked the land.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
LiDAR
Laser-scanned terrain that reveals earthworks hidden under fields and woodland, with likely features flagged.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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The ground beneath

The bedrock under Breakwater fort

Breakwater fort stands on Devonian claystone, bedrock that formed in the Devonian. The rock here is claystone.