© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Historic England (NHLE)
Fort Bovisand is a nineteenth-century coastal artillery fort located near Plymouth in Devon. Constructed during the 1860s as part of the extensive defences built around Plymouth Sound following the Palmerston Report recommendations, the fort was designed to protect against potential French naval attack during a period of heightened international tension. The fortress features the characteristic angular bastion design typical of Victorian military architecture, with substantial masonry construction and gun emplacements positioned to command the approaches to the sound. The fort remains a significant example of Victorian coastal defence engineering and reflects the strategic importance placed on securing Britain's naval installations during the mid-nineteenth century.
Fort Bovisand is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1002584. View the official record →
Fort Bovisand is a nineteenth-century coastal artillery fort located near Plymouth in Devon. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1002584.
Fort Bovisand 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 1002584.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Staddon Heights Defences including Fort Staddon Fort, Brownhill Battery, Watch House Battery, Staddon Heights Battery, Staddon Battery and associated features and structures (0.4 km), Breakwater fort (1.6 km), World War II Heavy Anti-aircraft gunsite, 100m west of Princes Cottages (2.5 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Fort Bovisand's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Fort Bovisand stands on Lower Devonian Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Early Devonian. The rock here is sandstone and conglomerate, interbedded.