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Fort Clarence is a nineteenth-century coastal defence fortification located near Gravesend in Kent. Built during the 1860s as part of the Palmerston Forts programme, it was designed to protect the Thames estuary and London from potential naval attack during a period of heightened tension with France. The fort is characterized by its distinctive polygonal casemated design, featuring gun emplacements and defensive earthworks typical of Victorian-era coastal fortifications. Though subsequently modified and now largely redundant as a military installation, it remains an important example of mid-nineteenth-century military engineering and strategic thinking regarding Thames-side defence.
Fort Clarence is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1003365. View the official record →
Fort Clarence is a nineteenth-century coastal defence fortification located near Gravesend in Kent. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1003365.
Fort Clarence 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 1003365.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Bell barrow in Shoulder of Mutton Wood (2.7 km), Fort Horstead (2.8 km), Bishop's palace at Halling (5 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Fort Clarence'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 Clarence stands on White Chalk Subgroup, bedrock that formed in the Maastrichtian. The rock here is chalk.