Scheduled MonumentsEnglandNo Man's Land Fort

No Man's Land Fort

England
List entry 1018589
Nation
England
The designation
Reference
List entry 1018589
Authority
Historic England (NHLE)
Status
Scheduled Monument
Scheduled area
0.37 hectares
Grid reference
SZ 63960 93773
Boundary

Scheduled area

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

Overview

History & significance

No Man's Land Fort is a mid-nineteenth-century coastal defence fortification located in the Solent off the Hampshire coast. Constructed between 1867 and 1880, it forms part of the Palmerston Forts defensive system designed to protect Portsmouth and the naval anchorage from French attack during the period of Anglo-French tension. The fort consists of a polygonal ironclad structure built upon an artificial island, featuring brick and stone construction with iron plating to withstand contemporary naval artillery. Though never engaged in combat, the fort represents a significant phase in Victorian military engineering and remains a notable example of mid-nineteenth-century coastal fortification design.

No Man's Land Fort is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1018589. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is No Man's Land Fort?

No Man's Land Fort is a mid-nineteenth-century coastal defence fortification located in the Solent off the Hampshire coast. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1018589.

Who is responsible for protecting No Man's Land Fort?

No Man's Land 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 1018589.

What other scheduled monuments are near No Man's Land Fort?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Steyne Wood Battery (6.8 km), Bembridge Fort (7.8 km), Bowl barrow on Nunwell Down known as The Devil's Punchbowl (8 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about No Man's Land Fort

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of No Man's Land 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 No Man's Land Fort

No Man's Land Fort stands on Eocene claystone, bedrock that formed in the Eocene. The rock here is claystone.