Humber Forts: First and Second World War Defences of the Humber Estuary
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.6
- Popularity
- Very Low
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Primary era
- Modern
- External website
- Open
- Eras represented
- Modern
- Civilizations
- British
- Site type
- Military
- Remains
- Fort
On this page8 sections
History
The Humber Forts are two offshore fortifications in the United Kingdom, Bull Sand Fort and Haile Sand Fort, planned in 1914 to protect the entrance to the Humber Estuary during the First World War. Construction began in May 1915 and continued for more than four years. The forts were completed in December 1919, one year after the war had ended, and together accommodated about 200 soldiers.
First World War construction
The forts were designed to control the sea approach to the Humber Estuary, with their positions intended to help defend access toward the inland ports and settlements. Building Bull Sand Fort presented particular difficulties because the sandbank beneath it lay 11 feet, or about 3.4 metres, below the low-water level. Despite these challenges, both fortifications were completed by the end of 1919.
Second World War reactivation
During the Second World War, the forts returned to service and were modernized. Enemy aircraft attacked them regularly, while submerged netting, an underwater barrier intended to obstruct vessels including submarines, was installed to prevent enemy submarines from moving up the estuary toward Hull or Grimsby.
Abandonment and later status
The military abandoned the forts in 1956. Bull Sand Fort received Grade II listed-building status in 1987, a form of legal protection in England for structures recognized as having special architectural or historic interest. In 1997 it was sold to the Streetwise Charitable Trust, which planned to restore it as a drug-rehabilitation facility. That project did not succeed, and the trust no longer operates. Bull Sand Fort lies administratively within the East Riding of Yorkshire and the civil parish of Easington, a local administrative area in England.
Remains
Bull Sand Fort and Haile Sand Fort are large circular concrete structures rising approximately 18 metres above the water. Each is about 25 metres in diameter. Their offshore positions placed them at the entrance to the Humber Estuary and along the Lincolnshire coast, where they formed a pair of maritime defensive installations.
Offshore fortifications
Bull Sand Fort
Bull Sand Fort stands 1.5 miles, or 2.4 kilometres, offshore from Spurn Head. It is a four-storey concrete building with 12-inch, approximately 300-millimetre, armour on its seaward side. The fort was originally armed with four 6-inch guns. Its construction on a sandbank below the low-water level added to the engineering difficulty of creating the structure.
Haile Sand Fort
Haile Sand Fort, also called Sand Haile Fort, is the smaller of the two installations. It stands around the low-water mark between Cleethorpes and Humberston on the Lincolnshire coast. Together with Bull Sand Fort, it forms part of the surviving group of concrete sea forts created to defend the Humber entrance.
Nearby sites
