Fort Amherst, Part 1 (Exterior only)
We had no idea Fort Amherst existed. We'd never heard of it, hadn't come cross it when looking into Kentish places to visit, and it was just invisible to us. That was until Ren came across it by accident when trying to plan a visit to somewhere nearby. It was only because it popped up on the map that she found it.
The only part of the fort that isn't dog friendly is the tunnels which is why this is a two parter, we will return for the tunnel exploration and history on a day we don't have the Phantom Bear (Yogi).
The first thing we noted when we arrived was how rude the volunteers were. We asked about areas we could go with the dog, and considering the volunteer we spoke to was holding a tiny dog in her arms at the time, she was so rude to us and then loudly chatted to her mate about us as we walked away and how we could just 'check the instructions'. Why volunteer if you have no interest? We'd say if you plan a visit steer clear of the volunteers, they clearly don't want to be there.
Fort Amherst's core purpose was to defend the naval dockyard following the Dutch raid in 1667. A few weeks later we visited Upnor Castle and learnt a fair bit about this and the destruction it brought as the dockyard did not have enough support to defend it at the time.
So in 1708 work began on fortifications so that Chatham was defended going forward. The first structures built were a ring of fortifications spanning from Chatham into Brompton and then later in 1755 the Bastions were added, all named after royalty. The Bastions and the ditches continued to be built/dug during the Seven Years War and became known as The Chatham Lines.
1757 brought the infantry barracks so that the troop garrison could man the defences and then silence until the American Revolutionary War which required the fort to be strengthened and enhancements included two Redoubts, Amherst and Townsend. These strongpoints were both equipped with guns and upon our visit we found that these had been found, restored, and bought back by the fort for a true display. It was later that the former Redoubt became Fort Amherst and Townsend Redoubt no longer exists due to being built over. Both forts were part of the Cumberland Lines.
During yet another war, this time the 1803-15 Napoleonic Wars, the fort was again strengthened in order to protect Chatham from the global conflict. The defences were enlarged and the Cornish Battery (Cornwallis) and other batteries were added. The plan carefully crafted by the chief engineer to Lord Amherst, General Hugh Debbrieg, also including the lining of the ditches with brick for further defence. The plan for the Chatham Lines is currently at the British Museum so happily is not lost to history.
During this war, at some point or another, it was actually prisoners enlisted to dig the tunnels and do the building that was required. Mostly convicts from nearby St Mary's Island, they dug tunnels to move machinery around the fort, constructed barracks, built batteries and gun rooms, and even mounted the guns. It was also during this time that two other fortifications were constructed to protect from southern approaches, Fort Clarence in Rochester and Fort Pitt on the Rochester-Chatham border, but these never saw any action in order to prove how effective their additions would have been.
It was 1820, just 5 years after the Napoleonic Wars ended that the fort became obsolete. This was due to improvements in artillery weaponry, so grand defences were no longer needed in order to protect our shores. The Victorian era brought another use to this fort, having it used as a training ground, and the mock sieges became a spectacle bringing visitors to watch them. Even Charles Dickens, who wrote about one of them in the Pickwick Papers.
In more recent times the fort was again enlisted for another war, this time the Second World War where it became an Air Raid Warning Command Post. A few years later, the fort was tidied up and bought by a trust. Work began so that it could be restored to its former glory and then opened to the public and that leads us to today. The site is free to enter and you just pay for the tunnel tours.
An interesting fact, especially to us, but Fort Amherst was one of the filming locations for the second Sherlock Holmes film by Guy Richie, A Game of Shadows. We adore this film, especially Ren who is a Sherlock Holmes nut.
We spent a good 4ish hours here by complete accident. There was no way to self guide around it so that you could see it all so we found ourselves wandering backwards and forwards in order to explore all we could. It also turned out that there was a paying event on which explained the attitude from the volunteers toward us, we were there for the fort and not the summer concert so not willing to flash the cash. But we had a good time.
The connection to the Napoleonic Wars is made plain to see with the giant Napoleon (we think its Napoleon but apologies if its not), but would you believe that we still didn't manage to see the entire site, minus the tunnels, in the four hours we were there? We'd have continued were it not for the fact the place was becoming unsafe due to cars arriving for the concert and the atmosphere of peaceful battlements being ruined by car honking and wheel spinning. So we cut our losses and decided to explore the rest when we returned for the tunnels.
We have no idea if there was a gift shop as we decided not to approach any more volunteers as the first two women put us off, but there is a little cafe within the carpark. Aside from going back to complete our visit, would we go again? Absolutely! Although we'd avoid the volunteers like the plague. The views are amazing, you can see Rochester Castle over the river. It's also got serious abandoned vibes, laser tag, and cannons galore. This was a surprisingly large site and one worth wandering, we loved the adventure, it was just outside sources which marred it a little.
No ghosties here, but potential for sure. Peering into the abandoned entry ways and eerie buildings where the shadows moved certainly gave the creepiness a leg up, but we didnt experience anything in particular, we just felt a bit on edge at times. Makes sense considering ghost tours are given here so there are hauntings. Specifically, people have mentioned seeing shadows of people in the day time but no person, hearing screaming of a woman and babies crying, voices directly by their ear but no one there, and when leaving the tunnels child hand marks on their bodies. There is also the spirit of a solider seen on the lower gun floor, but he will only make himself known to people familiar to the area, so only staff or those who have visited a few times have been able to see him. Who knows, perhaps on our next visit he will appear!
DISCLAIMER: Now for the official bit. This blog does not receive any paid promotions from the places mentioned above. We have not been approached to promote or act as spokespersons for any attraction mentioned within this post and this is simply a post intended to act as a day in the life of a couple on a cute date. All photos included are taken by ourselves and as such the rights for these images our ours, no links, brands, or companies mentioned otherwise belong or are associated with Phantom Adventures UK. We are responsible only for this blog. Opinions are our own and not influenced by any third party source..
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