Geographically the River Medway empties into the Channel immediately below the Thames Estuary and as such it represents a weak spot where a potential invader might make land fall in order to quickly overwhelm London. This fact had long been known and during Napoleon Bonaparte's belligerent reign as the emperor of France from 1804 to 1815, the British had a very real fear of a French invasion force landing somewhere along the south coast. Thus adequate protection had to be put in place all the way from the southern tip of Wales, across the Severn Estuary, then around through the English Channel, and up into the North Sea. In order to prevent Bonaparte's navy sailing up river to land troops all the major southern river estuaries were heavily fortified together with many coastal towns.

In the event Napoleon's fleet (reinforced heavily with ships from the Spanish fleet, giving him a total of 33 major war ships) suffered a crushing defeat by Admiral Lord Nelson's numerically inferior fleet of 27 ships, at Cape Trafalgar off the Spanish coast on the 21st. October, 1805 -  SEE RIGHT . With a total loss of 22 ships (FOR NO BRITISH LOSSES woop woop !!!) the French navy became a spent force from that day onwards. And with the final removal of old Boney from the throne of France one might have thought the need for coastal reinforcement would diminish. But the Admiralty decided that was not the case and they further fortified the south coast almost continuously right up until the end of World War II more than one hundred and thirty years later. In the process Dover became a serious stronghold with massive forts and artillery batteries built both on top of the land and deep beneath in the caves cut out of the chalky white cliffs.

Further measures were instigated to protect the two vulnerable Kent river estuaries north of Dover at the Channel end of the North Sea. In 1855 an off shore tower fort was built in brick reinforced with granite facings. Known as the Grain Tower Battery, it stands 500 yards out to sea on the shallow Grain Spit. The tower's artillery, which fired over the walls rather than through embrasures, working in conjunction with the guns in the southern shore fort at Garrison Point, would most effectively defend the estuary.

In 1860 it was decided that the existing Napoleonic era Martello Tower a few hundred yards to the north of the Grain Tower Battery would be expanded and reinforced by the addition of a casemated fort built around the original tower, but in the event the planners decided to build a new fortification instead, to be known as Grain Fort. A large keep formed the centre of the fort with a polygonal earthwork banking surrounding it. To the front a deep ditch further protected the approaches to the keep, and the ditch itself was protected by the provision of four caponiers, heavily fortified concrete blockhouses with interlinking fields of fire, situated on the floor of the moat -  SEE ABOVE LEFT . A secondary ditch was built around the keep itself protected by a further five caponiers. The fighting compartments and the barracks and admin at the heart of this extensive fortress were all linked by underground passageways -  SEE RIGHT .

Modification and improvement of the fort continued throughout both World Wars and right up until the demise of coastal artillery as an effective force in 1956, guided missiles and bombs dropped by aircraft having superseded artillery shells. In 1961 the site was sold off by the MOD and the biggest part of the fort was subsequently demolished leaving what little remains today - basically the earth banks and two underground passageway systems. The moat is still readily apparent although it has completely lost it's effectiveness as a barrier to progress by virtue of the fact that it is no longer particularly steep sided. The masonry from the fort proper was bulldozed into the ground leaving the two passage networks which ran out from the central keep to access the moat caponiers. The caponiers themselves have also been demolished leaving only a small and very muddy hole at what was originally the caponier end of the passage, shown in red on the plan - SEE RIGHT ABOVE. We did not find the other passage system with its' incorporated magazine which is situated to the left of the moat during our exploration though we are informed by a reliable source that it too is still accessible. Despite the passage of time and no maintenance what so ever since abandonment almost fifty years ago the masonry within these tunnels is in superb condition. The keep end of the tunnel is bricked up comprehensively though. At the keep end of the tunnel are two of the "demi-caponiers", literally "half" or "small" caponier - much smaller caponiers protecting the inner moat, and recognisable by the firing slots in the outer walls. The tunnel branching off to the right back along the way we had come in goes off towards the far right outer moat caponier, and it is also bricked up, but at a point even shorter of where the caponier would have been situated. At the Y junction itself there is a large, rusty steel cylinder, probably part of a boiler, almost blocking access, though it is just possible to squeeze around it.

In the early years of the 20th. century, shortly before The Great War, the height of the Grain Tower Battery was raised and a platform was built on the top for two 4.7 inch breech loading guns to be mounted. These much more modern guns had the distinct advantage of a greater range and a much flatter trajectory compared to the original muzzle loaded "canons" in place throughout much of the 19th. century. A centralised ammunition magazine was then created by reinforcing the middle of the tower, and a mechanised shell lift was installed to raise ammunition to the firing platform some 30 feet or so above. Around about the same time it was decided that a boom defence should be constructed across the Medway estuary with the Tower Battery as the anchor point at one side and the fort over at Sheerness as the other. The very large chain links wrapped around the tower six feet or so up are all that remains of the boom today.

During the Second World War further modifications were made to the tower as it became part of the London and south eastern approaches defence network. It worked in conjunction with other towers built on steel stilts further out to sea to the east which covered the in-bound flight path for Luftwaffe bombers en-route to London and the home counties -  SEE LEFT . This particular tower however appears to have been designated to ward off potential attack by fast E Boats and the like up the Medway. At this time the Grain Tower Battery had a director tower built behind the main gun emplacement and the old 4.7" guns were replaced with a twin 6 pounder, 10 cwt. QF (quick firing) coastal artillery gun installation - SEEN RIGHT.

Immediately to the right of the gun platform a search light platform was constructed and the remains of the swivels for both emplacements can still be clearly seen. The final part of the tower to be constructed was an extensive brick barrack block of three floors. It was not however a part of the tower proper but a completely separate construction on concrete stilts, connected to the main tower by two concrete walkways at the bottom and top levels respectively. 

The Grain Tower Battery today can be easily accessed along the remains of it's original concrete brick causeway some two and a half hours before low water on a neap tide. A window of some four and a half to five hours then opens for a most leisurely tour of the complex. Nothing remains of the original access way up onto the platform at the base of the tower so it is wise to take a ladder with a reach of about 12 feet across the causeway with you. We were extremely lucky on our visit because we found an old aluminium ladder had been left behind, still tied in rather precariously! So BEWARE - without a ladder it would be an extremely risky climb with the very real potential for a fall from a very considerable height on to jagged rocks and concrete.
 

Below is a selection of the photographs we took underground in the tunnels at Grain Fort, and then afterwards on the Grain Tower Battery.

 

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Underground in the Grain Fort caponier access tunnel...



 
The next few shots are my first real attempts to light paint!



 

In the branching chambers at the keep end of the tunnel near the keep entrance. Close by we found two demi-caponiers, literally "half" or "small" caponier, sited at this point to defend part of the inner moat, and recognisable by the firing slots in the walls.
 

The long branch running off to the far right caponier.
 
Almost back in the real world!
 
Off we go to Grain Tower Battery - the tide recedes fast here...
 
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The Grain Power Station back on the land.

 

A motley urb-exing crew waiting for the tide to go out so that they don't get wet feet!
 

Nearly there!

 
TJ and a tower!

 

I couldn't wait for the tide so I nipped forward to survey the entrance.

 

Chains! All that's left of the anti-submarine boom that ran across the estuary to the winch at Sheerness.
 

Finally!
 
The WWII director tower.
 
Here comes James!
 

There's still some water around the base of the tower so it's not low tide quite yet.

 

In the barracks accommodation tower built alongside the main tower.


 

This must have been a very bleak posting on a stormy winter night!


 

British Army barracks are the same everywhere - decidedly communal!

 

The power station.

 
A concrete walk way a floor above connects the two towers.

 
Up now to the top floor of the barrack block.
 
Room with a view!
 
And it's a bleak on in this direction too!
 
It looks a long way back down to the causeway now!
 
Who's been "mouse-holing" the place???
 
M trying to be arty farty with the new camera!
 
I love stairs!

 
In the fort proper the barrack block is only feet away.

 

Around the side is the access to the gun platform and the director tower.
 

Up to the searchlight emplacement.
 
The causeway and most of the beach are exposed now.
 
The director tower.
 
Some sort of boiler tank perhaps?
 
This may be the remains of part of the route the boom took.

 

One of the rooms inside the director tower, probably the radio room or the like.
 

A bit of Tonto art!
 
A room underneath the search light platform.
 
The gun platform has an ammo lift under a covered way.
 
The lift head.

 
Looking down the shaft into the magazine below.

 

I'm not sure I'd fancy walking over that rusty metal just to tag the wall!
 

TJ gives you some idea of the size of this gun emplacement!
 
Not quite the highest point but not far short!
 
Looking across the searchlight platform towards Sheerness.
 
The top of the director tower.

 
Up we go!

 

From up here even the top of the three storey barrack block seems a long, long way down!
 

And there's the top of the searchlight platform and the mount.
 
At the very highest point now!
 
Time to work our way back down again.
 
The early Victorian construction is very obvious.

 
Look who's following me!

 

This could be any one of the 1800s forts we have visited, they're all so alike in construction!
 

The tide is as far out as it is going to go now.
 
On the way into the centre of the fort and the magazine.
 
The ammo lift.
 
TJ, a cupcake and an acid face!
 
Ignore at your peril!
 
It's my little cupcake... well one of them is anyway!
 

This looks like it was a hoisting point to pull up stores from boats below.

 

Quite a drop!


 
Sheerness in the distance.

 
The concrete stilts upon which the barracks block sits.

 

It's clear now that the gallery with the hoisting point was a late addition to the building.
 

Beautiful granite cladding protected the fort from the ordnance of the Victorian period.
 

A concrete and red brick monstrosity by comparison!

 

Underneath the barracks the shingle was liberally covered with live oysters!
 

TJ trying to stay out of the mud!

 
Time to head back across the causeway to dry land again.


 
An odd explore but most enjoyable!


 

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