Palmerston Fort - Fort Bovisand

Fort Bovisand was built to defend Plymouth Sound from the mainland at the eastern entrance of Plymouth Breakwater.

The fort is beside Bovisand harbour, where a stone jetty and slip started in 1816 to allow the boats from sailing warships anchored in Plymouth Sound to collect fresh water from the nearby purpose-built reservoir.

The first fort at the site, named Staddon Height Battery, was started in 1845. It still exists in the upper part of the present fort.

In 1861, as part of the recommendations of the Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom, work started on the main part of the fort consisting of 23 granite casemates, originally housing twenty-two 9-inch Rifled Muzzle Loaders (RMLs), one 10-inch RML gun and 180 men. By 1880 the armament was fourteen 10-inch and nine 9-inch RML guns.

By the early part of the 1900s the original guns had been removed and in 1898 four 12-pounder quick-firing guns had been installed. They remained until 1942 when they were replaced by two twin 6-pounders, to combat E-boats. In 1943 a Bofors 40mm anti-aircraft gun was installed.

By 1957 the Ministry of Defence had abandoned the site, which in the early 1970s was converted into a commercial diving school and scuba diving centre. By 2003 the site was vacant again. There are presently plans to redevelop the site by the current owners, ex-BBC boss Greg Dyke and local property developer John Steven.