No Man's Land Fort

For other uses, see No Man's Land (disambiguation).
No Man's Land Fort
Solent, England

No Man's Land Fort
No Man's Land Fort
Coordinates 50°44′23.7″N 1°5′42.78″W / 50.739917°N 1.0952167°W / 50.739917; -1.0952167
Type Fort
Site information
Owner AmaZing Venues
Open to
the public		 Yes
Condition Complete
Site history
Built 1867–1880

No Man's Land Fort is a fort in the Solent, built as part of the Palmerston Forts. It is 2.2 kilometres[1] off the coast of the Isle of Wight.

History

The fort was built between the years 1867 and 1880 to protect Portsmouth. It was built for a cost of £462,500, which if adjusted for inflation is equivalent to £43.4 million at 2010 prices.

No Man's Land Fort is almost identical to Horse Sand Fort. It has been used as a luxury home/hospitality centre for high-paying guests – due to the privacy it offers – with an indoor swimming pool and two helipads. In July 2004, Legionella bacteria found in the hotel's water system forced its closure.[2] The Fort was put up for sale in 2005 and again in 2007, but the company collapsed.[3][4][5] In March 2008, Harmesh Pooni, claiming to still be the owner, barricaded himself inside the fort in protest against the administrators KPMG.[6]

The property was eventually sold by KPMG for £910,000 in March 2009.[7] In March 2012, it was purchased by Clarenco (who also own Spitbank Fort and Horse Sand Fort) with the intention of refurbishing it as a hotel.[8] The fort opened as a hotel in April 2015.[9]

The 1972 Doctor Who serial The Sea Devils used the fort as a filming location for several scenes.[9]

Other sea forts include Spitbank Fort, St Helens Fort and Horse Sand Fort.

Notes

  1. ↑ Google Maps
  2. ↑ "Legionella bacteria found at fort". BBC news. 9 July 2004. […] now off limits "until the health risk is controlled". delete character in |quote= at position 1 (help); External link in |publisher= (help)
  3. ↑ "Converted sea fort hotel for sale". BBC news. 10 July 2007. External link in |publisher= (help)
  4. ↑ "Who will buy fort used in Doctor's adventure?". The News, Portsmouth. July 9, 2007.
  5. ↑ Ward, David (July 16, 2007). "Bolthole in the Solent goes on sale for £4m". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 2010-05-20.
  6. ↑ "Besieged man barricaded in fort". BBC news. 7 March 2008. A sea fort […] is under siege from creditors, prompting a businessman to barricade himself inside. delete character in |quote= at position 12 (help); External link in |publisher= (help)
  7. ↑ "'Bargain' sale of £14m Victorian seafort". BBC News. 2009-07-03. Retrieved 2010-05-20.
  8. ↑ "Millionaire snaps up three forts off Portsmouth". BBC News. 26 March 2012. Retrieved 27 March 2012.
  9. 1 2 "Historic No Man's Fort in the Solent re-opens as hotel". BBCNews. 23 April 2015. Retrieved 23 April 2015.

External links

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