Admiralty Pier Turret - The Later Years

The Later Years

Between the two World Wars the Admiralty Pier Fort was transformed into a home for the battery Caretaker, who lived there with his wife and family. The guns remained in place inside the turret. In 1920 the Pier Turret Battery was reduced to "care and maintenance" but was used for drill by the Territorial Army. In April 1944 the battery became Home Guard Battery. According to the Fort record book the guns were withdrawn to Woolwich in August 1947. In 1958 all of the battery buildings at Admiralty Pier Fort were demolished and the two BL 6-inch emplacements tidied. One became a shelter and the other a small viewing platform. The fort itself and the turret remained. After a severe storm in 1987 the walkway along the pier was closed and the turret became inaccessible to the public. Most of the machinery inside the turret has been removed but the guns and their carriages remain together with parts of the shell lifts for the BL 6-inch guns above. The turret remains under the control of Dover Harbour Board and there are no plans to restore it or open it to view. Originally situated at the end of the western breakwater, the main turret is now part way along, after the breakwater was extended in 1897. It can be viewed from the adjacent Prince of Wales pier for free in daylight hours.