Building
It was envisaged that the line would stretch from the River Medway to the Thames but a shortage of money meant only five of the original large works plus two small experimental earthen redoubts were built. Work, using convict labour, started 30 years later in 1890, but by that time the enemy it was supposed to repulse, France, was an ally, the new enemy was Imperial Germany.
Because of budget restraints and changing fashions in fortifications, no fixed armament was mounted; instead earthen ramps were built to enable field artillery to fire from the fort’s parapet. The fort was a radical departure from traditional design, of earth construction, with a deep dry moat designed to blend in with the line of the land. There were magazines and living quarters under the earthen walls. A new large prison was built on the hill above the nearby village of Borstal to house the workforce. It later became a prison for young offenders and gave its name to the Borstal Institution system of correction.
Read more about this topic: Fort Bridgewood
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