Fort Cumberland (England) - The Fort in The 20th Century

The Fort in The 20th Century

Fort Cumberland remained in military ownership for most of the twentieth century, serving as a base for the Royal Marine Artillery howitzer and anti aircraft brigade, and later for the Royal Marine Mobile Naval Base Defence Organisation, as an experimental and training centre. Beginning in 1938, Fort Cumberland also provided space for the Inter-Service Training and Development Centre. The fort saw brief action during the Second World War when, on August 26, 1940, it was hit by a German air raid in which eight Royal Marines were killed.

In 1964 the fort was scheduled as an ancient monument, and subsequently taken into the guardianship of English Heritage in 1975. Since that time, the fort has served as a base for English Heritage's archaeological team, the Central Archaeology Service (formerly the Central Excavation Unit). In 1998, the Ancient Monuments Laboratory were relocated to the fort, leading to the creation of a new Centre for Archaeology. Currently access is limited to pre-booked guided tours.