A lot has happened in the last month, the timber work for the casemate ends have been delivered and the brickwork/sills are now complete.
It has taken a lot of juggling to get the frame into the recess as nothing is square or upright, but we have got there and there is certainly a wow factor as you round the corner into the fort and get an idea what the café entrance will look like. We are now already in a race against time as the weather is changing rapidly and trying to get the casemates watertight is the main aim at the moment. Inside walls are being limewashed, wood is being painted and door furniture fitted.
In another part of the fort (East Magazine) the first of the lighting passage window frames has arrived and is now being fitted.
All thanks to the HLF grant that we received, it would not have been possible without this and will make a fantastic difference to the visitor experience and preserve the fort for future generations.
With thanks to a HLF Lottery Grant work continues towards the project.
The electrics are now complete in the East Magazine which will become a heritage centre show casing the rich military history of the Hoo Peninsula, complete with chair lift to take less abled persons to the lower level. The bespoke items to return part of the magazine back to how it was in the Victorian times are all on order but the items are taking anything up to 6 months to manufacture.
In the main fort the floor is complete in the two casemates that will become the café, the divisions between the café and the adjacent casemate have been boarded up with insulation sandwiched between timber boards and painting has started. The brick layer is on site and has started to brick up the ends with reclaimed yellow stock bricks and lime mortar, once this is complete the new sills will be put in place and the formers removed awaiting the delivery of the casemate doors and windows ( sometime in August).
As a conversation piece, a cast iron fireplace has been fitted into the opening, also a butler sink following the discovery of the tap, waste pipe and drainage.
The two toilet rooms, accessible and unisex are now complete. These were carried out in a sympathetic manner keeping the general appearance of the rooms but meeting todays needs where reasonably practicable.
Now that we have the go ahead from the HLF to carry out the grant work lots of work has been going on.
The infill of the floor in the casemates to become the café has now been fully removed, the sole plates have been put in position, then the joists and we are now working on the installation of the floorboards. In the background we now have all the electrical fittings in place in the unisex toilet room, this just leaves tidying up and a bit of painting. The joinery for the backs of the casemates is on order (4 months lead in time), reclaimed bricks for below the joinery have been purchased and are on site along with the new sills. Imitation granite kerb stones have been cast in place at the backs of the casemates, the gap between these and the new brickwork will be filled in with York stone slabs.
Down in the east magazine, which will become our Heritage Centre we now have all the electrics complete, we also now have an external stairlift fitted this along with the new pathways we have laid will make more areas accessible to all.
With the go ahead to start work on the lottery projects things are happening fast at Slough Fort.
The ice shot blasting of the casemates that will become the café is now complete so the removal of the floor infill concrete has started in preparation for a new wooden floor. The joinery for the casemate backs has been ordered (delivery August/September), as everything is bespoke, things have to be ordered well in advance. reclaimed bricks are on site, brick layer booked.
Likewise with the underground magazine contractors have been in and out measuring and pricing, again all bespoke items will take a while to manufacture. An example of this is the missing air bricks and bull nosed tiles, delivery expected in January 2026.
On the unisex toilet room progress, all now plumbed in thanks to our shy plumber who donated his time over the bank holiday weekend, electricians booked so wont be long for that room to be complete.
More news and pictures as things progress
This has been a very busy month for the Trustees as we have finally got the go ahead to start our lottery project following a lot of legal paperwork, so its full steam ahead. The ice shot blasting of the casemates for the café has been booked so work will start soon. The formers for the casemate backs have been fitted and adjusted to get the curves correct ahead of production, lead in time for these is about 3 months. We have ordered the window sills and capping stones and are currently sourcing yellow stock bricks. Once the shot blasting is finished we will remove the concrete infill of the floor of the casemates and start putting in the wooden floor.
Mean while the cubicles for the unisex toilet have been fitted into place, two more doors and frames have arrived on site and been fitted to the barrack kitchen and the coal room. We have also started putting in the electrics to three more rooms, lights and sockets.
Have you thought about volunteering ?, Here at Slough Fort Preservation Trust we are looking for two people to learn (and take over at the end of the year) the positions of secretary and treasurer.
The roles are currently covered by one person but it has become too much added to a full time job.
If you think you can help and want to find out more, in the first instance contact us via secretary@sloughfort.org.uk for detailed information of what’s involved.
If we find the right people you can work alongside the current secretary and learn throughout the rest of the year.
Thank you for reading this, pictures courtesy of freepik.com
We have been very busy at the fort in the last two months creating new pathways to allow access to all around the site, and completing the fire pit.
100 tons of Type 1 and granite chippings have been laid and tampered down using grants obtained from Medway Council and ASDA This was all done with volunteer labour and the community pay back team.
Work continues at the fort whilst we are shut for winter. With the grant from the Medway Prosperity Fund we are working with the local scout group and have a large area which has been dug out for a fire pit also trees have been planted around the grounds with the aid of the scouts. The scouts are then badge earning as they are currently making the seats to go around the fire pit, more pictures to follow.
Work has also been carried out to prepare the old ablution room ready to turn it into a unisex toilet room to improve the visitor facilities
We are delighted to say that the accessible toilet room is now complete, thanks to the grants from Veolia and Colyer Ferguson. The floor is painted, heating in, shower working and running hot water, working toilet this will be a great asset for the volunteers and visitors alike. We now concentrate on prep work for the lottery work whilst we sort out the legal paperwork and get permission to start, unfortunately this will be late February/March, we are keen to get going. We have started prep work on dismantling our pop up café / rest area and moved it into another casemate, once we get the go ahead to start the first job will be to have the casemates shot blasted with dry ice, remove the floor infill and install a wooden floor.
Work continues on the accessible toilet room with shower. Ceiling, plumbing completed and all the electrics are now finished. The first picture shows how the room looked after we had shot blasted the walls of the various paints from its days as a horse stable then with lime wash and the fittings. There is still some finishing touches to do and the floor to have a self levelling compound poured over it for its final look, we aim to have it completed this month.
The work continues in the background sorting out all the legal paperwork associated with the lottery grant we received notice of back in September, it is anticipated that will take until late January once done we will have a very exciting 2025 as we start various projects here at Slough Fort.
Work has continued during the month on the project to convert a room to accessible toilet facilities. A dividing wall has gone up to separate the shower area from the toilet facilities, the framework and laths have gone up for the ceiling followed by the lime plastering. Plumbing is now in progress, both the building and plumbing works have been carried out by local tradesmen who have donated their skill and time to the fort, a big thank you to them both.
We’re delighted to let you know that from today (20/10/2024, Co-op Members can officially support Slough Fort Preservation Trust (Cause ID: 87769) as part of the Local Community Fund. The more members that choose our cause, the more money our project will receive.
The funding period will run until next year, closing on 18 October 2025.
Please share to all your friends and family, if you are not a co op member, please join as only co op members can vote and you can use your vote from anywhere in the country when shopping at a root co op store.
The Trustees of Slough Fort Preservation Trust are delighted to announce that Slough Fort has been awarded a significant grant by the Heritage Fund. Slough Fort has been working towards the grant for nearly 4 years together with other groups across the Hoo Peninsula as part of a project known as “Whose Hoo”. Slough Fort will receive the grant to provide visitor facilities for the fort and transform its magazine into a Heritage Centre showcasing the rich Military history of the Peninsula. Chairman Colin Davis said “This grant is a major step forward to making Slough Fort a first class tourist attraction and community asset, making the fort sustainable with the provision of the Heritage Centre, a café and modern toilets. We would like to thank the Heritage Fund and our partners within Whose Hoo for making this happen”.
Being fully aware that the weather is about to change soon, the volunteers have been concentrating on outside jobs. Therefore the western gun position has now been fully painted and protected from the weather soon to change. Likewise the four windows that were received recently have been painted, lime mortared in and stonework replaced where missing, they are now externally ready for the winter weather. These windows are now sealing against the elements 3 more rooms, these being 1 in the barrack kitchen, 2 in the coal room and the final window in casemate No 1. We can now work in these rooms during the winter months.
The entire fort roof has been jet washed, sealed and coated in a solar reflective resin during the month, this protects the bitumen coating below and stops it melting in the sun/heat. This has been done in the past but only has a life of about 5-6 years so was due a recoat to keep the fort waterproof. This will protect the restoration done in rooms below and allow us to continue restoration as areas that had not previously been coated have now been done. Roof materials were paid for by a much appreciated grant from Charles Burnett 111
During the month also we have started work on converting a room to an accessible toilet room for all abilities, drainage has gone in and lime washing has started (everyone’s favourite job not) this thanks to grant by Veolia
After the flurry of work to complete the western roadway gullies and concrete in time for the restoration update day, we have now moved our attentions to the disabled toilet room thanks to the grant from Veolia.
In the past week we have laid the underground services, removed the old fittings from the walls and floors, filled in and prepped for a self levelling compound. Fitted 3 of 4 rifle loop doors and re pointed the walls as required. We have now started the lime washing of the walls. Here is a picture of the room, the walls were covered in multi coloured paint going back to when it was a horse stable which had to be shot blasted in advance to take the lime wash.
June has been a busy month for us at Slough Fort, we have now mixed 45 tons of concrete and finished laying the missing concrete to the righthand side of the western gun position road. Once we put bitumen the expansion gaps it will be complete. All the gully stones have now been cast for the other side of the road, 5 in place and 10 more to set in position.
We have also been working hard on grant applications and now have 4 more windows and 3 doors on order, plus funding to re coat the main fort roof with a solar reflective layer over the bitumen which needs to be done every 5 years to remain waterproof.
We have also finally submitted our HLF grant application and sit back until later in the year with our fingers crossed for a positive outcome.
Following on from a successful grant application to Charles Burnett 111 we are now preparing four window openings for new windows. The “gaps” were temporarily filled with timber and plastic sheeting to keep the rain out, these have been removed to allow us to prepare the window bars for painting and carry out a few stone repairs. The estimated lead in time to have these bespoke windows made is 23 weeks, so hopefully they will be in, painted and weather tight before winter.
In the mean time concrete and gully work carries on at the western gun/road position, one side of the road is completed with new gully stone the entire length, another 15 to cast and fit or the other side of the road.
We are also now keeping our fingers crossed as our HLF grant application is in and waiting for an answer later this year.
Western gun position update
We are making good progress with re instating the missing concrete and gully stones. We now have 16 gully stones set in place and two sections of concrete in place. A wooden mould box was made with a sheet metal insert in the bottom to give the curved shape, having copied dimensions from an original on site. Three pieces of rebar are inserted in the middle of the concrete whilst pouring it into the mould. Every 48 hours the gully stone can be taken out of the mould and set aside to dry. The complete run on this side is 68ft and then there are some damaged and missing ones on the other side of the road to tackle.
SMC has now been granted to the Trust to continue work on the western gun pit and road. You can see from the first image that some of the gully stones are missing from the righthand side of the road, we now have permission to cast replacements (already started as seen in the second image) set them in place and replace the missing concrete between them and the gun pit.
We also have permission to now clean up the metal work exposed from excavating the Moncrieff pit, treat the metal and paint it to preserve it against the elements.
Ground works have continued through out the winter, with the latest being as follows…. It was decide that we did not have time or permission to extend the eastern six inch gun position so it has been recorded, covered to protect the stencilling etc. and filled in to be fully excavated at a future date. The western road pictured has had the spoil that was dug out from the 9 inch gun position removed, the area where there is missing concrete cleaned up and a few more concrete gullies have been exposed. We are now waiting for the outcome of our Scheduled Monument Consent which is to re instate the missing concrete, create new concrete gullies and set back in place (as per 1891 drawing we have) and to repair damaged ones that have been exposed.
Whilst the fort is shut over the winter period a lot of restoration takes place where it would be difficult to carry this out with the public on site. At the moment we are concentrating on restoring the two stairwells within the fort. This entails 5 coats of lime wash, painting the bottom of the walls in black, infilling brickwork holes that have been punched through in the past where various people over time have gone looking for tunnels and installing the very small windows within the stairwells. Interestingly, following the manufacturers quidelines, as the lime wash may occasionally get rain on it, 1% raw linseed oil was added to the final coat for extra protection. It seems to be doing the trick.
During November the fort was visited by Simon Bourne known to a lot of people by the name Si Finds. You can find Simon metal detecting and mud larking on his YouTube channel. He came to visit the fort as the weather was to bad that day to go out in a hovercraft on the River Medway. He promised us some finds and we quickly placed him in the stocks until he handed them over. On a serious note Simon took some up to date drone shots for us and made a short film for us with the aim of showing people that not all finds from mud larking go into private collections. Both the drone shots and the video (entitled Finds fit for a museum) can be viewed via our facebook page (Slough Fort Preservation Trust). Why not follow us on facebook ?
Work has now started on weather proofing rooms that have been exposed to the elements. This will enable restoration to continue inside during the winter months. Broken and bent window bars have been cut out, straightened and re fitted. A new one has been made where there was one missing. 3 windows have been replaced to date with another one due soon
Following on with our consent for works in the western gun position we have now removed the modern steps that gave access to the area when it was a horse riding school. We then set to work on removing the 6 inch thick concrete cap covering in where the Moncrieff gun was sited. Once the concrete was removed it was quickly established that the rest of the pit was infilled with clay. As this was removed, by digger initially and then by hand, what was left of the traversing ring was revealed. The ring is mostly intact but due to the width of the pit opening being narrower than below the rest will have to be carefully removed by hand. After this a report will made on the findings to Heritage England and permission sought to preserve what is left
Following on with our consent for works in the western gun position we have now completed the earth retaining wall. We will now start to demolish the old 1960,s steps that used to be the access point from the Haven site to get to the horse riding stables. We will follow this with starting to excavate the 9.2 inch Moncrieff gun pit to see what remains. We are ever hopeful after finding a cast iron wheel which may have come from the gun. We are also progressing with the restoration of the main fort building and have another 4 windows on order arriving in October. After getting these painted and fitted it will enable us to weather proof 3 more rooms before winter sets in.
Following on with our consent work on the western side of the fort, we have started to cast the missing retaining wall. Rebar used to tie it into what is left of the base and the upright surface. Its a slow progress, 9 inches of shuttering, concrete mix, let it set and then the next 9 inches. 14ft long, 6ft 6 inches high and 30 inches thick.
This month we were lucky to take delivery of this 3.7 inch anti aircraft gun, all the way from Dumfries Aviation Museum.
These were the type of gun that were on top of the Maunsell Forts out in the estuary, this may have come from Red Sands or Shivering Sand, we are waiting for more information from the museum. There was also a number of these guns within the village of Allhallows during WW2 and they were fed their ammunition from Slough Fort. The gun has been positioned facing the Thames as it would have been when in action.
We also had the Sheppy Pirates take over the fort for the bank holiday weekend, they are here teaching the visiting children how to use swords (foam) before sending them off in the arena following a battle with the red coats to check all the pirates were well and truly dead !.
Having received consent to excavate along the western service road we were pleased to uncover the full extent of the old cobbled gated entrance. Also following the concrete drainage gully expose the full width of the road and the remains of the metalled road surface
The new perimeter fence is now lit up of a night making the fort quite a feature against the night sky
During March our landlords Haven replaced the fence between the fort and the seafront. This will enable us to create a footpath around the glacis. It has also put the lost 6 inch gun position to the east on our side of the fence allowing excavation.
Another interesting feature discovered on the track down to the fort, a cobbled area and evidence of curved metal runners that would have taken the wheels of a gate, no doubt a guarded vehicle entrance. We have found this on a 1891 drawing and it appears that there is also a third gate which looks like a possible pedestrian entrance.
Work has continued on the cells, cell Number 2 is now complete, all lime washing done, floor stained and bed constructed. Would you like to spend your nights in here ?
Cell Number 1 is now being finished in time for our 2023 season
We had a trial dig late this month, and there is more of the position left than we expected. See here the original stencilling showing the type of shells stored in the recess, as good as the date it was put in place. The site is now covered to protect it until the weather gets better and we can carry on.
This is a scaled drawing of the eastern 6 inch gun position over a drone picture. During the winter months the fence line will be move so we have the position on our side of the fence. Weather permitting we will have a dig to see what is left, if any !!!
Happy Pancake Day!
The Slough Fort Preservation Trust’s Trustees and Volunteers have been hard at work once again, and lots has been achieved over this last month – we can’t wait to share what we’ve been up to!
Slough Fort is proud to announce that we are now a part of the Wheels of Time education scheme! A fantastic scheme aimed at encouraging young children (ages 3 to 11) to connect with fascinating local heritage in their area and across the county. There are 53 members of the Wheels of Time scheme in 2022, so there’s no shortage of places to visit! If you’d like to tick off Slough Fort from your Wheels of Time list, check out our Guided Tours or Open Days pages on our website to see when you can next come down! Alternatively, click here to head over to the Wheels of Time website and find out more about the scheme and other sites involved.
To find out more about the goings-on at Slough Fort, head over to the Slough Fort Facebook page, or take a read of one of our newsletters here on the website.
Happy Valentines Day to all the Slough Fort supporters out there!
As always, the Trustees and Volunteers of the Slough Fort Preservation Trust have been as busy as ever, and we can’t wait to tell you what we’ve been up to!
Slough Fort are now the proud owners of some rather rare anti-tank cylinders, found nearby in the village of Wainscott. With thanks to Ross Crayford, Chris Saunders and many others, these priceless artefacts of the Second World War can now be proudly displayed at Slough Fort next to our Tett Turret at the Main Gate. Want to come along and take a look at the brand-new guard position at the Slough Fort entrance? Why not come down on one of our Guided Tours, or pop along to one of our Open Days? To find out more, please head over to the relevant pages on our website.
In other news, we have had a change of leadership within the Slough Fort Preservation Trust. Keith Gulvin, the outgoing Chair of the Trust, is to be taken over from by Colin Davis. Keith first visited Slough Fort back in 1976 as a member of the Medway Military Research Group, and has been involved in the restoration of the site since 2013 – that’s nine years at Slough Fort! We are happy to announce that Keith will be staying on with the Trust in his new role as Vice Chair. The Slough Fort Preservation Trust would like to thank Keith for all his work, and wish Colin the best of luck as the incoming Chair.
That’s all from us for now, but would you like to learn more about the goings-on at Slough Fort? Head on over to the Slough Fort Facebook page, or take a read of one of our newsletters here on our website.
Happy New Year everyone!
Work has continued this New Year at Slough Fort, and we can’t wait to tell you all about it!
A relative of one of our Volunteers has very kindly donated two models of Moncreiff Disappearing Guns – the same type that were at one stage installed at Slough Fort. It’s great to see such detailed models of these guns, as they provide valuable insight into exactly how the Fort was used, manned and armed. Would you like to see these models, and learn something new about Slough Fort’s role in protecting the River Thames? Come down on one of our Guided Tours, or visit us on one of our Open Days! To find out more about these, please head over to the relevant pages on our website.
In other news, a number of projects have come into fruition during December and January such the Go Green Project. This project is aimed at protecting the environment in cooperation with the Peninsula East Primary Academy, and was a great success with a number of pupils from the school coming to Slough Fort to learn more about what they can do to help safeguard their local environment.
Lots more has taken place at Slough Fort over the last month. Would you like to learn more about the goings on at your local fort? Head over to the Slough Fort Facebook page, or take a look at our Newsletters!
