Pictures of Nothe Fort

a Castle in the town of Weymouth, in the county of Dorset

About Nothe Fort

Nothe Fort lies to the east of Weymouth. This spectacular "D" shaped building is preserved as one of the finest pieces of military architecture from the Victorian Era.

The fort was built by the 26 Company of the Royal Engineers between 1860 and 1872, on a peninsular which juts out into the sea north of Portland Harbour. Its guns covered both the approaches to Portland and Weymouth harbour from the East.

The Nothe had a range of bomb proof vaulted rooms within its walls, and was originally equipped with a mixture of Rifle Muzzle Loading cannons, later in 1888 these were replaced with seven 38 ton 12.5 inch RML's. By the turn of the 20th-century these had been replaced with two, and later three 6" Breech loading guns on the Ramparts.

In 1954 the fort was disarmed and removed of all its weapons. It was later purchased by Weymouth Council, who abandoned it to fall into a state of near ruin, its wood was stripped for use as firewood and its metal sold for scrap by a series of invading hippies and vandals.

Fortunately, Weymouth Civic Society mounted a rescue scheme, and today Nothe Fort is one of the finest museums of its kind in the country. Visitors can see lifestyle reconstructions of the guns and the men who manned them, learn all about how this splendid fortification was constructed.

This is a wonderful place to visit, it exudes all the atmosphere and might of England's military history, and it is therefore unsurprising to learn that Nothe Fort attracts more than 50,000 visitors each year.

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Nearby travel help

Weymouth Station	(0.8 miles, 1.3 km)
Upwey Station	(3.0 miles, 4.9 km, direction N)
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M5 Junction 25	(39.2 miles, 63.0 km, direction NW)
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Exeter Airport	(43.6 miles, 70.2 km, direction W)
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