SDO12399 - Upton Fort, Osmington, Dorset. Assessment

Upton Fort, or Upton Battery, is a coastal defence battery, built between 1901-1903 as the latest static defensive position for the protection of Portland Harbour. The barbette battery was initially armed with two 9.2-inch BL and two 6-inch BL guns. The 6-inch guns were removed in 1909. There were a number of alterations to the battery during World War I, principally the construction of a a new Battery Command post, but it remained largely as originally constructed. During the inter-war years, the remaining 9.2-inch guns were removed. It was re-armed during 1940-1, with two t-inch naval guns, which necessitated some major alterations to the gun emplacements. A number of other alterations and additions were made during World War II, including the construction of a new Battery Observation Post, two coastal artillery searchlight positions, and an umber of wooden army huts, some of which survive today. The battery was placed on a care and maintenance footing in 1943 and was finally decommissioned in 1956. The battery survives in an almost complete condition, with most of the original features still surviving in a fair to good condition, although some have been altered and adapted, both during World War II and subsequently when it returned to private ownership. Many of the World War II additions are in a poor condition, in particular the alterations to the gun emplacements, and a number of buildings of this period have been demolished.