The Fort on Lighthouse Island by Carol Powell MA
One of the most iconic views of Mumbles is the outer island with its lighthouse, erected in 1794 and the Fort, built in 1861. Britain and France had been involved in many wars down the years. With the threat of further invasion, a defensive battery was in place on Mumbles Hill, overlooking the middle island, as early as 1803 but in the 1850s, it was decided to build a new one 'made of selected limestone on the lighthouse island'.
The Fort was completed in 1860 and equipped with a battery of four 18lb guns, at a cost to the War Department of £10,000. Easter Monday, 1861 saw its inauguration with a procession of the First Glamorgan Artillery Volunteers, comprising two firing parties and a detachment of men, marching from Castle Square in Swansea to the new battery to fire the guns. When they had arrived, Capt. Francis gave the order to commence firing. The booming of the guns brought out a large number of spectators, the display lasting about three hours. The watching Inspector congratulated the men on the efficiency of the corps and promised to report to HQ that they should be entitled to a certificate of competency.
This was in contrast to the Cambrian reports of the following August, when about fifty or sixty men were stationed on the Battery, eliciting complaints from residents concerning their conduct. Additionally, a feeling of rivalry and jealousy had erupted between the men and the Swansea Police. P.C. Milton was attacked with a belt buckle, but his assailant escaped and a few days later P.C. Williams who was knocked almost unconscious by a drunken soldier. The presiding magistrate Mr. Francis, said that anyone interfering with the police would be dealt with severely and that their commanding officer 'should exercise a wise and sound discretion, by refusing to allow bands of eight or ten men to be from their quarters at late hours.'
At the Trustees' meeting on 10 September 1861, Chairman, Starling Benson said that if the guns were fired off at the new fort, every pane of glass in the nearby lighthouse would be blown out, although he believed that 'the guns were not likely to be fired except in the case of war.' He was proved wrong as the guns were frequently fired for long-range practice and indeed, glass was smashed at the lighthouse in April 1862.
However, all was not running smoothly financially either. The records of the rents due in 1872-3, to the Duke of Beaufort, the owner of the land, show that H.M. Principal Secretary of State for War was in arrears by £7..17..6d for 'erecting a battery on Mumbles Head' and by £1 'for erecting a derrick for the hauling up of boats on Mumbles Head.'
In the summer of 1877, the cannon were replaced, but a report in 1882 pointed out the weakness of the battery and that the new 68lb guns would be utterly useless when pitted against iron-clad ships. The Fort then became known as one of 'Lord Palmerston's Follies,' although it was used in a defensive role during the later two world wars. Today, its roof houses the solar panels which power the lighthouse light.
