The Humber Forts

We take for granted the view from the promenade of the Humber Forts. The Bull Sand Fort is sited more than two miles off the Yorkshire coast. The smaller Haile Sand Fort is about a mile off the Lincolnshire coast. There is a distance of about two and a quarter miles between them. 

But why and when were they built? The answer begins with the several reviews of the Humber’s defences which were undertaken in the early 1900s.These were concerned with the strategic importance of the Humber to both the Royal Navy and merchant shipping in the event of a war. It provided the only suitable large-scale anchorage on the east coast between the Thames and the Forth.

The estuary also had some likely targets for enemy attack. On the south bank, these included the Grimsby and Immingham Docks, the Royal Navy’s 35 oil tanks at Killingholme and the Admiralty Wireless Station at New Waltham – the principal wireless station on the east coast.

So when war broke out in 1914, steps were taken to strengthen and extend the Humber defences. Gun batteries and other defence measures were constructed on both banks of the Humber. Locally, these included the provision of new gun batteries at Stallingborough and New Clee and a rail-mounted gun on the railway line between Cleethorpes and Grimsby.

However, a problem lay in the width of the Humber mouth, which could make it difficult for the shore batteries to engage with the enemy, particularly at times of poor visibility. The solution to the problem lay in the construction of the Humber Forts.

Construction started in April 1915. The contractors were C.J. Willis & Son of London whose operational base for the work was Grimsby. Building materials were ferried out from the Royal Dock but the operation’s headquarters were at the extreme west end of the Alexandra Dock. This was presumably where the peaceful car transporters now load or unload the myriads of cars which you can see parked as you go along the A180 just past Lock Hill.

Without going into details of the construction of the forts, they had to be sturdy enough to withstand the rigours of the Humber’s tides and weather, never mind enemy attack. Working in such a hostile river environment, it is not surprising that there were many delays in the construction work. A particular problem with the Bull Sand Fort was that it was being built on sand which was 120 feet deep. Work on the slightly smaller Haile Sand Fort progressed more speedily, partly because it was built on only a few feet of sand over clay and chalk.

Even so, the Haile Sand Fort’s two four-inch guns were not mounted until April 1917. And it was not officially completed until March 1918. The Bull Sand Fort’s four six-inch guns were not mounted until October 1918, a month before the end of the war. And it was not until December 1919 that it was officially completed. No official figures are available on the cost of building the forts but it is possible that the Bull Sand Fort may have cost up to a million pounds and the Haile Sand Fort up to half a million.

Neither fort fired a shot in anger during the war and they were placed in care and maintenance during the inter-war period.

When the Second World War broke out in 1939, the forts were quickly manned. Their combined garrisons totalled ten officers and 245 other ranks. Anti-aircraft guns were installed and the forts saw much action against enemy aircraft and E-boats. An anti-submarine boom defence was also put across the mouth of the river.

Since the end of the war the forts have had an unsettled history. They were vacated by the army in 1956 and the Bull Sand Fort was purchased by the Humber Conservancy Board for £625 in 1964.  Then, in 1991, both forts were put on the market by Associated British Ports at £50,000 each, with suggestions that they could be used for luxury homes, restaurants or hotels. But they realised only £38,000 in total. A Swiss property company was believed to be involved in the purchase. In 1997, both forts were put up for auction. The Bull Sand Fort was purchased for £21,000 by the Basildon-based charity Streetwise as a detox centre for drug addicts; work is still being carried out to make the fort suitable for this purchase. The Haile Sand Fort was sold for £15,000 to a private English buyer.

So what next? Well, we can only hope that whatever their future function they will continue to be a point of interest on the Cleethorpes skyline.

Any of your own memories or photographs of the forts would be greatly appreciated by the Chronicle and its readers (and by Friends of Cleethorpes Heritage). But finally, don’t try to walk out to the Haile Sand Fort – it’s too dangerous now and I have no desire to come to your funeral.

© Dr. Alan Dowling

First published in the Cleethorpes Chronicle on 14 May 2009

The use of extracts from this article should be acknowledged merely by citing the name of the author, Dr. Alan Dowling. But please contact the author (who also holds the copyright) if you wish to re-print or otherwise re-use the entire article. He may be contacted on (01472) 690655.