Victorian forts in the Solent between Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight on sale for £11m – complete with cabaret bar and pub
Unique buildings - a mile out at sea, which can only be reached by helicopter or boat - were originally built in the late 19th century to repel invasion from Napoleon III
IF YOU’RE looking for isolation then a trio of sea forts a mile from the coast could be right up your street.
The unique buildings located in The Solent between Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight have just gone on the market for £11million.
They were built in the late 19th Century to repel invasion from Napoleon III - the nephew and heir of Napoleon Bonaparte - and are only reachable by boat or helicopter.
Two are currently used as luxury hotels while the third is under renovation.
No Man’s Fort, which has a £5million price tag can sleep 44 guests in 23 suites and can accommodate over 200 people for events.
It boasts its own pub - The Lord Nelson - as well as a spa, rooftop hot tubs and even a laser hunt area in warrens of tunnels.
Also on the market for £5million is Spitbank Fort, which is a little smaller and comprises of nine suites.
The £1million Horse Sand Fort is currently being transformed into a museum.
When they were built the forts were nicknamed Palmerston’s Follies after Lord Palmerston, the prime minister who commissioned them.
He insisted they were fitted with a series of 35-ton cannon at a cost of £462,500, or over £43million at today’s prices, for just one fort.
Palmerston believed that Napoleon III was set to invade England, but his fears were unfounded and the buildings were so costly and embarrassing that the fortresses had to be put to some use.
They provided temporary barracks for soldiers but weren’t used in anger until the Second World War, when anti-submarine concrete blocks were laid between them, leaving a narrow strait that only friendly ships knew about.
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After the war, the Ministry of Defence realised that the nature of war had changed and they were decommissioned in 1956.
The forts were bought and converted by impresario Mike Clare, founder of Dreams bed superstores, who sold the company for £200million in 2008 and set about spending the proceeds on his passion for unusual property.
He supervised the conversion of the forts, where mod cons and luxury accommodation were installed while retaining the essential character of the forbidding looking fortresses.
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