Darnet Fort
First some historic Photographs from July 1989
Fort Darnet Island sailing upstream
Fort Darnet overview
From one of the four WWII ferroconcrete petrol lighters
On the island, Fort Gun Tier
Gated entrance tunnel
Looking upstream from Fort roof to our moored vessel
We caught an owl flying around the gun gallery!
Gingerly making way out
Darnet Fort
For Sale by Auction at Savills
Lot 499
Auction Date: Tuesday 09 December 2025 at 9:00am
Gun Gallery counter clockwise
Darnet Fort, Darnet Ness, Gillingham, Kent, ME9 7HJ
Located on the River Medway the Fort is Freehold and vacant
Gun Gallery clockwise
Guide price £50,000
Gun Gallery counter clockwise
Has had the same ownership for over 40 years
Description: Located on the River Medway the nineteenth-century military sea Forts, were built following the recommendations of the 1859 Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom
Primary objective to provide an inner line of defence to protect the approaches to Chatham Naval Dockyard
The Medway sea Forts are scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 designated 1st November 1963
Constructed between 1870-1872 the *Palmerston Forts for naval sea defence held a garrison of 100 men they were decommissioned for use before WW1
* Known as Palmerston Forts after then Prime Minister Henry John Temple 3rd Viscount Palmerston
The Forts were used as an observation posts in WW2 with platforms and pillboxes built on top
Fort Darnet is one of two Forts constructed on low island salt marshes on opposite sides of the Medway channel
Hoo Island Fort which remains MoD property is located just over half a mile upstream, both Forts were to be armed with two tiers of twenty five guns, reduced to eleven nine and seven inch medium sized rifled muzzle-loading guns mounted in a circle
Providing a natural river 'bottle neck' at Pin Up Reach, cost overruns mainly due to subsidence resulted in just a single gallery of guns which were never used in anger, a planned boom between Hoo and Darnet Forts was never instigated
Include in the sale are four WWII ferroconcrete petrol lighters deliberately beached in 1990 to act as breakwaters and help prevent erosion of the island
Unstable ground works made building difficult revisions to plans and thick steel bands were placed around the Forts didn't stop water ingress
Fort Darnet flooded in 1862 due to a dam failure despite loading each Fort with 3.5k tons of ballast seepage continued
Looking back along gated entrance tunnel
Both Forts are identical comprising a lower level of Mess, Officers Rooms, Galley, Toilet facilities and stores
The magazine above ran around the perimeter of the whole Fort each gun having its own magazine
Rooms below gun gallery
The island Fort is only accessible by boat and up until the 1980's was used for leisure
Still in fair condition, however the entry and magazine level is flooded
Aerial images reproduced by permission of Savills Property Auctions, Head Office, 33 Margaret Street, London, W1G 0JD
Competive bidding on 9th December 2025 the Fort Island and Fuel Lighter (Barges) was sold at £121.000 to an undisclosed buyer far exceeding the guide price of £50.000