Fort George, Highland

Fort George, Ardersier, Highland, Scotland, is a large 18th century fortress near Inverness with perhaps the mightiest artillery fortifications in Europe. It was built to pacify the Scottish Highlands in the aftermath of the Jacobite rising of 1745, replacing an earlier Fort George built with the same aim after the 1715 Jacobite rising. The fortress has never been attacked and has remained in continuous use as a garrison. Based on a Star fort design, it remains virtually unaltered and nowadays is open to visitors with exhibits and recreations showing use at different periods, while still serving as army barracks. Originally the depot of the Seaforth Highlanders and later the Queen's Own Highlanders (Seaforth and Camerons), it was more recently home to the Royal Irish Regiment, and as of 2007, the new garrison of the Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland.

The First Fort George

The first Fort George was built in 1727 in Inverness, a large fortress capable of housing 400 troops on a hill beside the River Ness, on the site of (and incorporating portions of) the medieval castle which had been rebuilt as a citadel by Oliver Cromwell then abandoned.[] Fort George surrendered to the Jacobites when they attacked Inverness in February 1746 and the Jacobites laid mines under the fortress under the direction of a French officer called L'Epine, who was amongst those killed when the mines exploded prematurely completely destroying Fort George.

In 1747 Colonel William Skinner, the King's Military Engineer for North Britain, let a contract to rebuild the fortress, but Inverness Council made a claim for compensation for the loss of part of its harbour and an alternative site was found.[]

Siting and construction

The site chosen was a level spit of land at Ardersier, about 11 miles (18 km) northeast of Inverness, which forms a promontory jutting into the Moray Firth and controls the sea approach to Inverness. With its own harbour below the walls, the fort could be supplied by sea in event of a siege. Work began in 1748, with Colonel Skinner in charge, and the Adam brothers, John, Robert and later James, acting as contractors, overseeing around 1,000 soldiers who provided labour and defended the site against attack. By 1757 the main defences were in place and Fort George was finally completed in 1769. The original budget was £92,673 19s 1d, but the final cost was more than £200,000, a vast figure for the time (larger than the Gross National Product of Scotland in 1750).[] There would be no more Jacobite rebellions for the fort to control and it became a base for the Highland regiments recruited from the clans in the same way as the Black Watch

Fortifications

The fortifications form an example of defence in depth. The main walls are stone faced, in plan faceted and angled with projecting bastions and redoubts so that every wall face is covered by fire from guns sited on top of other walls. The walls are many yards wide and grassed over, on top of barrel vaulted casemates which form underground bunkers designed to protect the entire garrison from artillery fire. The approach to the fortress from the landward side is across a wide area of loose shingle, unsuitable for siting heavy guns, so that besieging artillery is kept out of range. Sloping grassy banks designed to absorb artillery shells all but hide the fort from view. The entrance is reached via a ravelin, a free standing defensive structure incorporating a guardhouse and completely exposed to fire from the main fort, then by a raised wooden walkway, complete with drawbridge, bridging across a wide ditch set between heavily defended bastions. The ditch forms a wide killing ground openly exposed to gunfire from these walls.

Visitor access

The barracks are still in use as a military establishment, but much of the site is open to the public (entrance charge). Historic Scotland use part of one of the barracks to display reconstructions of life in the early days of the fort, and the Grand Magazine displays the Seafield Collection of Arms as well as forming a stage for actors recreating the lives and stories of soldiers in the 18th century. The Fort Major's House facing the parade ground houses the Regimental Museum of the Queen's Own Highlanders and Lovat Scouts. The Fort Chapel is also open to visitors.

External links

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Kevin Hand
19 October 2013
Go to the Culloden battlefield the day before. The whole fort is amazing but spend time in the Highland Regiment Museum. A real eye opener.
Mat Nichol
27 October 2012
Excellent. Spent 2 hours here. Great audio tour. If you're lucky you'll see dolphins too.
Joe Barry
29 January 2013
An excellent opportunity to visit a site that has a tremendous history while still is use by the British Army.
Mauro Daneluzzi
17 August 2014
Amazing place, you must see it if you pass near Inverness
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0.3km from B9006, Inverness, Highland IV2, UK Get directions
Fri 10:00 AM–5:00 PM
Sat 10:00 AM–6:00 PM
Sun 10:00 AM–4:00 PM
Mon 10:00 AM–Noon
Tue 10:00 AM–6:00 PM
Wed 10:00 AM–5:00 PM

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