Fort Bovisand, Plymouth - Dec 2011 (Pic Heavy)

This site has been covered previously but whilst visiting family for Christmas I decided to take a trip down for a look around. The history has been heavily documented but I will include a brief amount and some additional information I have discovered online which I don't think has previously been shown.

Fort Bovisand was built on the mainland to defend the entrance of Plymouth Sound, at the narrows opposite the east end of Plymouth Breakwater. In 1816, a stone jetty and slip were built for boats from sailing warships anchored in Plymouth Sound to collect fresh water from the nearby reservoir. The first fort at the site, named Staddon Height Battery, was started in 1845, and still exists in the upper part of the present fort. As part of the recommendations of the Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom, work started on the main part of the fort consisting of 23 granite casemates, originally housing 22 9-inch Rifled Muzzle Loaders (RMLs), one 10-inch RML gun and 180 men. By 1880, the armament included 14 10-inch and nine 9-inch RML guns. In the early 1900s the original guns were removed. In 1942, the remaining four 12-pounders were replaced by two twin 6-pounders, to combat E-boats. A Bofors 40mm anti-aircraft gun was installed in 1943. In 1956 the Ministry of Defence abandoned the fort. It is currently home to a diving school.

One thing that really struck me was just how trashed this site now appears to be since the last reports posted. We didn't access a lot of the site due to it either being secure or having to scrabble over piles of debris in most areas. Having thrown my back out a few days before I didn't fancy making it worse by slipping off/falling over anything.

Map of the area


Arial view of the whole site


Picture of the jetty from 1920's


Pictures from my visit

Oooh lovely Bovvy! I have such fond memories (I am lying, I hated it really) of diving trips based at Bovvy. I did a lifting and salvage course there and regularly tried to get a decent nights kip with 15 other divers farting and snoring in the converted gun emplacements that served as dormitories. About the only thing I ever actually enjoyed was doing the Bovvy Jump off the end of that jetty into the water at low tide with a scuba rig on my back - you used to come up with your fins on your knees instead of your feet if you got it wrong and God help you if you forgot to hold your mask and valve!!!

the Breakwater fort is where its all at!... you get a free lift back from the police boat... well so me and a fellow explorer found out... alittle amusing tho! ... bovvy was one of my first places i remember going to and ive always loved that place!

Remember... Plymouth Sound is the only place in the world you can Hear the Sea ... and See the Sound

TeeJF said:

Oooh lovely Bovvy! I have such fond memories (I am lying, I hated it really) of diving trips based at Bovvy. I did a lifting and salvage course there and regularly tried to get a decent nights kip with 15 other divers farting and snoring in the converted gun emplacements that served as dormitories. About the only thing I ever actually enjoyed was doing the Bovvy Jump off the end of that jetty into the water at low tide with a scuba rig on my back - you used to come up with your fins on your knees instead of your feet if you got it wrong and God help you if you forgot to hold your mask and valve!!!

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lol im so with you on that one!! we had some great diving trips down there,..best was the canon ball run..loads strewn all over the sea bed..and i tried to collect as many as i could then realised i was too heavy to get back to the surface!!

Ninja Kitten said:

lol im so with you on that one!!

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So it was you snoring and farting!!!

I didn't do the canonoball run but we lifted a five ton cannon on the lifting and salvage course. Had to drop it again though because they were cast iron and apparently the only reason they were still down there is because they are as common as muck and quite un-preservable!

Used to drive past this and always wondered what it was like inside, and what it's history was. Thank you.