Palmerston's Folly Fort Gilkicker in Gosport sold for £1.4m at auction

Fort Gilkicker, a Palmerston Fort built in case the French attacked in the Victorian period, sold at auction online this afternoon (July 28) for £1,386,000.

It was announced the fort would go under the hammer earlier this month after it was most recently put on sale in 2019 with a guide price of £5 to 5.5m.

Land and property auctioneers Clive Emson offered the fort alongside 117 other lots from across the south of England and into London and Essex.

Planning permission has been granted to develop the Grade II-listed building into 26 homes, which would have stunning views across the Solent.

Rob Marchant, auctioneer, said: ‘These forts were also known as Palmerston’s Follies, partly because some were built with the guns facing inland, but also because the French threat had diminished.

‘Napoleon III's foreign policy became aligned with Britain’s so the threat of a French fleet attacking was unlikely.

‘Behind the curved building where the guns were situated is a two-storey barrack block originally occupied by the officers.

‘Permission has been granted to convert the fort into an exclusive estate of 26 homes. There would be 22 in the former gun emplacements and four really big apartments in the barrack block.

‘Having grown up locally the fort has always looked as it does now.

‘There is a beach at the front, a golf course at the back and amazing views.

‘There was a great deal of interest in the fort from potential buyers, several of whom toured the site.’

Built in 1871, Fort Gilkicker was used in the First and Second World Wars.

Since then it has been used variously as a plumbers’ workshop, signalling station and storage units.

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It was designed to protect the deep water anchorage at Spithead.

It was built with 22 casemates – large rooms from which guns could be fired. Five bigger guns were mounted on the roof.

Hampshire County Council owned it between 1986 and 1999 but since then it has been largely neglected, with several attempts to develop the site.