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Fort Richmond has been in the news lately, with its boundaries causing issues some five years after the States sold it. It left us pondering whether life was simpler for its original residents way back when...
The current Fort was originally built in the 1800s, during what is known as the Napoleonic-era
By that time Guernsey was part of the British Isles and loyal to the Crown, but at risk of invasion by the French.
Fort Richmond was built amid efforts to defend Guernsey against that risk of invasion.
Named after Charles Lennox, the Duke of Richmond and Master General of the Ordnance, who had visited Guernsey in 1785, it was one of a number of structures built around Guernsey's coast which included Fort Hommet and Fort Le Marchant - both now ruins with the latter used as a shooting range.
In 1805, when the Battle of Trafalgar took place, the perceived threat of invasion rose and the Richmond battery - with wooden barracks - is understood to have been given an upgrade to ensure its residents would be able to defend the island.
The BBC has previously reported that the "armaments of the battery became four 20 pounders, and the garrison was increased to man the extra guns".
It's worth noting that while this was going on, plans to fill in the Braye du Valle were progressing. That much-heralded engineering project was also intended to aid Guernsey's defence against invasion.
Pictured: Fort Richmond. (Festung Guernsey)
While it is likely that something pre-dated the 1800s version of Fort Richmond, with its prime site overlooking Perelle to the south west and Vazon to the north east, little information is available.
The Guernsey Press has previously reported that "there is archaeological evidence of activity there from Neolithic times". This would make sense, with Le Trépied Megalithic Burial Chamber at Perelle and the coloquialiy known Fairy Ring at Pleinmont among nearby historic sites.
What is known and confirmed is that the current Fort was preceded by a barracks housing the West Regiment of the Guernsey Militia during those early 1800s.
The BBC has reported that documents dated 1803 confirmed that the Militia manned the existing battery. Their arsenal included a reported "two 18 pounders".
In 1808 the Militia were replaced by the 11th Veteran Battalion and regular soldiers were stationed there until 1820.
Their barracks were replaced by the current Fort in 1855, built low into a hollow in the ground, but still commanding defensive views across Guernsey's south, west, and north coasts.
Those Victorian-era barracks are understood to have been home to a Commanding Officer, Captains, Subalterns, and hundreds of non-commissioned officers and privates along with other staff and animals including horses.
By 1908 the threat of invasion had abated, and the barracks - formerly owned by the national War Department - were transferred to the ownership of the States of Guernsey.
Any sense of peace lasted less than a decade, with the Great War prompting the War Department to reclaim control of the site.
Pictured: Fort Richmond (Wikipedia)
After the First World War concluded in 1918, the War Department kept hold of the Fort until 1922 when it was again handed over to the States of Guernsey.
For a while, with some sense of peace across Europe, the Fort was used as housing. The Guernsey Press has also previously reported that Fort Richmond housed a tea room in the "early years of the century, run by Mr and Mrs Patterson" - but it's not known when this was exactly.
This peaceful life of tea rooms and residential bliss was not to last though, with the German Occupation of Guernsey taking hold from June 1940.
As with many other structures across the Bailiwick, the Occupying forces left their mark on Fort Richmond and its surrounding land.
Bunkers and other fortified structures were built in the battery and guns installed by the Germans are reported to have been fired in anger at this time. This remains the only time that guns have been fired in anger from Fort Richmond despite its near 200 year history as a military defence site.
While peace returned to the Channel Islands the impact of the German Occupation remains visible - with few of the fortifications being demolished. The concrete structures proved hard to knock down or blow up so those who tried gave up.
Some bunkers - including one adjacent to Fort Richmond have been converted into family homes. Others continue to be used for storage, or as visitor attractions and museums.
Fort Richmond was re-used as housing during the immediate post war era, and as the decades passed it was also used by clubs including the Guernsey Surf Club, Scouts, Girl Guides, and a Christian Youth Group.
By the 1980s Fort Richmond had no formal use, although many youngsters continued to make their own adventures there, with parties taking place too.
At the turn of another century, the States of Guernsey looked at their property portfolio to start rationalising it - an exercise which continues today.
In 2008 Fort Richmond was one of the first sites identified by the States as redundant, with the decision made that it should be sold off.
By 2015, the States-then Treasury Department was considering converting the Fort into habitable residential accommodation to sell off. That never came to fruition though, with the Fort instead listed for sale as it was in 2016.
By that time it was described as "run down", and "neglected". It still occupied a prime slice of real estate though - with a price tag of £2 million attached to it.
That attracted some criticism at the time for being too low. The States were accused of "giving away our history" reported Island FM.
Then-Deputy Tony Spruce who sat on the States Property Services sub-committee for a time said it was better to sell it off than to try and maintain it.
"It's been in a state of dilapidation for years and it does cost money to maintain the property, even in its current state, so that's not really good use of public funds," he said in media interviews.
By 2019 a buyer was interested, with Bembridge Limited purchasing the Fort and surrounding land for £1m.
Fort Richmond itself was listed but alterations in keeping with the facade were allowed.
Pictured: Fort Richmond has been in the news recently.
Work started with planning permission granted to convert the Fort into a six-bedroom home, to include a pedestrian-access bridge across the former moat.
13 planning conditions were attached to the permission and trouble arose when some of those were breached. The contractors were ordered to stop work while the matter as resolved.
Work was later able to continue and the owner - Julian Mountain - has created a residential home, which can often be seen lit up from a southerly approach.
Recent issues have arisen due to apparent confusion over the boundary lines of what Mr Mountain, through Bembridge Limited, purchased from the States in 2019.
Allegations persist that the States of Guernsey may be at fault, with different boundary lines cited in communication with owners of another property at different times over many years.
Last week the police became involved when the neighbourly dispute got out of hand. A spokesperson for Guernsey Police told Express that inquiries were continuing after two people had been arrested on suspicion of assault, and later released on bail.
A civil court case between Mr Mountain and his neighbours - the Allez family - is expected to be heard at a later date, although reports of a compromise agreement may stop that from progressing.
Pictured top: Fort Richmond (Wikipedia)
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