Fort George

Fort George is an extensive 18th-century artillery fortification built near Ardersier following the 1745–46 Jacobite Rising. Designed by William Skinner and mostly constructed between 1748 and 1769 by William Adam's building practice under the oversight of John Adam, it was conceived as a single coherent structural complex comprising both defensive and domestic elements. Unique within Scotland, Fort George is one of the most exceptional and intact examples of an 18th-century artillery fortress in the world. It has been in continuous military occupation since the 18th century, with minor additions and alterations to service its use by the British Army. It remains in use as an army barracks and also as a visitor attraction.

Exterior

The largest element of the structure is the main rampart with projecting bastions and demi-bastions, extending approximately one kilometre around the interior area of the fort and a minimum of twenty metres in thickness. The rampart structure comprises an earthen core with supporting masonry buttressing, faced with dressed red sandstone. On top of the rampart, the inner side has been levelled to form a broad and level platform (terreplein), while the outer side includes earth and stone parapets incorporating gun embrasures, with brick revetments and raised firing steps to their rear. At some of the projecting angles of the five bastions and two demi-bastions are yellow sandstone circular sentry boxes. Near the top of the rampart's outer face is a cordon, a projecting line of rounded stone, to impede any attempt to scale the walls. Built within parts of the rampart and accessible from the interior of the fort are a number of bomb-proof casemates. The terreplein is connected to the interior of the fort by means of six wide, sloping ramps.

The main gate to the fort is on the eastern, landward side, and consists of an arched gateway with projecting keystone and double-leaf studded gates. The gate is flanked by projecting yellow sandstone rusticated Roman Doric pilasters and topped by a tympanum depicting the arms of King George II. Two further sally ports exist, one each in the north and south ramparts roughly halfway between the eastern and central bastions.

To support the main defensive curtains are a series of additional outworks, constructed using the same materials of red sandstone masonry, brick and earth. Immediately east of the rampart is the principal ditch. At its north and south ends the ditch ends in masonry dams (batardeaux), which are connected to a system of sluices allowing the main ditch to be flooded. On its eastern side the ditch is connected to the ravelin, the largest part of the outworks. The ravelin is a triangular masonry and earth structure, with its own cordoned rampart and ditch, with a parapet, sentry box, firing step, openings for firing through (embrasures) and two sets of stairs leading down into the principal ditch. Within the interior of the ravelin is the former guardhouse, now used as the ticketing office and shop for visitors, which is built of sandstone with a slate roof, twelve-pane timber-framed sash and case windows and a chimney at each end of the structure. The ravelin connects to the main gate of the fort via a timber bridge across the principal ditch, with a drawbridge near its eastern end. A second timber bridge connects the ravelin to the southern covered way.

The final section of the eastern outwork defences is the covered way, with an associated counterscarp, two assembly points (places of arms), two half-moon shaped outer defences (lunettes), two zig-zag stretches (traverses) and a wide earthwork glacis. Each of the sally ports also has an outwork defence, in the form of a triangular place of arms located just outside of the sally ports themselves.

On the exterior of the fort to the south are three other elements relating to the fort's construction and use. The first is the former harbour, to the south of the south bastion, through which much of the material for the construction of the fort was supplied. The harbour basin is artificial, with roughly U-shaped plan and a pier along its western side, extending into the firth to the south. Adjacent to this is the former piggery, a long single-storey sandstone building with slate roof, with the eastern section of the building slightly larger in scale than the rest.

To the southeast of the fort is the sea wall, built to protect the earthwork elements of the defences from damage by the sea.

Interior

Within the fort are a range of domestic and ancillary buildings to support its function as a military garrison. These are predominantly arranged in pairs on either side of the main roadway running east–west through the fort.

The easternmost pair of buildings, overlooking the parade ground, are the staff block on the north side of the road and the artillery block on the south. They are both two-storey sandstone buildings, with a mix of nine and twelve-pane timber-framed sash and case windows, a number of chimneys with yellow clay pots and grey slate roofs. The central section of each includes a ground-floor covered exterior gallery (loggia) on the east side. The north and south end pavilions of the respective blocks are larger and more elaborate, highlighting their status as the former Governor's House (south) and Deputy Governor's House (north). They both have Roman Doric style covered porches (porticoes) on the east side, and the rear staircases include large Venetian windows. Within the former Governor's House, now the Officers' Mess, and the Deputy Governor's House, now The Highlanders' Museum, several interior features survive, including a number of fireplaces with cast iron grates and a mix of brick, marble and timber surrounds. The most elaborately decorated examples are those in the principal rooms on the first floor, with the ground and second-floor examples being plainer in style, although still with decorative elements.

To the west of the staff block and artillery block are the two main barrack blocks, symmetrical and U-shaped in plan to form a parade square in the interior. They are three-storey sandstone buildings, with pediments bearing the initials 'GR' (for Georgius Rex) and dates of 1757 and 1763 respectively. In each block, the officers' quarters were located at the ends and in the central section, with the remainder of the block forming the quarters of the enlisted men. The officers' quarters comprise five-bay sections that are slightly advanced and taller than the rest of the blocks, and use twelve-pane timber-framed windows; sixteen-pane versions are used for the rest of the barracks buildings. Internally, these buildings have been altered on several occasions to improve the barrack accommodation, most recently during a major refurbishment in the 1980s, but some original elements, such as the stone stairwells, are still present.

To the west of the barracks are two former ordnance stores buildings. They are two-storey rectangular plan sandstone buildings with walled courtyards attached to the west. The courtyard of the northern example has been adapted with a modern roofing structure to enclose it, although the southern example remains open. They have round porthole style eight-pane windows on the ground floor with arched, sixteen-pane timber sash and case windows on the first floor.

West of the ordnance stores is the regimental institute, on the north side of the main road through the fort. This is the only new building added to the fort following its original completion, and was added in 1934. The institute now occupies an area that was previously a parade ground, and the ground south of the main road still remains open space. The institute is an eleven-bay, two-storey sandstone building, with slate roofs. It has projecting bays on both sides of its principal south elevation, and each of these also has a single projecting ornamented doorway. To the rear are two further longer projections, giving the building a squat H-shaped plan. There are seven chimney stacks with yellow clay pots and the windows are a mix of eight, twelve, sixteen and twenty-pane timber sash and case windows. Although a later addition, the scale of the building is designed to be in keeping with the rest of the fort.

West of the institute is the former provision stores, bakehouse, brewhouse and related accommodation. These facilities were housed in a single two-storey red sandstone block, running north to south, with twelve-pane timber-framed sash and case windows. Unlike the other buildings, this block extends across the main road through the fort, which passes through an arched pend in the centre of the building. Above this pend on the east is a second recessed arch housing a clock. Attached to the west of the building are two small courtyard areas, and the southern half has also a group of single-storey outbuildings attached on the west side of its courtyard. Internally, the northern part of the buildings retains a military prison, added in 1842, comprising six arched cells over two floors, with original heavy wooden doors and brick and timber bed bases, along with the metal walkways and stairs connecting the two levels.

The westernmost building in the fort is the chapel. The chapel was the last of the original buildings to be completed, in 1767. The chapel is not depicted on the original plans of the fort, and may have been an addition designed by the architect Robert Adam rather than Skinner. The chapel is a two-storey structure built of red sandstone, with a grey slate roof. On the eastern gable end is a polygonal chancel, while the west has a square tower with crenellated battlements. Rounded stair towers are located midway along both the north and south wall of the chapel. The majority of the windows are a mix of twelve and twenty-four pane timber-framed arched windows. The exceptions to this are the three chancel windows, which contain stained glass, and circular eight-pane porthole style windows on the upper level of the west tower. Internally, a two-tier arcade runs around the north, west and south sides of the chapel. The lower tier uses Roman Doric columns to support the round-headed arcade of the gallery. A three-decker pulpit is located beside the chancel arch, and two additional internal stained glass windows are located on either side of the arch.

In the interior of the south bastion is the grand magazine. This building was purpose-designed as the main storage facility for the fort's powder reserve. Externally, the building is plain, with very few openings other than the small vents. Internally, brick vaults on stone pillars were designed to protect the powder from artillery fire, and an elaborate angled ventilation system with shutters was included to keep the powder dry while in storage. No iron was used in the construction of the magazine to prevent accidental sparks, with the heavy timber floors held in place by wooden dowels, and the doors and shutters sheathed in copper.

Historical Development

Fort George was designed and built in a single phase in the mid-18th century, in response to a political situation that ended long before the construction of the fortress was complete. This fortification was built as part of a network of sites connected by new military roads in the Highlands from Fort William and Fort Augustus in the west to Inverness in the northwest and as far south as Inversnaid.

The construction of Fort George was not the first time that the Government had attempted to control the Highlands through new military infrastructure. Fort William was built in 1690, on the site of an earlier fortification, as a response to the first Jacobite Rising. The four barracks at Bernera, Inversnaid, Kilwhimen and Ruthven were built following the 1715 Rising. In the 1720s Fort Augustus and the original Fort George in Inverness were also constructed, along with General Wade's military road network to improve access to and around the region by Government forces. However, none of this military infrastructure was able to prevent "The '45", and in the case of the road network it even benefitted the Jacobites' efforts.

Following the final rising, a ruthless campaign of oppression and control was undertaken to pacify the region permanently. A sustained campaign of this nature required a substantial and long-term military presence in the area. Repairs and improvements were made to existing forts and castles such as Fort Augustus and Corgarff Castle. The key to the new approach was to be Fort George. Initially intended to be located in Inverness, a dispute with the Burgh Council led to a new site being selected, on a spit of land by Ardersier, eleven miles east of Inverness. The new fort was to be capable of housing two battalions of infantry (around 1,600 men), along with supporting artillery and staff. This was significantly larger than any other single British garrison of the time, with the closest contemporary being Fort Townshend, Newfoundland, which housed a mere 400 men in comparison and was not completed until 1780.

Detailed records relating to the design and construction of the fortress, including plans, financial accounts and letters, show it was constructed between 1748 and 1769, with only a single building, the regimental institute built in 1934, being added to the complex since the original phase of construction. Plans of the fort drawn in 1749, 1752 and 1763 by Major-General William Skinner, the military engineer in charge of the design, closely reflect Fort George as completed, and as it survives today. The only major addition to the complex was in 1934 and throughout the 20th century various alterations have been made to the building interiors in particular.

Fort George has served as an active military garrison throughout its life, a fact which led to the fort itself being redacted from early Ordnance Survey mapping for security reasons. It has housed or been associated with many different units of the British Army, most prominently as the headquarters of the Seaforth Highlanders from 1881 to 1961 and the Queen's Own Highlanders (Seaforths and Camerons) from 1961 to 1964. It also housed the Seaforth's predecessor units, the 72nd Highlanders (Duke of Albany's Own) and the 78th (Ross-shire Buffs) from 1778 and 1793 respectively. In more recent years, the fort has been the base for a number of units, and has been the base for the Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, the Royal Regiment of Scotland since 2007. Parts of the site have also been open as a visitor attraction since 1964, when the Ministry of Defence handed over responsibility for maintaining the fort to the Ministry of Public Building and Works, a predecessor body of Historic Environment Scotland.

Legal Exclusions

In accordance with Section 1 (4A) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997 the following are excluded from the listing: the interior and roof of the Junior Ranks Mess and Kitchen within the rear enclosure of North Stores Block (Building 9).