Fort Grey facts for kids
Fort Grey is a cool old tower in Guernsey, nicknamed the "cup and saucer" because of its shape. It sits on a rock in Rocquaine Bay, right on the island's west coast. This special tower is called a Martello tower, and it was built a long time ago to protect the island.
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The Old Castle Rock
The rock where Fort Grey stands has a French name: Château de Rocquaine, which means "Castle of Rocquaine". In the local language, Guernésiais, it's called Châté dé Rocquoïne. There was likely a small fort here way back in the Middle Ages. Records from the 1620s show it was used by the local army, but it wasn't very strong.
Building Fort Grey
The fort you see today was built on top of what was left of that old castle. Its white tower was put up by the British in 1804. This was during the Napoleonic Wars, a time when Britain was often at war with France. A local builder named Thomas Henry helped construct it.
The fort was named after Charles Grey, 1st Earl Grey, who was in charge of Guernsey from 1797 to 1807. Fort Grey was one of three places on the island where a warning gun would be fired if an enemy tried to invade.
Fort Grey is a Martello tower, just like Fort Saumarez and Fort Hommet in Guernsey. These towers were designed to be strongholds for the gun batteries they protected. The Martello towers in Guernsey are smaller than those built in Britain. Fort Grey is a bit bigger than Fort Saumarez and Fort Hommet. Each tower had a powerful 24-pounder carronade (a type of cannon) on its roof to defend the area. Fort Saumarez and Fort Hommet also have outside stairs to their second floors.
Around 1808, the road connecting St Peter Port to the fort was made better for military use. Money for this came from selling land that was once part of the Braye du Valle, a marshy area that was drained.
Fort Grey in World War II
In 1891, the British army sold Fort Grey to the government of Guernsey for £185. During World War II, when the Germans occupied the Channel Islands, they took over Fort Grey. They used many of Guernsey's old forts. The Germans called Fort Grey Widerstandsnest Graur Turm, which means "resistance nest Gray Tower". They armed it with a mobile 3.7 cm Pak 36 anti-tank gun and machine guns.
A Museum of Shipwrecks
Today, Fort Grey has a much more peaceful purpose. It's now a local shipwreck museum! Inside, you can see many items that have been saved from famous shipwrecks. Some of these include pieces from the MV Prosperity and the Elwood Mead.
The museum also has a cannon from HMS Boreas. This cannon points towards the nearby Hanois rocks, where the Boreas sank in 1807. The ship's captain and at least half of his crew were lost in that accident. Soon, there will also be an exhibit of wooden timbers from a 3rd-century Roman ship. This ship, nicknamed "Asterix", was found in St Peter Port harbour in 1982. It has taken many years to preserve these 1,700-year-old timbers.
Images for kids
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Fort Grey, also known as the "cup and saucer"
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A monument remembering the ship MV Prosperity, which sank in 1974
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A sign for the Fort Grey museum
