Thorne Island facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Thorne Island |
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 Thorne Island
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| Community | |
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| Country | Wales |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Police | Dyfed-Powys |
| Fire | Mid and West Wales |
| Ambulance | Welsh |
| EU Parliament | Wales |
Thorne Island is a small, rocky island in Wales. It's part of the Angle community. The island is only about 2 acres big. It's mostly covered by an old fort built in the mid-1800s. This fort was made to protect the Milford Haven Waterway from attacks. Thorne Island has also been the site of several shipwrecks, including one famous one in 1894 that was carrying a special cargo.
Contents
The Fort's History
Why the Fort Was Built
Thorne Island sits right at the entrance to Milford Haven. This was an important waterway, leading to the old Royal Dockyard at Pembroke Dock. In the 1850s, people in Britain were worried. The French Navy was getting stronger, and their leader, Napoleon III, seemed to want to expand his power.
So, work began on the fort on Thorne Island sometime after 1852. The year '1854' is even carved above the entrance! The fort isn't a perfect square; it's an unusual shape. It was designed with a special area facing the sea, called a battery. This battery held five large guns and four even bigger ones. These guns were mounted en barbette, which means they were in open positions, firing over a protective wall called a parapet.
The side of the fort facing the land had a strong building for soldiers to live in, called a barracks. This barracks also had a wall with small openings, called loopholes. These allowed soldiers to shoot out and defend the entrance.
Fort Upgrades and Changes
In 1860, a special group called the Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom looked at the fort. They said that while Thorne Island Fort and other nearby forts could stop an enemy from anchoring, they weren't strong enough to stop fast warships. This meant they couldn't fully protect the dockyard or the haven.
The report suggested to Lord Palmerston, a leader at the time, that more forts should be built or made stronger. This was to deal with the possible threat from the French Navy. In the end, twelve forts were built around Pembroke Dock and Milford Haven. Some of these included Fort Hubberstone, Popton Fort, and Stack Rock Fort.
Thorne Island in Modern Times
After its military use, the fort on Thorne Island was turned into a hotel in 1947. It was sold in 1999 for £275,000. In 2001, a hotel company bought it. They planned to spend a lot of money to make it a fancy five-star hotel. They even thought about building a cable car to get to the island from the mainland!
Also in 2001, a fun competition was held to find a family to live on the island as caretakers for a year. Later, the island was put up for sale again for £750,000. It finally sold in November 2011 for less than that price.
In 1996, the fort became a Grade II* Listed Building. This means it's a very important historical building because it's a "well-preserved fort of Palmerston's Haven defences."
Famous Shipwrecks
The rocks around Thorne Island have always been dangerous for ships. Divers know of more than twelve shipwrecks in the area that are interesting to explore. One of the most famous is the Loch Shiel, a sailing ship built in 1878. It sank in 1894.
The Loch Shiel Rescue
The Loch Shiel hit rocks near the island. Luckily, 27 passengers and crew members were saved from the ship! Two brave members of the Angle lifeboat crew and their secretary received special silver medals from the RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution) for their heroic actions.
This rescue is very well-known because of what the ship was carrying. The Loch Shiel was on its way from Scotland to Australia with many different goods. This included gunpowder, beer, and many cases of whisky from Glasgow.
The Ship's Unique Cargo
After the shipwreck, some of the cargo was taken by Customs officials. But some of the bottles are still in the wreck today! Divers who explore the area have even found full beer bottles from the Loch Shiel. People say the beer isn't salty and is still drinkable, though it's flat. Some of these bottles have sold for £1,000 at auctions!
