Golden Hill Fort

GOLDEN HILL FORT, MILITARY ROAD

Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places

Explore this list entry

Overview

Heritage Category:
Listed Building
Grade:
I
List Entry Number:
1291516
Date first listed:
28-Mar-1994
List Entry Name:
Golden Hill Fort
Statutory Address:
GOLDEN HILL FORT, MILITARY ROAD

Have you got a photo to share?

Join the Missing Pieces Project. We want you to share your photos and memories.

Location

Location of this list entry and nearby places that are also listed. Use our map search to find more listed places. 

There is a problem

Use of this mapping is subject to terms and conditions .

This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale.

What is the National Heritage List for England?

The National Heritage List for England is a unique register of our country's most significant historic buildings and sites. The places on the list are protected by law and most are not open to the public.

The list includes:

Icon Buildings
Icon Scheduled monuments
Icon Parks and gardens
Icon Battlefields
Icon Shipwrecks

Find out more about listing

Images of England Project

To view this image please use Firefox, Chrome, Safari, or Edge.
Archive image, may not represent current condition of site.
Date:
2005-04-11
Reference:
IOE01/12356/05
Rights:
© Dr Barry Senior. Source: Historic England Archive

Local Heritage Hub

Unlock and explore hidden histories, aerial photography, and listed buildings and places for every county, district, city and major town across England.

Discover more

Official list entry

Heritage Category:
Listed Building
Grade:
I
List Entry Number:
1291516
Date first listed:
28-Mar-1994
List Entry Name:
Golden Hill Fort
Statutory Address 1:
GOLDEN HILL FORT, MILITARY ROAD

The scope of legal protection for listed buildings

This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.

Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.

For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.

Understanding list entries

Corrections and minor amendments

The scope of legal protection for listed buildings

This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.

Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.

For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.

Understanding list entries

Corrections and minor amendments

Location

Statutory Address:
GOLDEN HILL FORT, MILITARY ROAD

The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.

District:
Isle of Wight (Unitary Authority)
Parish:
Freshwater
National Grid Reference:
SZ 33857 87862

Details

FRESHWATER

SZ38NW MILITARY ROAD 1354-0/4/214 Golden Hill Fort

I

Former fort now museum and shops. 1863-1872. A fortified barracks with guns on the roof which covered the rear of 4 coast batteries and accommodated their garrisons in peacetime. Hexagonal building approched by a brick lined tunnel and bridge over a ditch. 2 storeys red brick in English bond with stone coping and some brick dressings. Internally on 3 sides there are 1st floor cambered arches with 2 sashes and doorcases with fanlights and sashes to ground floor. 2 storey cast iron balconies. Other 3 sides have sashes with some having round-headed arches. The building accommodated 8 officers and 128 men, and had its own hospital. It mounted 6 guns on the roof and 40 pounder breach loaders at each angle on an iron traversing platform. Roof had ammunition recesses. (Anthony Cantwell and Peter Sprack: The Needles Defences).

Listing NGR: SZ3385787862

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:
393103
Legacy System:
LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Cantwell, A, Sprack, P, The Needles Batteries Isle of Wight, (1981)
The International Journal of Fortification and Military Architecture in The International Journal of Fortification and Military Architecture, Vol. 13, (1985), 69

Legal

This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.

Ordnance survey map of Golden Hill Fort

Map

This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 09-Jun-2026 at 14:49:53.

Download a full scale map (PDF)
© Crown copyright [and database rights] 2026. OS AC0000815036. Use of this mapping is subject to Terms and Conditions.

End of official list entry

All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.

Previous Overview
Next Comments and Photos