In 1816, a stone jetty and slip were built for boats from sailing warships anchored in Plymouth Sound to collect fresh water from the nearby reservoir.

The casemates were arranged in an arc and initially housed 22 9-inch Rifled Muzzle Loaders (RMLs) and one 10-inch RML gun, with accommodation for 180 men.

[citation needed] About the mid-1970s to at least the early 1990s, the fort at the top of the headland (above the coastal path) was used as a schools outdoor activity centre.

[citation needed] By 2000, the main leaseholder — Fort Bovisand Underwater Centre — had liquidated, but other diving services continued trading.

As a result, the owners (the Ministry of Defence) decided it was no longer possible to keep the site functioning, and the remaining diving and other firms trading there ceased operations.

[citation needed] In mid 2004, after these businesses failed, the site was bought from the Public Receiver by Powder Creek Ltd (now known as Fort Bovisand Developments Ltd), and company majority owned by Greg Dyke, ex-Director General of the BBC, with the aim of saving the site and bringing it back to life.

The visitor attraction proposal was unfortunately unsuccessful in receiving a full delivery grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund - being beaten to first place by the Concorde Museum at Filton, Bristol.