Littlehampton Redoubt

[5] In the 1840s both public opinion and MPs put pressure on the government to better fortify the south coast against a French attack.

In 1846 the Duke of Wellington wrote a public letter to Sir John Burgoyne, Inspector of General Fortifications, expressing his concern about the lack of defensive works along the south coast.

[6] Also in 1846 Burgoyne produced a paper entitled “Observations on the Possible Results of a War with France, Under Our Present System of Military Preparation.” This was a vigorous confirmation of everything Wellington had argued.

Wellington's letter was leaked to the press by a friend of Burgoyne's wife and published in the Morning Chronicle in 1848 causing huge public alarm and a debate in the House of Commons.

[7][8] This led to discussions in the newspapers, which culminated in Parliament voting additional funds for naval and military expenditure.

Historian John Goodwin comments that "the War Office were worried that [the capture of the ports of Littlehampton and Shoreham] would enable the enemy to use the quays for the supply and reinforcement of troops landed to attack Portsmouth from the rear, prior to a march on London.

The fort consisted of a platform for the guns with ramparts surrounded by a nine-yard (eight-metre) wide ditch, which incorporated a Carnot wall running along its centre.

The 1861 Census shows a total complement of 70 men including a gunner, surgeon, drummer, officers, NCOs and privates.