FORT
PERCH ROCK AND THE DEFENSE OF THE MERSEY LIVERPOOL BAY NEW BRIGHTON
SOFTBOUND BOOK in ENGLISH by KEN
McCARRON (1991)
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Additional Information from
Internet Encyclopedia
Fort Perch Rock is a former
defence installation situated at the mouth of Liverpool Bay in New Brighton.
Built in the 1820s to defend the Port of Liverpool, its function has changed
from defensive, to tourist attraction and museum. It has been used as a venue
for musical concerts and has been listed as a Grade II* Listed Building. The
Fort's cafe "The Mess" is open daily from 9am. A World War 2 escape
room concept "Escape The Fort" runs within the fort.
History
Fort Perch Rock is a coastal
defence battery built between 1825 and 1829, with the foundation stone being
laid in 1826. It was built to protect the Port of Liverpool and proposed as a
fortified lighthouse to replace the old Perch Rock Light; however, a separate
lighthouse was built. The fort was built on an area known as Black Rock, and
was cut off at high tide. However, coastal reclamation has made it fully
accessible.
The Fort covers an area of about
4,000 square yards (3,300 m2), with enough space for 100 men. It was built with
red sandstone from the Runcorn quarries. The height of the walls ranges from 24
feet (7.3 m) to 32 feet (9.8 m), and the towers are 40 feet (12 m) high. The
Fort originally had a drawbridge, and a Tuscan portal which bore the coat of
arms and the words 'Fort Perch Rock'. At one point it was armed with 18 guns,
of which 16 were 32-pounders, mounted on platforms. It was nicknamed the
'Little Gibraltar of the Mersey'.
The foundation stone reads:
This foundation stone of the
Rock Perch Battery, projected by and under the direction of John Sikes Kitson,
Esquire, Captain in the Royal Engineers, for the defence of the port was laid
on 31st March 1826 by Peter Bourne, Esquire, Mayor of Liverpool in the 7th year
of the reign of His Majesty George IV. His Grace, the Duke of Wellington ,
Master General of the Ordnance.
The projected cost of building
was £27,065.0s.8d. Kitson ensured that this budget was not exceeded, finishing
the fort for a total cost of £26,965.0s.8d.
Modern use
In the late 1970s, the fort
could be hired as a party venue. During this time Orchestral Manoeuvres in the
Dark founder members Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys played there as members
of the short lived Wirral group The Id. Since the 1990s, the fort has played
host to various musical events including, in the summer of 2006, a number of
rock concerts which were organised by a group of young Wallaseyans. The nights
were called "Nautical" and were featured in The Guardian newspaper
and named The NME club of the week for the 1 September 2006 show, which
featured British Sea Power and the Tiny Dancers.
The fort features a museum with
displays including military aviation, maritime history, and the Fort Perch Rock
Marine Radio Museum used to exhibit marine wireless communications devices. The
museum is currently being refurbished and will reopen in Spring 2023.
A new permanent escape room
concept "Escape The Fort" opened in 2022 and is available for
bookings daily.
In spring 2022, The Mess cafe
opened within the Fort and is open daily from 9am.
In Literature and the Arts
The Black-Rock Fort and
Lighthouse,
In the poetical illustration
'The Black-Rock Fort and Lighthouse', by Letitia Elizabeth Landon to an
engraving of a painting by Samuel Austin, she imagines the beacon light as a
welcoming sight to voyagers returning home to England.