| Exterior: The barracks at the rear of the
fort are designed for 10 officers and 260 men. They are a
six-sided figure with bastions at each corner. Entrance
at Northeast originally over a drop bridge. This replaced
by a rolling bridge. Now also removed. Interior is a
parade ground. Now grassed, surrounded by intramural
buildings. From entrance. Clockwise, as shown on WD plan
of 1887:
Side 1: Canteen, School
and library. Side 2: officers quarters. Side 3 Wash
house, hospital and staff sergeants’ quarters. Side
4, 5 and 6: Soldiers’ quarters. Beside entrance:
Guard room and cells. Southwest bastion contained
latrines, now removed. West bastion contained coalbunkers, now removed, but lightning conductor over
them remains.
Apart from loss of the
Entrance Bridge the barracks part of the fort is largely
complete externally. There are minor losses including the
original pitched roofs, which have all, been replaced by
concrete and asphalt flats. Some sections of the fronts
of the intramural buildings have been altered to form
workshops. Windows and doors are modern in original
openings,
Batteries: Facing West:
Moncrieff battery, with casemate gun replacements below.
Facing Northwest and North: Open battery. Loss of minor
buildings to rear, Ground to rear of batteries has been
quarried out for oil tanks, now removed leaving a shallow
pool. Sally-port at West extremity of the South wall has
a door fabricated of rolled wrought iron plate and
sections reinforced behind with chain links.
Below both batteries are
underground arsenals now occupied by rare fauna.
In the open battery two
George III cannon were used as livot blocks. One is in
situ (the other restored and installed on the Martello
Tower in Pembroke).
The masonry of the
exterior and the frontages of the intramural barracks are
random-coursed grey limestone ashlar with hammer-dressed
face. Dressings of window, loophole and door apertures
are in chisel-pointed finish. Chisel drafted margins
generally to dressings and quoins. Bulging square cornice.
Windows to officers’ quarters in Southeast face are
replaced sashes in original openings, with lintels and
relieving arches.
 Masonry of West face
towards the Haven is of high quality. Yellow granite
dressings to all eleven casemate openings including flat
voussoir arches. One aperture damaged by conversion to a
gateway. Ashlar in large regular courses with chisel-drafted
margins throughout and strong rustication. Half-rounded
cornice
Listed: Listed
grade II as very preserved fort of Palmerston’s
Haven defences of great technical interest and a
structure of high quality despite some minor losses
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