Cliffords Fort is located on the River Tyne at North Shields Fish Quay Low Light and was the mainstay of the defence of the over for two hundred years.
Gun emplacements at Tynemouth Castle and the Spanish Battery defended the entrance to the Tyne from 1545. During the English Civil War a temporary fort was was built at the Fish Quay location from gabions, sand filled baskets, and was destroyed during the conflict.
During the Second Anglo Dutch War (1665-1667) the Dutch fleet attacked the British fleet at anchor at Gillingham and Chatham, bombarding and capturing Sheerness before withdrawing. Concerned that the Dutch could affect the strategic coal trade between Newcastle and London, Charles II commissioned a new fort at the narrowest part of the entrance to the River Tyne. It was completed in 1672 and named after Thomas Clifford who became Lord Treasurer.
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| Cliffords Fort 1750 |
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| Cliffords Fort 1788 |
During the Napoleonic Wars from 1793 to 1815 the guns at Cliffords Fort were augmented by guns at the Castle Battery, Spanish Battery, and the Lawe in South Shields.
The armaments during the Napoleonic Wars consisted of 32 x 18 pounder / 8 x 12 pounder and 11 x 9 pounder cannons.
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| Cliffords Fort 1828 |
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| Cliffords Fort Gun Battery |
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| Cliffords Fort Gun Port |
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| Cliffords Fort Cannon |
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| Cliffords Fort Cannon |
As the Tyne developed economically during the 19th century, the need arose to provide better protection for shipping entering the river. In 1854 building began on two piers to enclose the Tyne estuary.
As the building of the piers progressed, the mouth of the Tyne moved seaward rendering the defences at Cliffords Fort obselete. In 1881 it ceased operation as a gun battery. The Tyne Piers were completed in 1895.
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| Cliffords Fort and Tyne Piers |
In 1888 Cliffords Fort was assigned to the Royal Engineers as Headquarters Tyne Division RE (Volunteers) who were responsible for the maintenance of a submarine minefield across the Tyne. The mines were stored ashore and moved to the river on a narrow gauge rail track, and laid. They could be fired electrically allowing safe passage of shipping. Two searchlights to illuminate the minefield were installed in 1895, with two more being added in 1902.
The track from the mine storage was made by breaching the forts rampart, and traces of the track can still be seen.
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| Cliffords Fort rampart breach and track |
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| Cliffords Fort rampart breach and track bed |
The submarine minefield was scrapped in 1907. The unit became searchlight operators and designated the Tyne Electrical Engineers. During World War One two Quick Firing 12 pounders were installed to protect against fast torpedo boats.
Cliffords Fort was decommissioned in 1928 and the Tyne Electrical Engineers moved to New Cliffords Fort next to Tynemouth Station.
