STACK ROCK FORT

Stack Rock Fort

Stack Rock Fort sits on a rocky island about 800 yards off the western coast of Wales.It was built between 1850 and 1852 and has now been abandoned for almost a century.

The original idea for a fort on Stack Rock actually goes back to Thomas Cromwell and 1539. The lawyer and King Henry VIII proposed fortifying the island to protect the Milford Haven Waterway (a natural harbor), but it wasn't until the mid-1800s that any plans were realized.

The Royal Dockyard at Pembroke Dock, located along the Milford Haven Waterway, was deemed in need of further defenses against attack from the sea, especially in light of a possible invasion of Britain from France under Napoleon III.

In 1870 it was again enlarged and could contain a garrison of up to 175 soldiers and 5 officers. During World War I it was manned by just a small number of soldiers, with only two QF guns remaining, and eventually disarmed completely in 1929.

Stack Rock Fort was first put up for sale in 1932, at which time it sold for just £60. It was again listed for sale in 2015, this time for £150,000, but it proved to be a tricky place to sell.

In 2018, the fort was once again put on the market, and in late 2020 it was sold to a private buyer with plans to make the location accessible to the community as a ‘living ruin’.

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