Homecare in Borstal

Fort Borstal was built as an afterthought from the 1859 Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom, by convict labour between 1875 and 1885. A narrow gauge railway called the Eastern Defences Railway was built from a pier on the River Medway at Borstal, up the hillside to the fort, and on to Forts Bridgewood, Horsted and Luton to transfer materials and labourers to the building sites.

The well renowned Fort Borstal is of polygonal design and was never originally armed. An anti-aircraft battery was based there in the Second World War. It is now in private ownership.