Fort Perch Rock#Fort Perch Rock

Fort Perch Rock is a coastal defence battery built between 1825 and 1829, with the foundation stone being laid in 1826.{{cite web|url=http://www.merseyside.net/newbrighton/pages/fort.htm|title=The New Brighton Fort|work=merseyside.net|accessdate=26 June 2015|archive-date=3 June 2000|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000603215425/http://www.merseyside.net/newbrighton/Pages/fort.htm|url-status=dead}} 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 {{convert|4000|sqyd|m2}}, with enough space for 100 men. It was built with red sandstone from the Runcorn quarries. The height of the walls ranges from {{convert|24|ft|m}} to {{convert|32|ft|m}}, and the towers are {{convert|40|ft|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,{{cite web|url=http://www.fortperchrock.org/Fort_Perch_Rock/Home.html|title=A brief history of Fort Perch Rock|work=fortperchrock.org|accessdate=26 June 2015}} mounted on platforms.{{cite web|url=http://www.palmerstonfortssociety.org.uk/userassets/pfs%20journals/sample%20redan%202.pdf|title=Defences of the Mersey|first=Ian|last=Stevenson|work=palmerstonfortsociety.org.uk|page=104|accessdate=26 June 2015}} 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.{{cite web|url=http://www.old-merseytimes.co.uk/perchrock.html|title=Fort Perch Rock|work=old-merseytimes.co.uk|accessdate=26 June 2015}}

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.

{{Promotional section|date=October 2024}}

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.{{Citation needed|date=January 2008}}

The fort features a museum with displays including military aviation, maritime history. Previously, the Fort Perch Rock Marine Radio Museum used to exhibit marine wireless communications devices.{{cite web|url=http://www.visitwirral.com/attractions-and-activities/fort-perch-rock-p44205|title=Fort Perch Rock|work=visitwirral.com|accessdate=26 June 2015}}{{cite web|url=http://www.radioofficers.com/galleries/fort-perch-museum/|title=Fort Perch Rock Museum|work=radioofficers.com|date=31 October 2011 |accessdate=26 June 2015}} The "Escape The Fort" escape room opened in 2022 and is available for bookings daily. In spring 2022, The Mess cafe opened within the Fort and is open daily from 9 am.{{Cite web |title=The Mess - Fort Perch Rock - New Brighton |url=http://www.themess.club/ |access-date=2022-10-13 |website=www.themess.club}}

World War Two drama, The Black Rock, was filmed at Fort Perch Rock in 2024. The film stars Kyle Brookes and Charles Riley, and is directed by Andrew Games.

{{wikisource|Letitia Elizabeth Landon (L. E. L.) in Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1832/The Black-Rock Fort and Lighthouse|The Black-Rock Fort and Lighthouse,
a picture by S. Austin with a poetical illustration by
L. E. L.}}

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.{{cite book|last =Landon|first=Letitia Elizabeth|title=Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1832|url=https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=8MpcAAAAcAAJ&pg=GBS.PA8|section=picture|year=1831|publisher=Fisher, Son & Co.}}{{cite book|last =Landon|first=Letitia Elizabeth|title=Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1832|url=https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=8MpcAAAAcAAJ&pg=GBS.PA11|section=poetical illustration|year=1831|page=19 |publisher=Fisher, Son & Co.}}

File:Fort Perch Rock Lighthouse.jpg|Perch Rock Lighthouse

File:Fort Perch Rock entrance crest.jpg|Crest above the entrance

File:Fort Perch Rock 1991.jpg|Fort Perch Rock with Liverpool in the distance

Image:Fortperchrock.jpg|View from the top of Fort Perch Rock

Image:Fort Perch Rock 2 Wirral.jpg|Fort Perch Rock

• Listed buildings in New Brighton, Merseyside
• Seaforth Battery
• Fort Crosby

{{reflist|30em}}

• {{cite book|first=Ken|last=McCarron|title=Fort Perch Rock and the Defence of the Mersey|id=Merseyside Portfolios|publisher=Countryvise Ltd.|year=1991|isbn=978-0951612910|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/fortperchrockdef0000mcca}}
• {{cite book|first=C. J.|last=Cocks|title=Notes on Fort Perch Rock, New Brighton, Merseyside, and of its garrison from 1826 to 1956|location=Wallasey|year=1977|oclc=7249440|publisher=Self published}}

{{commons category|Fort Perch Rock}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20160817003751/http://www.fortperchrock.co/ Fort Perch Rock's website ]

Perch Rock, Fort

Category:Forts in Merseyside

Category:Museums in Merseyside

Category:Telecommunications museums in the United Kingdom

Category:New Brighton, Merseyside

Category:Buildings and structures in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral

Category:Military and war museums in England