Heritage Projects
High
Knoll Fort
High Knoll Fort stands 600 metres above sea level and is the largest, most prominent and most complete of the forts and military installations on the island. It is located to the southwest of, and overlooking Jamestown. It is designated as a Grade I Listed Building and has twice been voted one of the Seven Wonders of St Helena.
High Knoll Fort's History
High Knoll Fort is a redoubt fortification with the earliest elements dating to 1790 and appears on Cock’s Map of 1804 and Barnes Map of 1811. This original fort was occupied during the Napoleonic period by the 20th Regiment and appears dramatically on Whathen’s 1821 painting. After Napoleon’s death in 1821, British forces withdrew from the island until the site was redeveloped in the early 1860s.
The northern portion of the existing fort dates from this first period and was subsequently integrated into the larger complex during the second period of construction. Evidence for this is not obvious in the surviving fabric but the interpretation is plausible. The central and southern portions are clearly late 19th century in origin and the entry gate the keystone has a date of 1874. The Royal Engineers finally completed phase two of construction in 1894.
Saving the Fort
In the early 21st century a large chunk of the fort's curtain wall crumbled away, on the west side near the southern firing platform. High Knoll Fort was then closed to the public for several years until safety fencing was installed to protect visitors from the most fragile elements. A survey in 2009 concluded that restoration was possible as long as traditional building techniques and materials were used. Previous attempts at repair, using a hard modern cement, had done more harm than good, leading to increased cracking of the walls, water ingress, exposure of the rubble infill, and rampant vegetation growth.
In 2015 the St Helena National Trust accepted custodianship of High Knoll Fort with the aim of repairing it with traditional methods. The UK-St Helena Heritage Trust has been supporting the National Trust with the preparatory work to safeguard the fort's future. In 2019-20, Professor Brent Fortenberry, then of the Texas A&M University College of Architecture, completed an extensive survey and 3D digital scan of the fort's entire structure.