Fort Charlotte
Shetlopedia - The Shetland Encyclopaedia
Fort Charlotte in Lerwick, Shetland, was built by Robert Milne under the orders of Charles II at the start of the Second Anglo-Dutch Wars in 1665, and it held off a Dutch fleet in 1667 who thought it was far more heavily manned and gunned than it actually was.
At the end of the war it was neglected, and it was unmanned when the Dutch burnt it in the Third Anglo-Dutch War in 1673.
In 1781, a new pentagonal fort was built on the remains of the 1665 defences, and it was then it was given the name "Fort Charlotte", after George III's wife.
Fort Charlotte never saw action. It later became base for The Royal Naval Reserve in Shetland. It also served as the town jail and courthouse from 1837 - 75, and later a custom house and a coastguard station.
It is now in the care of "Historic Scotland".
Fort Charlotte is open to the public and is the training base of the Territorial Army.
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Inside the Fort
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The Cannons
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The cannons shown above was installed by Historic Scotland in 1995.
They are replicas of 18th century 18-pounders.
Some old pictures of other cannons:
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Information boards
Several information boards are put up inside the fort.
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