Forton lake

Forton Lake

The Crown Estate fund two more years at Forton Lake

People living near Forton Lake in Gosport have yet another chance to take part in a highly successful community archaeology project after the project won funding to continue work for a further two years.

The Crown Estate has agreed to provide the Forton Lake Community Archaeology Project with funds to allow the scheme to continue in 2008 and 2009, after two years of successful fieldwork and historical research. The Project, which has been running since 2006, aims to investigate the past of the lake, which has been in use since the Saxon period. The work has mainly focused on recording the remains of the more than 25 ships and boats that have been abandoned there.

The scheme is a joint initiative between the Nautical Archaeology Society (NAS) and the Hampshire and Wight Trust for Maritime Archaeology (HWTMA).

This is tremendous news for the project, and for local people who want to get involved,” says NAS Programme Director Mark Beattie-Edwards. “We are extremely grateful to the Crown Estate for their support which will allow more community participation and more of this historic landscape to be recorded. The funding will also help to spread the word through publications and displays about the project”.

The project has not only increased the knowledge of the history of Forton Lake and the vessels which lie there, but has also increased local access to, and understanding of, the heritage. From the outset the project has sought to involve the local community, allowing residents to investigate their heritage while raising local and regional awareness of this forgotten landscape.

Local residents have taken part in the practical tasks of recording heritage around the lake by helping to photograph, survey and excavate some of the abandoned vessels. They have also carried out historical research, and shared memories of how the area has changed and developed during their lifetimes. Participants have included individual members of the local community from pensioners to school children, students from St. Vincent College, and volunteers from the NAS and HWTMA.

"The Forton Lake project has given me the opportunity to help put into practice the theory and basic skills learnt on various NAS courses. A big bonus has been the varied backgrounds of my co-workers; some who were professional archaeologists through to interested locals. All had something to contribute either with knowledge of local history or with professional skills”, says Roger Forster, who has volunteered on the project for the previous two years. “As an amateur diver with an interest in maritime heritage, it was an opportunity not to be missed and I am looking forward to participating again this year."

The Crown Estate grant means that this community driven project can now continue in 2008 and 2009.

The Crown Estate’s Marine Stewardship Fund supports practical projects, research and initiatives that improve the status and management of the marine zone under its care – the largest and most diverse of the Crown Estate.

“The aim of our Marine Communities Fund is to provide support to initiatives and programmes which contribute to the development of best practice and make a significant contribution to the good management and stewardship of the marine estate,” says Dr Carolyn Heeps, head of policy, science and sustainable development for the Marine Estate at the Crown Estate. “Maritime Heritage is a subject of immense interest so we are delighted to support this project, which we believe will bring real enjoyment to the coastal community in Gosport”.

The new fieldwork aims to further investigate some of the vessels recorded in 2007 as well as to record other the vessels for the first time. Further historical research, an open day event and public talks will also take place during 2008. The work will result in a local-interest publication, an archaeological monograph, and a local museum exhibition. It is hoped that a permanent interpretation panel will be placed on the Millennium Footbridge at the site to remind those crossing of the heritage that lies beneath.

The results of fieldwork carried out in 2006 and 2007, including photographs and drawings of the site, can now be found in the Year 1 and Year 2 Project Report, available to download below:

Year 1 report (2006) - 3Mb -

Year 2 report (2007) - 8Mb -

The project is seeking further support from local businesses for the proposed work for 2008 and 2009. If you are interested in supporting the work of this project, in volunteering your time or if you would like any further information, then please contact the NAS on 023 9281 8419, or by email at nas@nauticalarchaeologysociety.org.

The Crown Estate website

Project Aims

The Forton Lake Project is a community based heritage initiative that allows the inhabitants of Gosport to research, record and display their heritage. The project aims to bring together a community impacted by recent housing development and provide social inclusion through a broad archaeological project. The project is being supported by St Vincent College in Gosport.

Google Earth The project focuses on an area of Portsmouth Harbour called Forton Lake. This area of the harbour was the focus of the newly built Millennium Bridge Project situated next to Explosion, the Museum of Naval Firepower. The Forton Lake Project will show people that cross the bridge that a forgotten piece of local history and archaeology lies beneath them.

It is known that Forton Lake was in use as early as the Saxon period and its’ use has been continuous. Today it is home to at least 20 abandoned vessels of different ages and types, some of which have local importance. Parts of the shoreline are utilised by local sailing clubs, but much of its use and importance to the local community is forgotten or ignored. The Forton Lake Project will seek to rectify this by involving all members of the Gosport community, from school children to pensioners through active participation in the project and a range of outreach activities.

credit: Roger Forster The Forton Lake Project also serves to demonstrate that archaeology and heritage does not stop at the high water mark, but continues on to the foreshore and even under the water. Jane Maddocks, Archaeology Teacher at St Vincent College said “The work is a unique opportunity to allow the inhabitants of Gosport to take part in the heritage on their doorstep”.

If you would like further information or would like to join us on site please contact the NAS.

Contact Page

The Local heritage Initiative is a national grant scheme that helps local groups to investigate, explain and care for their local landscapes, landmarks, traditions and cultures. The Local Heritage Initiative is administered by the Heritage Lottery Fund with additional funding from Nationwide Building Society.

2008 Season

Between the 24th June and the 4th July and the HWTMA will be returning to Forton Lake to carry out further investigations on the remains.
There are a number of vessels which require further research, survey and excavation which may enable an accurate interpretation of their archaeological significance.

Investigations in 2008 will focus on the detailed recording of a number of the vessels that where catalogued during the 2006 and 2007 fieldwork seasons as well as the excavation of two of the unknown wooden vessels know as FL 5 and FL 29.

For details of the 2008 fieldwork schedule and how to join us see at the bottom

2007 Season

Between the 7th - 15th July the NAS and the HWTMA returned to Forton Lake to carry out further investigations on the remains.

There are a number of vessels which were forton lake-chain ferry further surveyed and researched, which enabled an accurate interpretation of their archaeological significance.

Investigations in 2007 focused on the detailed recording of a number of the vessels that where catalogued during the 2006 fieldwork season as well as the excavation of some of the remains on the southern bank of the lake.

2006 Season

To date there has been little archaeological work carried out at Forton Lake, Gosport. The main work conducted at the site has been primarily focused on the twenty or so ships and boats that lay abandoned on the foreshore. Since Ted Sutton conducted his survey the hulks have suffered varying degrees of deterioration. Therefore it is essential that each hulk is recorded during this project in an attempt to update the records. Our knowledge of the prehistoric development of Forton Lake, both anthropologically and geomorphologically is currently under researched. It is the intention of this project to add to the prehistoric archaeological knowledge of the Lake by conducting investigations, such as auger surveys, which has the potential to give an insight into past environmental conditions of the area.

Desk-based Assessment

forton lake-classroom The desk-based assessment aimed to collect detailed information on the history and development of Gosport, in particular Forton Lake. The information gathered will be presented to the public as part of an outreach programme, which aims to get local people involved in archaeology.

There are a number of records that have been placed with Hampshire County Council Historic Environment Record (HER) and the National Monuments Records (NMR) that refer to archaeological sites in the Portsmouth Harbour area. As evidence of human activity from the Palaeolithic to Neolithic is often rare, a wider research area of Gosport and Portsmouth has been used to investigate the archaeological potential from this period. Records dating from the Bronze Age through to modern day, which lie in a 1km area of Forton Lake have been analysed in relation to this project.

Fieldwork

The 2006 fieldwork took place between 10th July and 16th July. HJK This began with the volunteers being given classroom instruction on basic archaeological principles, survey techniques and recording methodology. After instruction in the classroom they were given further guidance and supervision in the field. On completion the volunteers were divided into groups who then began to undertake the recording of the accessible hulks and inter-tidal structures. In addition to inter-tidal survey a number of buildings were selected for recording, and local individuals were approached to be interview with the intention of creating an oral history archive.

Vessel Recording

Within the inter-tidal area of Forton Lake lie the remains of numerous vessels of varying types and sizes. Between 1996 and 1997 Ted Sutton undertook a basic photographic survey of these hulks. However, further investigation was required to establish their archaeological or historical significance. Some of these vessels are now decaying, as can be seen comparing photographs from 1997 with the remains today. Hence, the 2006 field-recording program aimed to gather data to identify the individual vessels to aid interpretation of their significance and to provide a detailed record of the existing remains.

As a result of previous work a number of the vessels within Forton Lake are recorded on the Hampshire Historic Environment Record (HER). Wherever this is the case the appropriate Hampshire County Council (HCC) Unique Identifier (UID) has been added to the relevant text.

Recording methods

The vessels remains at Forton Lake lie at various locations although a large proportion is located in an area on the southern shore.

Each vessel was surveyed individually. The survey consisted of a sketch drawing and the measurement of the basic dimensions. A description of the vessels form, its current state and interesting anatomical features were added to the Hulk Record Form, and wherever possible interpretations of the vessel type and date were made.

A photographic survey was compiled for each vessel in both digital and 35mm film formats. The photographic survey recorded details of the vessel remains as a whole, the location and any detail of features that may prove to be diagnostic.

From the 2006 field season 24 sites were recognised in the inter-tidal zone of Forton Lake. These consist of 23 hulks and 1 structure.

• Unknown vessel type- 8
• Landing Craft- 4
• Barges- 2
• Ferries- 2
• Motor Gunboats- 2
• Pinnaces- 2
• Motor Fishing Vessel- 1
• Minesweeper- 1
• Life Boat- 1
• Groyne- 1

At present the identity and type of a large proportion of the vessels located in Forton Lake remains unknown. This indicates that additional survey and research is required in relation to enable their archaeological significance to be interpreted.

When looking at the function of the vessels that have been abandoned at Forton Lake a marked number were used by the Royal Navy. There are four Landing Craft, two gunboats and a Minesweeper. Even Pinnaces were usually used by the Navy in an auxiliary role. The high percentage of military vessels is not surprising bearing in mind the close proximity to Portsmouth Dockyard. Both of the ferries at Forton Lake would have been used by the local people in their everyday life.

These vessels may have performed the functional task of transporting people, but to many they also hold sentimental value. They would have become recognisable features of the maritime landscape and the memories that they evoke are very important to local people. The former Medina Ferry and Gosport Ferry Vadne are archaeologically significant to the local area.

For more details on the sites recorded, please download the full reports above

Education and Outreach

outreach at southsea show Education and outreach form an important part of the Forton Lake Project. The maritime archaeological resource is often undervalued by the local community who often know little about what lies on the shores and are disconnected with this aspect of their heritage. This project has aims to highlight the importance of maritime archaeology to the whole community.

Through hands-on involvement the project aims to create a sense of ownership to engage local people with the long-term conservation of the heritage resource. Creating a sense of value for heritage assets will help promote the survival of both the physical remains, such as wrecks, and the passing on of stories and recollections of the vessels in use to younger generations.

The Local Heritage Initiative grant was used to promote local volunteer involvement and community participation. Additional funding, kindly provided through a Nationwide Building Society Award enabled seven hands-on family activity days to be run during 2006.

Volunteer Involvement

A number of people from varying backgrounds kindly gave up their time to assist with this project. A project of this nature enables the participants to:

Project launch • Gain hands-on experience of archaeology
• Feel that they are interacting with their heritage
• Experience the type of archaeological project that maritime archaeologists can expect to be involved with
• Gain the skills that can be used in the future to record and research vessels and structures located in the inter-tidal zone
• Add to the archaeological record

The volunteers can be split into four main groups; local residents with an interest with their maritime heritage, volunteers from NAS and HWTMA, archaeology students from St Vincent’s College and work experience interns from both the HWTMA and NAS.

All participants were given archaeological instruction in the classroom using the NAS introduction course. This was followed by instruction in the field, which gave the volunteers the skills to enable them to conduct archaeological recording under supervision. By the end of the project the volunteers had developed to a level that they would be able to conduct a basic archaeological survey independently.

Launch and Public Open Day

Gosport's Mayor The end of the first season of fieldwork culminated in a public launch day for local residents and included a selection of VIP guests including the Mayor of Gosport who cut the launch cake. The event included displays of archaeological work from both the NAS and HWTMA. Attendees undertook a guided tour of the archaeology of Forton Lake. The day was a success and resulted in more oral histories of the Lake coming to light from people attending the launch.

In conjunction with the main launch a hands-on family activity day was held. A number of activities such as the feely box challenge, designed to recreate how archaeologists work in low visibility, and planning frame drawing were available free of charge. Badge making and face painting with a maritime theme were also popular.

Other Activity Days

forton lake The Nationwide Building Society grant allowed seven activity days to be held during 2006, including the one that was held during the launch. The days were designed to inform and engage the local community with the wealth of maritime heritage that surrounds them. Sessions were held to specifically target different groups including young children, disabled people and families.

The sessions drew on the extensive experience of the Education Officers from Hampshire and Wight Trust for Maritime Archaeology in delivering such. Days were held at:

• Forton Lake Public Launch
• National Archaeology Weekend, Fort Cumberland
• Hurst Castle Maritime Archaeology Extravaganza
• Southsea Show
• Underwater Archaeology Centre, Isle of Wight
• Eastleigh Museum

2008 Timetable of work

24th June 2008 - start fieldwork / training course for volunteers
25th June 2008 - start survey and excavation of FL5 and FL29
26th June 2008 - continue survey and excavation of FL5 and FL29
27th June 2008 - complete excavation of FL29
28th June 2008 - complete FL 5 excavation / record FL29
29th June 2008 - record FL5 / backfill FL29
30th June 2008 - vessel survey / record FL5 / backfill FL5
1st July 2008 - vessel survey / backfill LF5
2nd July 2008 - vessel survey / contingency
3rd July 2008 - vessel survey / contingency
4th July 2008 - vessel survey / contingency

Volunteers from the NAS and local community are encouraged to take part in the project whether for 1 day or even the whole week, so to get involved please contact the NAS office by telephone on 02392 818419 or by Email.

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