The two forts were built during the first world war, Haile Fort being on the Lincolnshire coast two miles downstream from Cleethorpes, and Bull Fort on a sandbank in the middle of the river, in a southwesterly direction from Spurn Lighthouse on the northern bank of the river.
Together with the fortifications on Spurn Point, their object was to make the estuary into a safe assembly point for coastal convoys.
Their construction took over three years, hundreds of massive blocks of concrete being sunk into the sand to form a firm foundation on which the superstructure of the forts could be built.
Each of the forts cost over one million pounds, and were regarded as 'an outstanding triumph of modern engineering'.
The Bull Fort was the most difficult proposition and was built circular on interlocking steel piles in the form of caissons, and then connected by further piling, giving a cell-like effect on plan. The outer compartments were filled with concrete and the round inner one with sand, the hole being capped with concrete, giving the impression of a huge bucket of steel and concrete enclosing a great cylinder of sand. From this the floors were built.
The upper part of the fort is about 45 to 50 feet above high water and consists of three floors and a basement floor. The upper part of the fort has an outer wall of concrete faced with armour plate which, on the seaward side is 12 inches thick.
The garrison consisted of 200 men and their officers, and provided all necessary amenities.
The Haile Sand Fort is on a slightly smaller scale although similar in design.
Both forts were manned by the army during the last war and were continually attacked by enemy aircraft and U boats.
In 1956 the army left the forts and several ideas were put forward as to their possible future use. One suggestion was that the Bull Fort could be used by the pilots who were on duty in the river, rather than having to live on board the pilot cutter, which could be very uncomfortable in rough weather. Another suggestion was that if nature eroded another quarter of a mile off Spurn Point, Bull Fort would be outside the three mile limit and could be turned into a duty free drinkers paradise!
The forts were manned by civilians until the early sixties, when the Humber Conservancy Board became the owners. Bull Fort is used as a navigational aid and has a huge bell at the top which is automatically rung by a gas pressure hammer. Apart from that and the lights on board, there is an automatic tide gauge which tells ships' masters the state of the tide and whether they will have enough clearance to get up the river.
Source = The personal notes of Charles Ekberg
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This series has been compiled from a range of resources, including comprehensive collections of local cuttings and photographs, books and pamphlets, held in the Local History Collection in Grimsby Reference Library.
Further information on these and many other topics is available from the Reference Library.