On the 27th August 2025 The Friends of the Bastion No.1 hosted a one hour historical tour of the Bastion for the Gosport group of the Hampshire Genealogical Society (HGS). Fifteen members attended and were introduced to the history of this scheduled ancient monument and its importance in the protection of Portsmouth Royal Dockyard in the Napoleonic period. In the event of a French invasion in 1803 by 200,000 men on the south coast, the Bastion and Gosport Lines would have been one of the first lines of defence. That this did not happen was down to Admiral Lord Nelson and the Battle of Trafalgar. The bastion was first designed by the famous Dutch military engineer Sir Bernard de Gomme for King Charles II. The feverish upgrade of the Bastions and lines in the late 1840’s due to the threat from Napoleon’s nephew Napoleon the 3rd in 1859 was discussed.
 We showed the HGS group what is left of the defences, gun emplacements and shell stores. The soldiers and regiments who manned the Bastion’s and defence lines were also discussed.
Great interest was shown in artist Neil Marshall’s painting of the bastion and how it looked in 1810 and also his painting of Trinity Green in 1904 adjacent to the bastion, which shows the church, moat and part of the bastion.
We explained our plans for the future which includes the possible loan of a 24 or 18 pounder cannon to go on display in their original position. The Friends enjoyed great feedback from our HGS guests on how much there was to see and the appreciation of our efforts
to ensure the bastion continues to be preserved.
We are hoping to organise more historical tours in the Bastion in the Spring of 2026. Organisations interested should contact us by email at friendsofbastionno1@gmail.com.

A photograph of visitors to the Bastion from the Gosport group of the Hampshire Genealogical Society with some of the Friends of the Bastion.