Not sure? How about if I take you to one end?

Can you tell now?

It is an artillery gun, made of bronze. I came across it and many other guns at Fort Nelson in Hampshire. This Victorian fort is spread out over 19 acres on top of Portsdown Hill, and was once one of five defensive forts on the hill. It was operational for less than 20years, and by the 1950s had been abandoned by the army.

It became a museum in the 1990s and I was surprised how interesting it is. Away from the huge gun collection you can discover more about the lives of the soldiers who once worked and lived here, and perhaps best of all there are fabulous views of the Solent and Hampshire countryside. You may wish though to avoid the daily live firing demonstrations!

I must admit I struggle to get my head around the decorative engravings on artillery guns, in fact on any guns at all. I realise they were, and probably still are, status symbols that are expensive to make, but somehow it seems wrong to cover an item of destruction in artwork.

132 thoughts

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  12. I didn’t have time to comment this morning, Becky! I agree with you about the decorations, intricate as they are. It does seem daft, but then, thinking about it, people have done a lot of daft things over the years!

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