Fortifications of the Isle of Wight Fortifications of the Isle of Wight Many forts and fortifications have been built to protect the Isle of Wight (South England) from foreign invasion. Throughout history the island has been a site of key military importance. Controlling both entrances to the Solent and the home of the Royal Navy, Portsmouth. This is a list of most of the fortifications on the island. The Palmerston Forts are forts built during the Victorian era. The name comes from their association with Lord Palmerston, who was the Prime Minister of the time and promoted the idea. The structures were built as a response
History of the Isle of Wight seek an alternative to bronze. It has been suggested that a 1st century BCE reference to "Ίκτιν" ("Ictin") by the Graeco-Sicilian Diodorus Siculus might refer to the Isle of Wight, although St. Michael's Mount in Cornwall is now considered more likely. A century later, Pliny the Elder uses its Latin name "Vectis" and in the mid 2nd century Ptolemy confirms the position of Vectis as ""...below Magnus Portus"" (probably the port near Bosham). The Roman historian Suetonius calls the island "insula Vecta" in his account of its capture in year 43, referring to the future emperor Vespasian, who ""proceeded to