Thorne Island
Thorne Island is a rocky islet and part of the community of Angle, Pembrokeshire, Wales, with an area of , dominated by a coastal artillery fort built to defend the Milford Haven Waterway in the mid-19th century. It has been the site of a number of shipwrecks, including one in 1894 that was carrying a cargo of Scotch whisky. History Fortification Thorne Island commands the entrance to the anchorage of Milford Haven and access to the former Royal Dockyard at Pembroke Dock. A proposal was made to fortify the island in 1817, but it was not implemented. In the 1850s, there was growing concern about the increasing strength of the French Navy and the expansionist policy of the Emperor Napoleon III. Work started on the existing fort at some time after 1852 and '1854' is carved above the entrance. The fort is an irregular polygon in plan and was designed with a seaward facing battery for five RBL 7-inch Armstrong guns and four 68-pounder guns, all mounted en barbette (i.e. in an open mounting, firing over a parapet). The landward side of the fort consists of a defensible barracks, with a loopholed parapet overlooking the entrance. In 1860, the report