Coastal Defences and the Solent Frontier

1700

Hill Head's position on the Solent coastline meant it was part of a wider defensive landscape stretching from Portsmouth to Southampton. During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, when the threat of French invasion was a recurring concern, the Hampshire coast was fortified with batteries, forts and observation points. While Hill Head itself did not have a major fortification, it lay between the significant defences at Portsmouth to the east and the batteries along the Gosport shore. The Browndown area, just to the east of Lee-on-the-Solent, was used as a military firing range from the eighteenth century onwards, and its proximity to Hill Head was a feature of local life for generations. The coastline around Hill Head was also used by smugglers, who took advantage of the remote beaches and the many creeks and inlets to land contraband. The local geography, with its shingle beaches, low cliffs and nearby marshes, was well suited to this illicit trade. The combination of military activity and smuggling gave the Hill Head coast a more eventful history than its quiet modern appearance might suggest.