page_title: Hilsea Lines
section_title: Post military use
hierarchical_section_title: Hilsea Lines / Post military use
caption_attribution_description: English: One of the more accessible parts of the Hilsea Line path, Portsmouth, England
context_page_description: The Hilsea Lines are a line of 18th- and 19th-century fortifications built at Hilsea to protect the northern approach to Portsea Island, an island off the southern coast of England which forms the majority of the city of Portsmouth and its key naval base. They are now used as a greenspace and leisure area, also known locally as Foxes Forest.
context_section_description: When the lines were built large amounts of land was purchased by the crown to the rear of the lines. Part of this land behind the west bastion was sold to the city of Portsmouth in 1926 which built a housing estate, a school and a recreation ground on it. During 1929 and 1930 the city purchased the east bastion, the curtain wall and the land behind them. This land was used as the site for a new road link to the mainland and Portsmouth Airport. At the same time the city also purchased the West Bastion. In 1932, the eastern lines were dynamited to make room for the airport.
  In the 1930s western end of the moat became known as the Hilsea lagoon and in the mid-1930s work was done on the banks and it was turned into a boating lake. In the same period the land between the boating lake and the lines was converted into part of the Hilsea bastion gardens. Most of the gardens were destroyed as the result of road widening in 1968-70. In 1986 the city bought those parts of the lines that were not already under its control. The terraces that formed part of the gardens were demolished in 2000.
  In 1938 a bridge was built across the boating lake section of the moat. It was demolished in 1999 and later replaced by the current structure.
  Today the lines are accessible for most of their length, but overgrown and derelict in places. The moat is used for fishing. In May 2006 the moat experienced some flooding. Most of the lines are designated as a scheduled ancient monument. In 2010 the lines were given a Green Flag Award.
  There is a walk around the Hilsea Lines by the Mountbatten Centre to the A27 Roundabout and Reverse.
  In January 2017 the casemates have various uses. Bastion 6 is currently undergoing works to become a Nationally Recognised World War One Centre of excellence headed up by Charles J Haskell and Benjamin Edward French, a relocation from the current World War One Remembrance Centre set up at Fort Widley, Portsmouth. Bastion 5, which is owned by Portsmouth City Council, is currently in a derelict state, due to vandalism and destruction by local youths, it is listed on the Heritage At Risk Register maintained by Historic England. Bastion 4 has a commercial use as a recording studio "Casemates Rehearsal Studios". Bastion 3 is used by Volunteer Groups and the Portsmouth City Council funded Hilsea Lines Ranger. Bastion 1 is owned and occupied by Portsmouth Grammar School and is used by their Physical Education Department.
  The nature reserve at Hilsea Lines has in recent decades become locally known as Foxes Forest.
caption: One of the more accessible parts of the Hilsea Lines path
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