Stack Rock Fort has been inhabited only by seagulls and weeds over the past decades.
And its latest owner has decided the historic bastion will remain a “living ruin” – albeit works will be done to it to make it secure enough for people to be able to visit it.
The deserted fort was built on rocks off Milford Haven, in Pembrokeshire, and can be reached only by boat.
While the fortification was created between 1850 and 1852 to protect Wales from an invasion by sea, the area had attracted the attention of Thomas Cromwell three centuries prior as a means to protect the waterway.
The fort, now a Grade-II listed building and scheduled monument, was upgraded in 1859, when a new building that completely encased the original gun tower was added.
Stack Rock Fort remained in use for years, although by World War I it was being manned only by a small number of soldiers.
In 1929, officials decided to disarm the fort, which was eventually abandoned.
Only three years later, it was sold for £160, while in 2005 it changed owners again when it was sold for £150,000.
Before the property was bought by community interest company Anoniiem in 2021, the fort had passed through the hands of two more owners.
The company’s director, Nick, explained to the BBC what the future holds for the historic fort, saying: “We want to preserve it in its current state, not in its formal use, so if it can be stabilised as it is, in this amazing combination of nature and architecture, that’s the goal.”
Aerial pictures of the fort show how the roof of the circular structure as well as its internal walls have become entangled in weeds and moss.
Snaps taken by amateur photographer Steve Liddiard, who was recently invited to visit the structure by Anoniiem, show parts of the wooden floor of the fort in tatters, while birds have made it their home.
Nick said working on Stack Rock Fort is “definitely a passion project” rather than a “money earner” and ruled out any plans to turn it into a hotel or a similar structure.
He said: “It’s a stabilisation accessibility project and preserving it for the future.”
Working on the fort presents challenges, given it can only be reached in certain conditions by boat.
But the new owner also faces the issue of people breaking in, with Nick saying some are known to have lighted bonfires within the fortification.
Anoniiem isn’t working with haste on the project, as Nick said the team of volunteers working at securing the structure are “a lifetime away” from being able to make Stack Rock Fort safe to be experienced by the general public.
For now, Nick is allowing a few handpicked explorers such as Mr Liddiard to walk within the fort’s halls.
He added: “It’s been effectively untouched for 100 years so the preservation is on another level.
“The fact that that nature is taking over again is part of the appeal of it, it’s all aesthetically so incredible.”
