High Knoll Fort on Saint Helena

High Knoll Fort is a redoubt-style fort of the English East India Company on Saint Helena, a British overseas territory in the South Atlantic Ocean. Located 584 metres above sea level, it sits approximately one mile south of historic Lower Jamestown. The fort is the largest, most prominent, and most complete of the military installations on the island and is designated as a Grade I listed building.

The original fort was built in 1799 as a circular tower, sometimes referred to as a Martello tower, and along the lines of the tower at Simon's Town in South Africa. It was built to protect the rear approaches to the battery at Ladder Hill. The High Knoll tower was incorporated into the present structure, which dates from 1874, when the Royal Engineers rebuilt it.

During the Second Boer War, Boer prisoners from South Africa were briefly incarcerated at the fort. Much later, the fort served to quarantine imported chickens, sheep, and cattle. In the mid-1980s, a NASA technician ran a small tracking station there. Reopened on 18 December 2010, it is now a tourist attraction for visitors, especially those on tourist ships from January through April.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons