Harbouring HeritageFortrose Harbour today is a quiet backwater leased by Chanonry Sailing Club and supporting leisure craft and activity – but it wasn’t always like this. From its foundation early in the 19th century right through to the outbreak of the Second World War, Fortrose Harbour was a commercial port and a hive of activity. The Harbour has a secret too – during the Second World War it was a ‘hush hush’ combined operations base and had a direct role in the preparations for the D-Day landings in 1944. Its story is contained in the 7 Parts listed above.
The original version of ‘Harbouring Heritage’ was ‘published’ (posted) in March 2012; the first significant revision was in January 2015 containing information from further research by the author or from contributions gratefully received from others. A further revision took place in October 2017 to coincide with the bicentenary of the construction of the Harbour and contains new information in all but one section - this is the version now posted on this website. Please see Part 1 for acknowledgements and click here to see the Harbour Bicentenary event page. |
A piece of excellent chat with
Richard Jenner and George Taylor |
Documents: updated October 2017
Part 1 - Introduction, Contents, Timeline & Acknowledgements
Part 2 - Establishing the Harbour
Part 3 - Harbour Industries
Part 4 - The Pier and Ferries
Part 5 - Cargo Ships from Sail to Steam
Part 6 - The Harbour in the World Wars
Part 7 - The Sea Scouts, the Harbour & Leisure Sailing
Part 2 - Establishing the Harbour
Part 3 - Harbour Industries
Part 4 - The Pier and Ferries
Part 5 - Cargo Ships from Sail to Steam
Part 6 - The Harbour in the World Wars
Part 7 - The Sea Scouts, the Harbour & Leisure Sailing