Historic fort sold for £1

The fort was built to defend the western coastline

A historic coastal fort has been sold to the National Trust for £1.

Brean Down, north of Burnham-on-Sea in Somerset, was built to defend the western coastline between Cardiff and Bristol.

The fort - constructed in the 19th Century during a period of tension between France and Britain - was bought for a nominal fee from Sedgemoor District Council.

The council received £431,400 of Lottery money to renovate the fort for the National Trust.

Endowment fund

The fort was constructed under orders from the then Prime Minister Lord Palmerston.

It was finished in 1871 and remained operational until it was decommissioned in 1900 when it became a tea room.

During World War II, the fort was adapted to become a coastal artillery battery and was later used as a site for weapons trials.

It occupies four acres in a downland area already owned by the National Trust.

Adrian Woodhall, the trust's property manager for north Somerset, said: "I'm really pleased we are getting the fort which is the last part of the jigsaw that is Brean Down."

The Trust has set up an endowment fund of £400,000 from its Neptune Coastline campaign.

The fund should pay for repairs and conservation the fort needs in future.