The muddy waters which merge into the North Sea originate from far into England with the watercourse receiving drainage from 20% of the land area of the country.
The two great rivers of the Trent and Ouse ,being navigable, have given direct access, respectively well into the heart of the country and northwards to include the important hub of York. Traders supplying the Roman Occupiers will have brought goods from the Mediterranean and beyond up the Humber. Boats from the Bronze Age have been excavated on the Humber Bank showing use of the river corridor as far back as 2000 BC.
Vikings in their longships will have found the route very useful in their marauding and pillaging in the post Romano-Britain and were longstanding re-settlers using the inland waterways of large areas of what is now Yorkshire.
Port Towns along the Humber Bank flourished with Kingston Upon Hull attaining a Royal Charter from Edward 1st after he acquired it in 1297 giving it a monopoly over the export of goods overseas from the county.
Important as the Humber Estuary was as a trade artery it had also shown a vulnerability for use as a back door for hostile invaders.
A garrison was established at Paull, some 5 miles east of Hull, in the Napoleonic Wars building on earlier installations by Henry the Eighth and in the Civil War by Charles 1st.
However, with the increased fire power of naval ships in the early 20th Century and the threat of Submarines and airborne Zeppelins by an increasingly aggressive Germany, the Ministry of Defence issued an order, in 1914, for two offshore gun emplacements to be known as the Humber Forts.
Bull Sands was positioned on the Spurn Head side of the estuary and Haile Sands just off the beach of Humberston, to the south of the Cleethorpes/Grimsby urban area.
It proved a challenge to construct the cast concrete bases in the river. The tidal reach at 7.2 metres is amongst the greatest in UK waters and delays will have been exacerbated by seasonal weather conditions in such an exposed location.
The cost to build the smaller Haile Sands Fort was reputed to be £1.5 million at the time (incidentally representing nearly £120 million in today's money).
There is some uncertainty whether the two Forts were actually ready for active service in the First World War as conflicting accounts exist of their completion date from 1917 to 1919, the latter being well after cessation of hostilities.
Haile Sands had the advantage of a fixed raised jetty access from the shore making manning and supplying easier than the freestanding Bull Sands Fort. It was built from a hexagonal foundation with a diameter of 20 metres and fortifications were substantial in reinforced masonry clad in riveted steel armour plating.
The lower level formed the ammunition magazine with two to three upper floors providing barracks, stores and utilities, Officers quarters and mess and topped out with up to three large guns.
The fort would also be responsible for anti-submarine nets strung across the Estuary with Bull Sands at some 3.5km distance.
In the Second World War the Humber Forts were very much on the front line as the very visible geographic feature of the Estuary was used as a pathfinding route for the Luftwaffe to reach the strategic manufacturing towns and cities of Northern England.
Haile Sands remained in use until 1956 until being sold, eventually to Private owners in or around 1991 at which time it was also Listed as a Grade 2 structure of architectural or historic interest. The jetty umbilical link was either dismantled or fell into dereliction.
At the lowest of waters Haile Sands is reachable by foot across the estuary mud and sand banks but the treacherously rapid tides have caught out many inquisitive visitors and with some fatalities from drowning as a consequence.
Bull Sands Fort was proposed for conversion to a drug rehabilitation facility by a local Charitable concern but to date remains, as Haile Sands, vacant and redundant.
Viable alternative uses for offshore military installations are limited although there are two well known examples, Sealand off the Suffolk Coast and Spitbank in the Solent which have been converted to a self declared independant state and a luxury hotel respectively.
The current owners of Haile Sands placed it on the market to sell in early 2016 at an initial asking price of £350,000, subsequently reduced to £300,000 or with part exchange considered.
The novelty and character of the structure has caught the attention of the UK media with extensive magazine and news broadcast coverage but as a potentially desirable residence, the selling skills of the Estate Agent for it's attributes of sea views, good sized rooms, plenty of storage space, outskirts of town location and a roof terrace with panoramic outlook will be really put to the test.
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