Until the last quarter of the 20th century, Gosport was a major naval town associated with the defence and supply infrastructure of Her Majesty’s Naval Base (HMNB) Portsmouth. As such over the years extensive fortifications were created. The first fortifications were in 1678 during the reign on Charles II. They consisted of two forts, Fort James and Fort Charles, and a series of bastions and double ditches to encircle the town and known as the Gosport Lines. During the Georgian period in 1751 and 1752 they were rebuilt, enlarged and extended. In response to the French invasion threat of 1779 there were further additions. By 1860 the Gosport Lines had 58 guns. No.1 Bastion, for example, had mounted 14 guns in brick lined emplacements firing over the parapet. The 1859 Royal Commission on the Defences of the United Kingdom proposed the completion of a line of forts to protect the outer approach to Gosport town, making the earlier defences redundant. However, they were retained to constrain any expansion of the town towards the new line of forts. From the 1890s road widening meant some parts of the ramparts and gates were demolished. Further sections were demolished in the 1920s and 1960s. Today, the little that remain are protected ancient monuments.