Fort Albert was initially called Fort Tourille. The Fort was built between 1856 and 1859 and was therefore contemporary with some of the Gosport Defence Line forts, protecting Portsmouth, such as Forts Gomer and Elson.
Fort Albert was a polygonal fort with thirty five guns on the ramparts and a further eight on the cavalier in the North West overlooking the harbour. This cavalier in Fort Albert in many ways resembled the keeps built in Fort Brockurst, Gomer and Elson in Gosport. It could be isolated from the rest of the fortification with some seventeen guns.
As a polygonal fortification Fort Albert had a low silhouette and deep dry moat. Five caponiers cover the ditch, with guns on the ramparts to cover the broad glacis. While Fort Albert had a marked influence on the development of the Royal Commission Fort on the mainland, it quickly lost its’ importance. The new harbour of refuge at Brey was not deep enough to accommodate the new ironclads when they appeared and it therefore became of little use.
Fort Albert was unusual in that it was designed to be both a land fort and citadel of last resort, as well as a coastal defence fort.
In 1901 two 6-inch BL guns were mounted on the citadel at Fort Albert, requiring considerable alterations to the structure. At the same time two 12-pdr Q.F. guns were mounted at Roselle Battery below the Fort.