Fort Stamford was not originally proposed in the 1860 Royal Commission Report. In 1860 it was added to the list of fortifications to be built and initially named Fort Trunchapel. Fort Stamford was built between 1861 and 1869. The Fort was built by George Reach & Co who also built the nearby Straddon Fort which is linked by the Military Road.
It provided barrack accommodation for 200 men, and a magazine. The role of Fort Stamford was primarily to protect the civilian anchorage in Jennycliffe Bay and deny the location to any hostile forces who could use it to bombard the main Royal Naval Dockyard at Devonport.
Initially it was proposed to mount seven 9-inch, 12 ton RMLs on the two fronts facing towards the sea approaches. Thirteen guns protected the land approaches, and there were six mortars inside the fort.
In 1875 the armament was five 7-inch RBLs, four 64-pdr RBLs and three 8-inch RMLs. Sixteen RBL gun were mounted in the defences covering the trench.
In 1885 a 7-inch RBL Montcrieff gun was mounted on the SE salient, five 64-pdr RMLSs and eight 32-pdr SBBL guns for the caponiers. It is not know if all these guns were mounted, but by 1893 the five 64-pdr were in position.
In 1903 the Fort had four 40-pdr RBL and four 8-inch howitzers, presumably field artillery. It appears to have be disarmed before World War 1 but remained in Military hands until 1963.