Brixham Battery and Battery Gardens are an open space on the sea shore in

Brixham Brixham is a coastal town and civil parish, the smallest and southernmost of the three main population centres (the others being Paignton and Torquay) on the coast of Torbay in the county of Devon, in the south-west of England. Commercial fish ...

, Devon at . They are a traditional observation point for Brixham trawler races, both past and present. The site of Battery Gardens was first used as a battery in 1586 during the war between England and Spain. The Battery was not permanently armed but was certainly active throughout the

American War of Independence The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

during the 1780s and the Napoleonic War against France during the first decade of the 19th century. The Battery was also used by the Coast Guard for gunnery training during the 1870s. All that can be seen today was built from June to September 1940 immediately following the defeat and evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from

Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.John O'Groats to

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, to Lands End, and to

South Wales South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...

only seven remain. Of these Brixham Battery is the most complete.

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

had surveyed the whole site and it is now a

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

The Battery

File:Battery_observation_post.jpg, Battery observation post File:The_altmark.jpg, The Altmark File:Brixham Battery gun floor.jpg, No. 2 4.7 inch gun floor A "

battery Battery most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source *Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...

" is a category of artillery weapons and the soldiers who operate them. The

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

coast and defence batteries had two main guns, anti-aircraft weapons and, in the case of Brixham, extra harbour defence guns. A total of about one hundred officers and soldiers manned the Battery. The Battery was originally manned by soldiers from the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

, but following the receding threat of invasion the Battery was later manned by 378 Battery – of which almost all were members of the Home Guard.

History

1776–1890

It is known that as far back as 1586 a gun platform was established in battery grounds against the threat of attack from Spain. This was maintained until 1664. From 1776 to 1890 the battery was known variously as Furzdon, Furzeham, Furzham, Furzedown and Fishcombe point. During the end of the 18th century Brixham was the station for the western approach of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

, and as such was a very necessary port for the Navy, especially during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. When France joined America in 1778 and Spain in 1779, the

Board of Ordnance The Board of Ordnance was a British government body. Established in the Tudor period, it had its headquarters in the Tower of London. Its primary responsibilities were 'to act as custodian of the lands, depots and forts required for the defence ...

decided that, along with other naval stations along the south coast of England, Brixham was to be protected by gun emplacements. Battery gardens was to be the most westerly battery covering the harbour. The militia were to prepare the positions, and the guns, 24 pounders, arrived in May 1780 at the same time as the

Berry Head Berry Head is a coastal headland that forms the southern boundary of Tor Bay in Devon, England. Lying to the east of the town of Brixham, it is a national nature reserve and a local nature reserve. Berry Head To Sharkham Point is a Site of Sp ...

guns (the site of a Napoleonic fort a little along from battery gardens). The land being commandeered, compensation being paid in 1783 at the end of hostilities. At the start of the French wars the land was purchased and the guns returned. Again the guns were removed at the end of hostilities. The battery was still a military station in a report of 2 June 1862 and was manned by the 11th Devon Artillery Volunteers,

Royal Garrison Artillery The Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) was formed in 1899 as a distinct arm of the British Army's Royal Regiment of Artillery serving alongside the other two arms of the Regiment, the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) and the Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) ...

. In a naval return of 13 March 1891 there had been a 64 pounder

muzzle loading A muzzleloader is any firearm into which the projectile and the propellant charge is loaded from the muzzle of the gun (i.e., from the forward, open end of the gun's barrel). This is distinct from the modern (higher tech and harder to make) des ...

rifled In firearms, rifling is machining helical grooves into the internal (bore) surface of a gun's barrel for the purpose of exerting torque and thus imparting a spin to a projectile around its longitudinal axis during shooting to stabilize the proj ...

cannon A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...

at Furzham on 1 April 1889. This was mounted on gun racers about where number five gun had been eighty years before.

1940–1945

The role of Brixham Battery, in conjunction with a similar battery at Corbyn Head,

Torquay Torquay ( ) is a seaside town in Devon, England, part of the unitary authority area of Torbay. It lies south of the county town of Exeter and east-north-east of Plymouth, on the north of Tor Bay, adjoining the neighbouring town of Paignton ...

, was to defend all the beaches against landings. Beaches such as those at

Torre Abbey Torre Abbey is a historic building and art gallery in Torquay, Devon, which lies in the South West of England. It was founded in 1196 as a monastery for Premonstratensian canons, and is now the best-preserved medieval monastery in Devon and Co ...

, Livermead, Hollicombe,

Preston Preston is a place name, surname and given name that may refer to: Places England *Preston, Lancashire, an urban settlement **The City of Preston, Lancashire, a borough and non-metropolitan district which contains the settlement **County Boro ...

Paignton Paignton ( ) is a seaside town on the coast of Tor Bay in Devon, England. Together with Torquay and Brixham it forms the borough of Torbay which was created in 1998. The Torbay area is a holiday destination known as the English Riviera. Paignt ...

Goodrington Goodrington is a coastal village in Devon, England. It is situated in Tor Bay and lies between Torquay and Brixham, less than south of Paignton. Its beach is known as Goodrington Sands. History Goodrington is mentioned in the Domesday Book o ...

Broadsands Broadsands is a beach on the coast of Torbay in South Devon, England. It is also the name of an area of housing inland from the beach, in the Churston Ferrers part of Torbay between Paignton and Brixham. It is a tourist attraction, with a rang ...

and Elberry Cove would have made ideal sites for enemy landings. The Corbyn Head battery was well sited to cover targets within the bay while the Brixham Battery could also engage craft further out in Lyme Bay. In addition to the 'big guns' the batteries were equipped with

anti-aircraft Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...

weaponry and a 6 pounder Hotchkiss harbour defence gun. The anti-aircraft defences at Brixham Battery consisted of a 37 mm AA gun, an

Unrotated Projectile The Unrotated Projectile (UP) was a British anti-aircraft and ground-bombardment rocket of the Second World War. A 7-inch version was developed for the Royal Navy by Alwyn Crow of the Projectile Development Establishment of the Ministry of Supp ...

projector and 40 mm Bofors guns. NCI Froward Point

The Brixham Battery and a similar one at Corbyn Head,

, were only two of many sited along the South Coast. One of the more heavily armed batteries was at

Froward Point NCI Froward Point is a National Coastwatch Institution (NCI) lookout station at Inner Froward Point, at the easterly side of the mouth of the River Dart, two miles by coastal path from Kingswear in Devon, England. Its twin duties are to maintain ...

, near Kingswear, known as Brownstone Battery. This was a 'close defence' battery sited in June 1942 and armed with 'LS' (Land Service) 6 inch Mark VII guns on mark II mountings. The role of the battery was to engage enemy forces, such as landing craft and mother ships carrying landing craft, attempting landings on Slapton Sands or Blackpool Sands beaches and to destroy any beach head which had been established. Parts of the gun beds, the battery observation post, magazines, searchlights and other features can still be seen, and are now preserved by the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

. The battery observation post is let by the trust to the

National Coastwatch Institution The National Coastwatch Institution is a voluntary organisation and registered charity providing a visual watch along the UK's coasts, and is not to be confused with HM Coastguard. History The National Coastwatch Institution (NCI) was founde ...

, known as

NCI Froward Point NCI Froward Point is a National Coastwatch Institution (NCI) lookout station at Inner Froward Point, at the easterly side of the mouth of the River Dart, two miles by coastal path from Kingswear in Devon, England. Its twin duties are to maintain ...

, and manned by volunteer watchkeepers keeping a lookout for coastal dangers. In 1940, during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the site was manned initially by the

362 Battery 18 CA GP Regiment, becoming 362 Battery 556 Regiment in 1941 and 378 Battery 556 Regiment in 1942. The Royal Artillery was strongly supported by local men transferred from 'D' Company (10th Torbay) Battalion Devonshire Home Guard. Trained in all the functions of the Battery and being able to man it on their own if the occasion arose, the crews became very efficient and were often commended by the Brigadier Royal Artillery Southern Command and Commander of Coast Artillery South West District. The guns were never used in earnest against enemy forces though there were occasions when alerts were ordered. German E-boats entered the bay on several occasions but were never engaged since this might have given away the location of the Battery – information deemed to valuable to an enemy landing force. In principle, engagement of enemy vessels would have been left to the

unless orders to the contrary were given by the port commander or higher authorities. There were, however, many occasions on which the anti-aircraft defences at the battery were in action against the hit-and-run raiders attacking Brixham harbour and shipping in the Bay. These included

Messerschmitt 109 The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a German World War II fighter aircraft that was, along with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the backbone of the Luftwaffe's fighter force. The Bf 109 first saw operational service in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War an ...

s carrying a single bomb, and later the

Focke-Wulf 190 The Focke-Wulf Fw 190, nicknamed ''Würger'' ("Shrike") is a German single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft designed by Kurt Tank at Focke-Wulf in the late 1930s and widely used during World War II. Along with its well-known counterpart, th ...

s which carried a formidable bomb.

The Heritage Centre Group

Created in 1999, the Heritage Centre Group is committed to the promotion of the history of the Brixham Battery as well as the environment, flora and fauna and is currently expanding its on-site education centre within the grounds of the gardens, known as Brixham Battery Heritage Centre.

Notes

External links

Annotated Google map

Brixham Battery Heritage Centre Group

Brixham Heritage Museum
{{coord, 50.40202, -3.52102, type:landmark_region:GB_source:enwiki-osgb36(SX920569), display=title Scheduled monuments in Devon Brixham Coastal artillery Museums in Devon Military and war museums in England World War II museums in the United Kingdom Artillery batteries