![East Weare Gun Battery E Portland](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9e/East_Weare_Gun_Battery_E_Portland.JPG)
East Weare Battery is a former 19th-century
gun battery
In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit or multiple systems of artillery, mortar systems, rocket artillery, multiple rocket launchers, surface-to-surface missiles, ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, etc., so grouped to facil ...
to the east of the
Verne Citadel
Verne Citadel is a 19th-century citadel on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, England. Located on the highest point of Portland, Verne Hill, it sits in a commanding position overlooking Portland Harbour, which it was built to defend. It later became H ...
on the
Isle of Portland
An isle is an island, land surrounded by water. The term is very common in British English. However, there is no clear agreement on what makes an island an isle or its difference, so they are considered synonyms.
Isle may refer to:
Geography
* Is ...
in
Dorset
Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. The battery was built in the 1860s as a result of the
Royal Commission to guard the new
Portland harbour
Portland Harbour is located beside the Isle of Portland, Dorset, on the south coast of England. Construction of the harbour began in 1849; when completed in 1872, its surface area made it the largest man-made harbour in the world, and rema ...
and
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 ...
institutions on the island. Five open batteries were built housing 20 9" and 10"
RMLs. After 1877 the batteries were designated by letter 'A' to 'E'.
In 1900 the batteries were re-armed with more modern breech loading guns. 'A' battery received two
9.2 inch Breech Loading (BL) guns and 'B' battery received three
BL 6 inch Mk VII guns on Central Pivot Mk II mounts. By 1919 the 6-inch guns had been removed, but the 9.2-inch guns remained in place until the dissolution of Coast Artillery in 1956.
The site was then used for training by the Royal Navy, which has damaged some of the gun positions. The batteries are derelict and there is no public access. Parts of the batteries are now listed as Ancient Monuments by Historic England.
References
External links
The Heritage Coast: East WearVictorian Forts data sheet
1860s establishments in England
Buildings and structures in Dorset
Military history of Dorset
Forts in Dorset
Isle of Portland
Palmerston Forts
Artillery batteries
19th-century fortifications
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