Crosby Battery, also known as Crosby Point Battery and Fort Crosby, was an

artillery 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 fac ...

situated between

Crosby Crosby may refer to: Places ;Canada *Crosby, Ontario, part of the township of Rideau Lakes, Ontario *Crosby, Ontario, a neighbourhood in the city of Markham, Ontario ;England *Crosby, Cumbria *Crosby, Lincolnshire *Crosby, Merseyside **Crosby (UK ...

and Hightown in

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. The battery was used for port defence and anti-aircraft defence during

WWII 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 ...

. Until 1928 Crosby Battery worked in conjunction with the nearby

Seaforth Battery Seaforth Battery, Seaforth, Merseyside, England was built to protect shipping on the River Mersey. Constructed as part of the defences of the Mersey Docks, the battery was designed to engage ships using the Rock Channel head on as well as th ...

History

The British Army in the United Kingdom 1939-45 H2696

Crosby Battery was built on the sand dunes north of Crosby between March 1906 and October 1907. The structure came with three gun emplacements, which were apart, with ammunition kept underneath the positions. The original complement of guns were two

breech-loading A breechloader is a firearm in which the user loads the ammunition (cartridge or shell) via the rear (breech) end of its barrel, as opposed to a muzzleloader, which loads ammunition via the front ( muzzle). Modern firearms are generally breech ...

Mark VII guns,Geocaching, Fort Crosby
Accessed 2014-02-07 which were the same as those installed at nearby

Fort Perch Rock Fort Perch Rock is a former defence installation situated at the mouth of Liverpool Bay in New Brighton. Built in the 1820s to defend the Port of Liverpool, its function has changed from defensive, to tourist attraction and museum. It has bee ...

, on the opposite side of the mouth of the

River Mersey The River Mersey () is in North West England. Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. For centuries it has formed part ...

. Behind the positions were two barracks and soldiers' quarters. Around the battery was an observation post, a signal station, an officers' hut, caretaker's accommodation, a bath house, a workshop. An engine room, with coastal spotlights, was built later. The battery was given the designation S0011771. The battery was the headquarters for the Lancashire and Cheshire Heavy Brigade, Royal Artillery (TF). On the outbreak of the First World War Fort Crosby, Seaforth Battery and Fort Perch Rock were responsible for the defence of the River Mersey. By the Second World War the defences of the Mersey comprised two 6-inch guns at Crosby Battery and two 6-inch guns at Fort Perch Rock. Fort Crosby received a naval 4-inch Breech loading (BL) gun, which was mounted on the right flank of the battery. After the Second World War, the Territorial Army used the area, until 1954. The base was subsequently closed in 1957 on the dissolution of coast artillery in the United Kingdom announced in 1956.An Archaeological Assessment of the Hightown Dunes, Dune Restoration Works Proposals
Accessed 2014-02-07 After permission was given for a housing development at Hightown, the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

sold the battery, in 1963, including of foreshore.Sefton Coast Partnership, Coastal Heritage
Accessed 2014-02-07 Many of the buildings were demolished, following this, in 1967. However, the site of the battery still exists, adjacent to the West Lancashire Golf Course. As of 2020, the site still consists of the stone gun emplacements, but the area where the barracks and operational buildings has now been cleared. This area is noticeable from the surrounding areas however, as a flat clearing amongst the dunes. As of 2020, no plaques, plinths or signage exist to commemorate the Fort.

References

Bibliography

*{{cite book, first=Ken, last=McCarron, title=Fort Perch Rock and the Defence of the Mersey, id=Merseyside Portfolios, publisher=Countryvise Ltd., year=1991, isbn=978-0951612910, url-access=registration, url=https://archive.org/details/fortperchrockdef0000mcca Crosby, Merseyside Forts in Merseyside Artillery batteries