Garden Battery is 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 ...

Sliema Sliema ( mt, Tas-Sliema ) is a town located on the northeast coast of Malta in the Districts of Malta#Northern Harbour District, Northern Harbour District. It is a major residential and commercial area and a centre for shopping, bars, dining, a ...

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

. It was built by the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

between 1889 and 1894. The battery is located at

Tigné Point Tigné Point is a peninsula in Sliema, Malta. The area was originally occupied by several fortifications and a British barracks complex, which were left derelict for many years, until the area was redeveloped in the early 21st century. The area ...

, between

Cambridge Battery Cambridge Battery ( mt, Batterija ta' Cambridge) is a Victorian-era battery in Sliema, Malta. It is commonly referred to as Fort Cambridge ( mt, Forti Cambridge), although it was never classified as a fort while in use. It originally contained a ...

and

Fort Tigné Fort Tigné ( mt, Il-Forti Tigné - Il-Fortizza ta' Tigné) is a polygonal fort in Tigné Point, Sliema, Malta. It was built by the Order of Saint John between 1793 and 1795 to protect the entrance to Marsamxett Harbour, and it is one of the o ...

History

The battery was first proposed in 1885, and was built between April 1889 and December 1894 at a cost of £7806, as part of a new series of fortifications meant to house breech-loading (BL) guns. Garden Battery had a ditch connecting

with

. It was armed with two

6 inch "6 Inch" is a song by American singer Beyoncé featuring Canadian singer the Weeknd from the former's sixth studio album ''Lemonade'' (2016). The song's original portions were written by the artists alongside DannyBoyStyles, Ben Billions, The-Dream ...

and one 9.2 inch BL guns on disappearing mounts. The 6 inch guns were located on the ends of the battery while the 9.2 inch gun was in the centre. The battery's armaments were removed in 1907. From 1937, just before

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 ...

, an anti-aircraft unit was stationed at the battery, and four

QF 3-inch 20 cwt The QF 3 inch 20 cwt anti-aircraft gun became the standard anti-aircraft gun used in the home defence of the United Kingdom against German airships and bombers and on the Western Front in World War I. It was also common on British warships i ...

anti-aircraft guns were installed. These were removed in 1943, and the battery was decommissioned and handed to civil authorities some time later. Eventually, the battery's ditch was filled in and other buildings were built over the glacis and gun emplacements. The battery was believed to have been destroyed.

Present day

In the late 1990s, the green light was given to excavate and dismantle the area of battery to build a tunnel as part of the Tigné Point development project. However, in 2000-2001 The

Malta Environment and Planning Authority The Malta Environment and Planning Authority (MEPA, mt, L-Awtorità ta' Malta dwar l-Ambjent u l-Ippjanar) was the national agency responsible for the environment and planning in Malta. It was established to regulate the environment and planning ...

(MEPA) appealed for the preservation of the battery. The developers, MIDI plc, changed the original plans and agreed to preserve and restore the battery. The area was eventually excavated and the battery was rediscovered in 2005, so the gun emplacements can be seen once again. When development of the area is complete, the battery is to form part of a heritage route.

References

{{Batteries in Malta Sliema British fortifications in Malta Batteries in Malta Buildings and structures completed in 1894 World War II sites in Malta 19th-century fortifications

History

Present day

Further reading

References