Hougham Battery is a

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 ...

coastal defence battery built in 1941 between

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...

and

Folkestone Folkestone ( ) is a port town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour and shipping port for most of the 19th and 20t ...

in southeast

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 ...

. It is on the cliff-edge between Abbot's Cliff and

Shakespeare Cliff Shakespeare Cliff Halt is a private halt station on the South Eastern Main Line. It is located to the western end of the dual bore Shakespeare Cliff tunnel on the South Eastern Main Line to Folkestone, England. It never appeared in any pub ...

. The battery is equipped with three 8-inch (203 mm) Mark VIII naval guns. The complex was built in 1941 and manned by men of 520 Coastal Regiment Royal Artillery The construction of the A20 in the 1970s caused most of the battery to be covered with earth, so little can be seen on the surface, though access is possible to the underground battery plotting room. Some of the observation posts on the cliff edge are also visible. The batteries to the east and west of Dover were each designated as a fortress and each fortress had an underground plotting room from where the guns could be controlled. At Hougham. there are No.1, No.2 and No.3 Gun emplacements. The

North Downs Way The North Downs Way National Trail is a long-distance path in southern England, opened in 1978. It runs from Farnham to Dover, past Guildford, Dorking, Merstham, Otford and Rochester, along the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty ...

(long-distance path) leads over Round Down (on the Dover Cliffs) between

and

. The path passes by several observation posts of the battery.

External links

Gatekeepers - the Guns of Dover in WWIIKent History ForumSubterranea BritannicaPhotos of West ShelterPlotting Room phots

References

Forts in Dover, Kent Military history of Dover, Kent Artillery batteries {{Kent-struct-stub

See also

External links

References