Laira Battery is a former 19th-century
Fort
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
, built as a result of the Royal Commission on National Defence of 1859. It was built to defend the landward approaches to the North East of
Plymouth
Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west.
Plymouth ...
. This was part of an overall scheme for the defence of the
Royal Naval Dockyard at Devonport. They were known as
Palmerston Forts
The Palmerston Forts are a group of forts and associated structures around the coasts of the United Kingdom and Ireland.
The forts were built during the Victorian period on the recommendations of the 1860 Royal Commission on the Defence of the ...
after the Prime Minister who championed the scheme.
It was designed to be armed with 13 guns and overlooked the River Laira. To house part of the Forts' Garrison a barrack block to house two officers and 30 men was built within the rear section of the Fort. Some of the gun positions were in protected Haxo casemates and a vaulted magazine stored the ammunition for the guns.
By the early 1900s the Fort had become obsolete as a defensive position and was disarmed. It was sold by the War Office in 1961. It was
Grade II listed
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
in 2003.
It is now used as a plant hire yard.
References
Bibliography
*
*{{cite book, first=Freddy, last=Woodward, title=The Historic Defences of Plymouth, publisher=Cornwall County Council, year=1996, isbn=978-1898166467
External sources
Victorian Forts data sheet on Laira Battery
Forts of Plymouth, Devon
Palmerston Forts
Military history of Devon