Redcliff Battery (map reference ) is a

battery Battery most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source *Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...

located to the west of the Culver Cliffs and east of

Yaverland Yaverland is a village on the Isle of Wight, just north of Sandown on Sandown Bay. It has about 200 houses. About of a mile away from the village is the Yaverland Manor and Church. Holotype fossils have been discovered here of ''Yaverlan ...

on the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

, England. It is one of the many

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 ...

built on the island to protect it in response to a perceived French invasion. Construction of the battery began in April 1861 and was complete by September 1863 at a cost of £4,776. Most of it has fallen into the sea. Only small amount left May 2020

History

The Battery was constructed close to the cliff edge south of Yaverland Battery and west of

Culver Battery Culver Battery is a former coastal artillery battery on Culver Down, on the eastern side of the Isle of Wight, England. The fortification is one of several Palmerston Forts built on the island following concerns about the size and strength of ...

and was designed to prevent a landing in the

Sandown Bay Sandown Bay is a broad open bay which stretches for much of the length of the Isle of Wight's southeastern coast. It extends from Culver Down, near Yaverland in the northeast of the Island, to just south of Shanklin, near the village of Lucc ...

area. It suffered with problems arising from subsidence shortly after it was completed and was in danger of collapsing over the cliff.

Armament

The original armament was four 7-inch R.B.L. guns and it was decided in 1872 to replace them with four 64pr R.M.L. guns. In 1876 one 64pr was removed from the left flank of the battery and this position was replaced with an earth traverse to prevent enfilade fire from ships at anchor in the Culver Cliff area. The remaining 64pr guns were fitted to blocked-up traversing platforms firing over the parapet instead of through embrasures. Due to continuing subsidence of the cliff all armament was withdrawn from the battery by 1891 when the battery was abandoned. The battery was never replaced, its role being taken over by the battery at Culver Cliff. Today nothing remains of the battery apart from a few pieces of concrete projecting from the cliff edge.Solent Papers No.10 The East Wight Defences by David Moore -

References

Publications

* Moore, David, 2010. ''The East Wight Defences'', Solent Papers Number 10, David Moore, Gosport.

External links

Victorian Forts data sheet
{{Palmerston Forts on the Isle of Wight Forts on the Isle of Wight Palmerston Forts Government buildings completed in 1863 Infrastructure completed in 1863 Artillery batteries 1863 establishments in England Bembridge