Sandown Barrack 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 in

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 ...

close to

Sandown Sandown is a seaside resort and civil parishes in England, civil parish on the south-east coast of the Isle of Wight, United Kingdom with the resort of Shanklin to the south and the settlement of Lake, Isle of Wight, Lake in between. Together ...

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 ...

in 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.

Context

The 1859

Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom The Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom was a committee formed in 1859 to enquire into the ability of the United Kingdom to defend itself against an attempted invasion by a foreign power, and to advise the British Government on ...

recommended improvements to coastal defences in response to a perceived greater threat of invasion due to the strengthening of the French Navy at that time. The fortifications, a total of 70 forts and batteries, were constructed around the English coast as a result of the commission's findings, representing the largest programme of coastal defence works since the time of

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

. They form a distinctive group in terms of their design and armament. Their construction was very costly, causing the

Chancellor of the Exchequer The chancellor of the Exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and head of His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, the Chancellor is ...

Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...

, to threaten resignation. They were known by critics as 'Palmerston's follies'.

Construction

Construction took place from 1861 to 1863, costing £6,233. The battery is located atop a high cliff on the coast just southwest of Sandown. There were concerns raised at an early stage that erosion at the base of the cliff could affect the stability of the parapet wall. The battery was built to a rectangular plan with no wall along the cliff edge, but moats containing

Carnot wall A Carnot wall is a type of loop-holed wall built in the ditch of a fort or redoubt. It takes its name from the French mathematician, politician, and military engineer, Lazare Carnot. Such walls were introduced into the design of fortifications from ...

s to either side and the rear of the battery.

Armament

During its active history from 1863 to 1910, the battery had a variety of armament. The initial five

RBL 7 inch Armstrong gun The Armstrong RBL 7-inch gun, also known as the 110-pounder, was an early attempt to use William Armstrong's new and innovative rifled breechloading mechanism for heavy rifled guns. Description The Armstrong "screw" breech mechanism used a h ...

s were replaced by five

RML 64 pounder 64 cwt gun The RML 64-pounder 64 cwt gun was a Rifled, Muzzle Loading (RML) naval, field or fortification artillery gun manufactured in England in the 19th century, which fired a projectile weighing approximately . "64 cwt" refers to the gun's weight round ...

s in 1873. By 1892 three of these guns had been replaced by a pair of

RML 10 inch 18 ton gun The RML 10-inch guns Mk I – Mk II were large rifled muzzle-loading guns designed for British battleships and monitors in the 1860s to 1880s. They were also fitted to the and flat-iron gunboats. They were also used for fixed coastal defences a ...

s set back from the cliff edge, after partial reconstruction of the battery. By 1902, after further works that included the construction of underground magazines, the battery had a pair of

BL 6 inch Mk VII naval gun The BL 6-inch gun Mark VII (and the related Mk VIII) was a British naval gun dating from 1899, which was mounted on a heavy travelling carriage in 1915 for British Army service to become one of the main heavy field guns in the First World War, ...

s and a pair of

QF 12 pounder 12 cwt naval gun The QF 12-pounder 12-cwt gun (abbreviated as Q.F. 12-pdr. (12-cwt.)Gun ...

s. In 1905 the 12 pounders were taken out of active service, followed by the 6 inch guns in 1910. By 1926, all parts of the guns had been removed and the land had been sold to Sandown town council by 1930.

Current status

The site of the battery now forms part of the Battery Gardens park. It was scheduled under the

Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 or AMAAA was a law passed by the UK government, the latest in a series of Ancient Monument Acts legislating to protect the archaeological heritage of England & Wales and Scotland. Norther ...

on 7 September 2000. Two buildings are being converted to house the

National Poo Museum The National Poo Museum on the Isle of Wight, southern England, is a museum dedicated to the collection, conservation and display of faeces. The museum, which opened on 25 March 2016, originally as a mobile museum, is now permanently located at ...

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