Saint Paul's Battery (), also known as Ta' Lombardi 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 f ...

Marsaxlokk Marsaxlokk () is a small, traditional fishing village in the Southern Region, Malta, Southern Region of Malta. It has a harbour, and is a tourist attraction known for its views, fishing and history. As of March 2014, the village had a populati ...

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

. It stands on high ground at the shoreward end of Delimara Point, above il-Ħofra-z-Zgħira. It is a

polygonal fort A polygonal fort is a type of fortification originating in France in the late 18th century and fully developed in Germany in the first half of the 19th century. Unlike earlier forts, polygonal forts had no bastions, which had proved to be vulnerab ...

and 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. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

from 1881 to 1886. It commands a field of fire northwards over St Thomas' Bay and

Marsaskala Marsaskala, sometimes written as Marsascala is a seaside town in the Southern Region, Malta, Southern Region of Malta. Originally a fishing village, it has grown into a tourist destination and a permanent hometown for an ever-growing population. ...

. Approximately south is Fort Tas-Silġ, a much larger polygonal style fortification.

History

St Paul's Battery was built between 1881 and 1886 by the British to help Fort Tas-Silġ cover the defence of St Thomas Bay. The battery has a D-shape, with three gun emplacements for

RML 7 inch gun The RML 7-inch guns were various designs of medium-sized rifled muzzle-loading guns used to arm small to medium-sized British warships in the late 19th century, and some were used ashore for coast defence. Design and history These guns were th ...

, which were mounted on six-foot platforms. Its gun crew and garrison were stationed at Fort Tas-Silġ. The battery's guns were removed and it was abandoned around 1900 since it had lost its importance as a defensive position.

Present day

The battery remains abandoned to this day and in very poor condition. It is covered with trees and shrubs and its ditch is filled with debris, but the gun emplacements, ditch and entrance to its underground magazine are still visible. In 2015, the battery was shortlisted as a possible site for the campus of the proposed American University of Malta. It was not chosen, and the campus is to be split up between Dock No. 1 in

Cospicua Cospicua (Italian language, Italian) or Bormla (Maltese language, Maltese, ), occasionally also known by the Latin language, Latin name Cottonera, is a double-fortified harbour city in the Port Region, Malta, Port Region of Malta. It served as th ...

and Żonqor Point in

References

Polygonal forts in Malta Marsaxlokk British fortifications in Malta Artillery battery fortifications in Malta Buildings and structures completed in 1886 Limestone buildings in Malta Military installations closed in 1900 19th-century fortifications Military installations established in 1886 {{Malta-struct-stub