The Western Heights, Dover, Kent. Report No. 5: St Martin's Battery - 19th and 20th century Coast Artillery Battery. Survey Report
Author(s): Paul Pattison, Duncan Garrow
Between April and July 1998 the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England (RCHME) carried out an archaeological survey and investigation of the remains of St Martin’s Battery, part of the defences on the Western Heights at Dover in Kent. The battery sits on an artificial terrace cut into the hillside just beneath the crest. Its curved trace was constructed between 1874 and 1877, with low visibility in mind, for heavy RML guns in deep concrete emplacements with integral bomb-proofed support buildings. A covered way runs alongside the trace to the rear, beyond which is a secondary cartridge store cut deep into the hillside. The covered way linked the battery with the South Military Road, one of the main service roads on Western Heights. The battery was disarmed by 1902 and remained, probably in care and maintenance, until 1940. At this time, it was brought back into service and extensively remodelled to take three 6-inch guns for coast defence, remaining operational until late in 1944. (This was report number 26/2001 in a previous series)
- Report Number:
- 131/2001
- Series:
- Other
- Pages:
- 28
