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The Par Coastal Gun Battery was a coastal Artillery battery, gun battery constructed in the summer of 1940 when Britain was facing the threat of Operation Sea Lion, invasion from Nazi Germany. It is on the former site of the Par Consols Mine, overlooking Par Docks.
The battery never fired a shot in anger. There were a number of practice firings both by day and by night. The Par Home Guard (United Kingdom), Home Guard defended the perimeter of the battery. The nearest the battery came to being hit by German bombs was at 0500hrs on 13 April 1941 when the Harbourmaster, Harbour Master's house received a direct hit killing one soldier from the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry, DCLI on coastal defence duties. The Paddington-Penzance railway line was also damaged. In April & May 1942 the 4 inch guns were dismounted and replaced by two 138mm GF guns from the French battleship Paris, French naval ship 'Paris' which had been seized on 3 July 1940 in Plymouth and then used as a barracks ship by the Polish Navy. In 1943 the site was developed to improve the accommodation and facilities for the men serving on the battery. The top part of the site was used by the United States Army, Americans in 1944 and then after Normandy landings, D-Day it became German Prisoner of War Camp 674, Consols, Par. The guns were finally dismounted in June 1945.
Establishment of the Battery
Role of the Battery
The Battery's primary role was to deny the port and beaches to the enemy by engaging ships seawards. The secondary roles were to neutralise the beaches at Polkerris, Par Sands & Spit Beach, and to complete immobilisation of harbour installations if the Local Naval Officer fails to do so. Priority being:The National Archives – WO 192-152 Par Battery Fort Record Book 1940-45 i. Pier Head ii. Crane at Inner Dock iii. Crane at North Quay iv. Footbridge at Inner Dock The battery would engage vessels in the following order: i. Armoured fighting vehicle, Armoured Fighting Vehicle-carrying transports ii. Troopship, Troop-carrying transports iii. WarshipsCASLs
Two Coastal Artillery Searchlight, Search Light batteries were built at the water's edge on the west side of the harbour entrance. Both were of the same design. Their purpose was to illuminate the target for the guns at night. No.1 CASL was completed on 17 March 1941. Its light could be worked by hand or remote control. No.2 CASL was completed on 30 May 1941. It was hand controlled only. Only one of the CASLs remains. The other was undermined by coastal erosion and its steel girders supporting the roof collapsed. There are a few remnants on the shoreline. To preserve the other a concrete block wall was built to support the roof girders changing the look of the battery from an open faced building with large steel shutters to a building with smaller embrasures. The CASLs were powered by an Cornish engine, engine house sited just behind the Batteries but this was demolished by the china clay company in the early 2000s.Life of the Battery
The battery never fired a shot in anger. There were a number of practice firings both by day and by night. The Par Home Guard (United Kingdom), Home Guard defended the perimeter of the battery. The nearest the battery came to being hit by German bombs was at 0500hrs on 13 April 1941 when the Harbourmaster, Harbour Master's house received a direct hit killing one soldier from the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry, DCLI on coastal defence duties. The Paddington-Penzance railway line was also damaged. In April & May 1942 the 4 inch guns were dismounted and replaced by two 138mm GF guns from the French battleship Paris, French naval ship 'Paris' which had been seized on 3 July 1940 in Plymouth and then used as a barracks ship by the Polish Navy. In 1943 the site was developed to improve the accommodation and facilities for the men serving on the battery. The top part of the site was used by the United States Army, Americans in 1944 and then after Normandy landings, D-Day it became German Prisoner of War Camp 674, Consols, Par. The guns were finally dismounted in June 1945.
Remains of the Battery
Five buildings remain on the site.Cornwall Historic Environment Record Entry No 75518 The War Shelter for No 1 gun, the Magazine (artillery), Magazine for No 1 gun, the War Shelter for No 2 gun, the Magazine for No 2 gun and the Shell Store (where the shells were stored as opposed to the Cordite charges which were kept in the underground magazines). It is also possible to finds the gun mounting bolts under the vegetation. The top part of the battery was developed into a residential site, today called The Mount. One CASL remains by the water's edge at Spit Beach.References