Redcliff Battery (map reference ) is a
battery
Battery or batterie 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
* Battery indicator, a device whic ...
located to the west of the
Culver Cliffs and east of
Yaverland
Yaverland is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Sandown, on the Isle of Wight, England. It is just north of Sandown on Sandown Bay. It has about 200 houses. About of a mile away from the village is the Yaverland Manor an ...
on the
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...
, 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
Yaverland Battery is a battery on the Isle of Wight, United Kingdom. It was constructed between 1861 and 1864.
It originally mounted eight 7-inch Armstrong Rifled Breech Loading (RBL) guns, and enclosed with a Carnot wall. A rear surrounding wal ...
and west of
Culver Battery 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 Luc ...
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
Military installations established in 1863
Artillery battery fortifications in the United Kingdom
1863 establishments in England
Sandown