Shotley Battery was built in 1865 on the Shotley Peninsula to guard the port of

Felixstowe Felixstowe ( ) is a port town in Suffolk, England. The estimated population in 2017 was 24,521. The Port of Felixstowe is the largest container port in the United Kingdom. Felixstowe is approximately 116km (72 miles) northeast of London. H ...

, within HMS ''Ganges'' Naval Training school, on the same site as an existing

Martello Tower Martello towers, sometimes known simply as Martellos, are small defensive forts that were built across the British Empire during the 19th century, from the time of the French Revolutionary Wars onwards. Most were coastal forts. They stand u ...

History

It was built with seven sides using brick and earth. It was surrounded with a dry ditch and had three magazines.Plans of Shotley Battery, The National Archives, WO78/2776 Originally armed with 14

68-pounder gun The 68-pounder cannon was an artillery piece designed and used by the British Armed Forces in the mid-19th century. The cannon was a smoothbore muzzle-loading gun manufactured in several weights, the most common being , and fired projectiles of ...

s, these were replaced 14 7-inch RML guns. It was modified with two positions for 10-inch Rifled Muzzle Loading (RML) guns in 1891. These were used until 1901. The battery was then disarmed and transferred to the Admiralty in 1904 as part of a shore training establishment HMS Ganges. It has suffered much damage since HMS ''Ganges'' closed in 1976 and became a police training centre which has in turn closed.

References

External links

Victorian Forts data sheet

Shotley Battery
photos taken in 2006 Buildings and structures in Suffolk Napoleonic war forts in England Palmerston Forts River Orwell Artillery batteries Shotley {{UK-mil-stub