Dublin Port had Custom House Dock opened in 1796. This was expanded by George’s dock and then deep water berths on the North Wall between 1836 and the 1870s. The harbour was protected by some old smoothbore batteries but there was only minimal upgrades to any of these.Read more
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Belfast was an important commercial dockyard and also had a dry dock for ship construction. The harbour was protected by two batteries, each with two 6-inch Mark VII BL guns. Kilroot Battery was located on the north side of the estuary and Grey Point Batter on the south side. In 1905 neither of these batteriesRead more
During the later half of the 19th Century, Cardiff and Bristol had been protected by a line of coastal defence batteries covering the Bristol Channel from Lavenock in Wales to Brean Down Fort in England. Flat Holme and Steep Holme Island covered the intervals. By the 1900 Cardiff was protected by Lavenock Battery with twoRead more
The Barry Docks were operation from 1889 and were linked to the South wales Valley coalfields by rail. By 1914, Barry Port handled more coal than any other location in the World. The Barry Docks were also an Admiralty coal exporting depot with coal being despatched to coaling stations throughout the Empire. There were twoRead more
The Tyne was initially classified as a Class B harbour and was protected by three batteries: Tynemouth Castle Battery had defences dating back to Tudor times. The battery was redeveloped between 1899 and 1901 on the site of the 1890’s emplacements. It was made to mount two 6-inch Mark VII guns and one 9.2-inch MarkRead more
During the second half of the 19th Century the Thames Estuary had been heavily defended with more than nine coastal defence installations. The London docks were the epicentre of the various commercial ports spread out of the British Empire. Coastal defence batteries were built on both the north and south side of the River Thames. TheseRead more
I am text block. Click edit button to change this text. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo. South Gare Battery was built between 1890 and 1892 to protect the mouth of the River Tees. The battery was armed with two 4.75 Q.F. gunsRead more
Sunderland was a significant shipbuilding location and at one time produced about 25% of the new vessels built in England. Sunderland was classified as a C Class Commercial Port in 1905 and it was thought that one battery of two 6-inch BL guns would be sufficient defence. The geography of the harbour area did notRead more
Newhaven was designated as a Class C commercial port in 1905. Fort Newhaven had been built between 1864 and 1870 to protect the harbour. In 1902 a pair of 6-inch Mark VII BL guns were mounted within the Fort. The Fort also had a pair of 12-pdr Q.F. guns, but it was recommended that theseRead more