| Watch House Battery | |
|---|---|
| Devon England | |
| Site information | |
| Open to the public | No |
| Condition | Complete; disarmed |
| Location | |
  Watch House Battery | |
| Coordinates | 50°19′27″N4°6′56″W / 50.32417°N 4.11556°W |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1864-1865; Rebuilt 1901-1904 |
| Materials | Earth Concrete |
Watch House Battery is a former 19th-century gun battery, built as one of a number of batteries to defend the Eastern approaches to Plymouth Sound, for the defence of the Royal Naval Dockyard at Devonport.
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The battery was originally built as a small pentagonal redoubt with emplacements for five guns. By 1893 it was armed with two 64 Pounder Rifled Muzzle Loading Guns. In 1901 the battery was reconstructed for two 6-inch Mark VII breech loading guns with the work being completed in 1903. [1] During the First World War the battery was manned by the Devonshire Royal Garrison Artillery. [2]
After the Second World War the battery remained armed until the dissolution of coast artillery in the United Kingdom in 1956 when it was disarmed. [3] It was released by the military and subsequently used as a children's activity centre for some years. [4] It was Grade II listed in 1969. [5]