Harding's Battery
| Harding's Battery | |
|---|---|
| Part ofFortifications of Gibraltar | |
| Gibraltar | |
 Restored Harding's Battery in June 2013. | |
 RML 12.5 inch 38 ton gunmounted at Harding's Batteryc. 1878. | |
  Harding's Battery | |
| Coordinates | 36°06′35″N5°20′47″W/ 36.109605°N 5.34626°W |
| Type | Artillery Battery |
| Site information | |
| Owner | Government of Gibraltar |
| Open to the public | yes |
| Condition | Refurbished |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1859 |
| Built by | Government of the United Kingdom |
| Materials | Concreteandbrick |
Harding's Batteryis a restoredartillery batteryin theBritish Overseas TerritoryofGibraltar.It is located atEuropa Pointand includes theEuropa Sunken Magazinethat is now used as a visitor centre.
History
[edit]This battery is onEuropa Pointat the southern end of Gibraltar. Europa had been the site of earlier Spanish and Moorish fortifications as well as those constructed by the British which included walls, scarping and the batteries.Europa Advance Batteries,Europa Pass Batteries,Europa Batteries,Eliott's Battery,Europa Advance Battery,Half Way Battery,Lighthouse Battery,Lady Louisa's BatteryandWoodford's Batterywere supported by a local barracks.[1]
Harding's battery was built on the remains of the 7th Europa Battery in 1859. The battery was named after SirGeorge Harding,who was Chief Engineer in 1844 and had been involved withSir Charles Hollowayin the 1810 destruction ofthe Spanish fortificationsincluding Fort St. Felipe andFort St. Barbara.[2]At that time Europa Point was known as Harding's Point. For a few years the battery had two 18-pounder guns but these were replaced in 1863 with two 32-pounders.[3]
Five years later Harding's was given a Rifled Muzzle Loading gun as part of the recommendations put forward by ColonelWilliam Jervoiswho was inspecting and advised on the defences of British colonies includingGibraltarand theAndaman Islandsfrom 1865.[4]Jervois's 1868 recommendations took time and the approval was not given until 1876 by which time the 9 inch gun had become a larger12.5 inch 38 ton RML gunwhich could fire 800 pound projectiles. This gun was commissioned in 1878 although it was feared that the gun may be difficult to defend in its exposed position.[3]In 1904, a plan was put forward to move a9.2-inch Mk 1 coastal defence gunfromInchkeithin Scotland to Harding's Battery, but it was never implemented. The large RML was eventually removed and from the start of World War II this battery was the location of aBofors 40 mmanti-aircraft gun.[5]
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Sheet I -
Sheet II
Conservation
[edit]Harding's battery had been abandoned and buried under a mound of sand for years but it was unearthed and refurbished as part of a makeover of the whole of the Europa point area to include leisure facilities starting in March 2010. Harding's Battery was found to be in a condition where it could be restored and the magazine below was converted into a visitor centre with displays providing information on local history. The£4.4 million work on Europa Point was officially re-opened in October 2011 by the thenChief Minister of GibraltarPeter Caruana.[6]
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Information on the maritime history of Gibraltar -
Information on prehistory including theNeanderthals of Gibraltar -
Information on ornithology
Re-installation of a gun
[edit]In 2013 the restoration was made complete when a 12.5 inch 38 ton RML gun (actually weighing 45 tonnes (50 tons)) found half buried at the southern entrance toGibdockdating from the 1870s and identical to the battery's original gun, was installed on a replica carriage at Harding's Battery. This was made possible due to theGibraltar Heritage Trustwho had organised and partly funded the construction of a replacement gun carriage.[7]
References
[edit]- ^Ehlen, Judy; Harmon, Russell S. (2001).The environmental legacy of military operations.Geological Society of America. p. 110.ISBN978-0-8137-4114-7.Retrieved1 April2013.
- ^History of the Royal Sappers and Miners
- ^ab"Europa Point".Government of Gibraltar - Tourist Board. Archived fromthe originalon 4 July 2016.Retrieved24 April2013.
- ^Robin W. Winks, 'Jervois, Sir William Francis Drummond (1821–1897)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University,http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/jervois-sir-william-francis-drummond-3856/text6133,accessed 24 April 2013.
- ^Hughes, Quentin; Migos, Athanassios (1995).Strong as the Rock of Gibraltar.Exchange Publications. p. 262.
- ^Oliva, F (21 October 2011)."CARUANA OPENS £4.4m Refurbishment of Europa Point Leisure zone".Gibraltar Chronicle.Archived fromthe originalon 13 April 2014.Retrieved24 April2013.
- ^White, Ben (12 June 2013)."Harding's Battery Armed with Heritage".Gibraltar Chronicle.Retrieved12 June2013.
