Site of Bathside Bay Napoleonic Gun Battery (EHER 9863)

Napoleonic gun battery of 1811, excavated in 1990 and 1991 in advance of construction of the Dovercourt By-pass. The site is marked with bricks on the ground but there are no above surface remains.

Original HER entry merged with NRHE data import. Excavations, 1990-1991 Napoleonic gun battery of 1811, excavated in 1990 and 1991 in advance of construction of the Dovercourt By-pass. In 1990 the excavations revealed two of the three known gun platforms, which showed that they had been extended beyond the rampart wall during construction. Excavation of the 3rd gun platform in 1991 showed that a simple D-shaped rampart was originally planned, but the rampart walling was smashed through during construction and the gun platform extended through the gap. This advanced the gun position to the centre of the wall which gave a wider angle of fire. The battery was abandoned in 1817 and left to decay. <1> <2> <4> In 1992 brickwork was laid to follow the line of the Napoleonic fortification. Site Management: The outline of the east and west platforms have been laid out in brick in the verge alongside the new by-pass. <2> Site Assessment Because of the short life of the battery, it was never upgraded to take new artillery. It is therefore thought to be the only battery solely of the Napoleonic period excavated in Britain. <2> Photos <3> Other reference <4> <5> A Napoleonic period coastal gun battery, known from documentary and cartographic sources, was excavated in two stages in advance of the construction of the Dovercourt Bypass. The battery was built in 1810-11 as part of a general refortification of the approaches to Harwich between 1806 and 1812, and was sited to cover the sheltered anchorage on the west side of the town. It was manned only between 1811 and 1817, after which the guns were removed. Although the battery remained in the possession of the military until the 1870s it was not rearmed. The battery was armed with three 24-pounder cannon mounted on Traversing platforms arranged around the curved outer face of a semi-circular emplacement. All three gun positions were recorded, together with several lengths of the emplacement wall. All the gun positions showed clear evidence of pivoted gun platforms, although in each case there were two phases of construction. It is thought that this change was made to position the gun platforms further forward within the emplacement to increase their arc of fire. The north-eastern gun position was particularly well preserved, and contained several important details from which the technology of the gun platforms can be understood. Victorian cottages were built on the site of the battery after it was demolished. <6> Additional reference <7> <8> <9>