Point Battery

Point Battery, originally Eighteen Gun Battery, was built in the late 17th century as part of Bernard de Gomme’s fortifications for Portsmouth. It featured twelve gun emplacements facing the sea, a Flanking Battery with four additional guns, and two casemates linking it to the Round Tower. In the mid-18th century, one casemate was converted into a sally port.

In 1847, the battery was expanded to accommodate 68-pounder guns, and the Flanking Battery gained a second level with five casemates. Barracks were built between 1847 and 1850 for Royal Artillery units, with soldiers housed in vaulted chambers and officers in buildings along Broad Street. The barracks included a parade ground and two en barbette gun emplacements on the roof.

By the late 1890s, three 12-pounder quick-firing guns were installed, later replaced by a twin 6-pounder in the 1930s. After World War II, the battery was decommissioned in the early 1960s, and Portsmouth City Council removed several structures, including the boundary wall and roof-mounted gun emplacements.

Today, the upper battery is part of the seafront promenade between the Round Tower and Square Tower. In 2014, the City Council repurposed the casemates into Hotwalls Studios, a creative space for artists with a café.

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Source

• Text: TracesofWar
• Photos: Geni