Macaulay Point Battery

Construction of the original Macaulay Point Battery commenced in June 1878.  This temporary battery mounted three 7-inch 6.5 ton RML guns in barbette emplacements.  The three gun emplacements were separated by large earth traverses, with earth and timber being used to construct the fortifications.  A small magazine and stores were built into the hillside at the rear of the gun line.  This was the first of the 1878 batteries to be completed and the guns test fired on 20th July, 1878.

Construction of the new Macaulay Point Battery commenced in February 1894 with positions built for three 6-inch BL guns mounted on hydro-pneumatic disappearing carriages.  The guns were operational by October 1897 with the guns mounted in deep pits.  The date of 1897 is shown on the entrance to the tunnel that leads to the Battery Command Post from the battery buildings (see images).

Macaulay Point Battery, later called Fort Macaulay, was a sister battery to the Upper and Lower Batteries at Rodd Hill.  These two batteries were armed with similar 6-inch BL guns (three guns in total) on HP disappearing mounts.

In 1938 two new 6-inch Mark VII guns on Mark 2 carriages were installed at Macaulay Point Battery and these remained in place throughout the war. High Angle Fire mounts were added in 1945.  These two emplacements dominate the surviving site.  The new 6-inch barbette emplacements were built inside the original disappearing gun pits.  The depth of the pits required a two level platform to raise the gun high enough, the lower platform also had expense lockers built into it.

It would appear that the emplacements prepared for these two 6-inch guns are fairly unique in that they have been built inside the original pits that housed the old disappearing guns.  Given the depth of the pits, it was necessary to build them up so that the new 6-inch gun could be mounted en barbette.  You thus have two tier emplacements built inside the old pits, possibly a unique configuration in the British Empire.