FEATURE
The Needles Battery
Guest writer Mark Fox continues with his
new series looking at different places of
historical interest on the Island
This issue he travels to West Wight
T
he Needles Battery sits at the western end of
the Island, in a dramatic position overlooking
the Needles, the western Solent and the
English Channel.
Many fortifications around the Island and in the
Solent are reminders of the strategic importance
of the area, but the Needles Battery is a particularly
stunning and well maintained testament to British
engineering and military thinking. There are
essentially three phases to the use of this area as a
military facility – the old battery, the new battery, and
the site as a rocket testing ground.
In its development, so well preserved and presented,
the battery lays out the history of the threats we have
faced over the last 200 years, and the innovation and
courage we have used to confront them.
The first battery on the site came about as a result
of the 1860 Defence Act and was completed by 1863,
6 In 1903 there was an upgrade
with six guns installed.
to the armament and the original guns were disposed
of by throwing them over the cliff! However, this
was a blessing in disguise for the historian because
eventually all the guns were retrieved, and several are
on display at the battery.
It was protected by a combination of a huge ditch
and the steepness of the surrounding hillside. One
officer, two NCOs, and 21 soldiers lived and worked
in this relatively confined space. The site was used
to experiment with various methods of defence
and attack, including early forms of searchlight
and in 1913 the country’s first Anti-Aircraft Gun. An
additional line of defence was also installed to protect
against torpedo boats.
The New Battery was completed by 1895. It housed
three large guns which weighed 28 tons each.
Each gun needed 11 men to operate it. Inside the
complex there were a variety of buildings which
included housing, mess hall, a signal post and other
administrative offices. Essentially it was like a small
village, a self-contained community.
In 1918 the battery was mothballed only to be reactivated on the outbreak of war. It closed again in
1945, but it was not until 1954 that the guns were
eventually removed.
An interesting footnote to the working life of the
battery came with its use by Saunders and Roe for
testing the Black Knight and Black Arrow rocket
engines. The National Trust bought the site in 1975
and still runs it.
The Island has many reminders of wars and
battles through the ages. There are many sites of
fortification ranging from Carisbroke Castle to Roman
remains, through to the boatyards of Cowes and gun
implacements dotted all around the coast. None
however can equal the Needles Battery for dramatic
situation or beauty of location. The battery is well
worth a visit and as you walk it’s worth just reflecting
on the lives of the men who served there in peace and
war. http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/needles-oldbattery-and-new-battery.
PHOTOS:
1. The entrance to the Needles Old Battery.
2. The restored cannons from the original battery.
3. The battery was used for testing the Black Knight and
Black Arrow rocket engines.
4. Showing a view of the Needles from the water.
5. A searchlight from inside the battery.
www.visitilife.com
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