2 Defence Electric Light Emplacements To East Of Link House

The two Defence Electric Light Emplacements, located to the east of Link House, were built between 1914 and 1919. Constructed from reinforced concrete and steel, with some brickwork, they are whitewashed and consist of two small rectangular buildings positioned 20 metres apart. Each building features a semi-octagonal projection at the seaward corner.

Both emplacements have a doorway and a boarded window on the landward side, machine gun loops on the other walls, and boarded openings with a curved section in the projection, supported by a heavy girder. The first emplacement (southern) has added brickwork above the girder level. The projections have flat roofs that are slightly lower than the low-pitched roof of the main structure.

These emplacements were designed to direct a beam produced by a parabola-ellipse reflector through a 0.1 metre slit between curved metal shutters, allowing them to illuminate a wide area of sea. They were operated by an Electric Light Officer from a director station at Link House Battery, located 300 metres to the south, and were powered by an engine house 50 metres to the west, which is now a public lavatory. These emplacements are a rare surviving example of a World War 1 coastal defence installation.