Wave Basin Battery Adjacent To Old South Pier

The Wave Basin Battery, built around 1873, is located adjacent to the old South Pier in Sunderland Harbour. Constructed for the War Office on land provided by the River Wear Commission in 1860, this battery is made of ashlar and forms a mole that extends into the river on the eastern side of the Wave Basin. It features four gun emplacements. The first gun emplacement, located at the northern rounded end of the mole, has been filled with concrete. The second and third emplacements have openings that are angled towards the sea, and the battery wall is protected from water by the breakwater of the mole. Emplacements one and four include an ashlar circle with a central ashlar block for the gun pivot, with at least one pivot still intact, allowing the guns to fire over the parapet. The second and third emplacements were equipped with front pivot traversing carriages made of either wood or wrought iron. Originally, the battery housed four 80-pounder rifle muzzle-loading guns. This site is notable as the only remaining example of a rifled muzzle-loading battery between the Humber and the Tweed, representing a significant shift from traditional cannon to modern artillery. It also reflects the defensive strategies employed for mercantile ports following the Crimean War and the advent of iron-clad warships. The battery is depicted on an official plan of Hudson Docks from 1875.