Cawsand Battery

Cawsand Battery is a fort built in the 19th century, with a foundation stone dated 1867, and constructed over two years, with later additions. It is built of coursed limestone rubble with limestone copings to the parapets. The fort occupies a spur of land with steep sides, separated from the inland area by a moat, and has a roughly triangular plan. Barrack blocks front New Road to the south, a curtain wall with a ravelin runs along the landward (western) side, and gun emplacements are on the north-east (seaward) side.

The southern barrack block is two-storey externally, but single-storey internally, with three sets of three windows; these were formerly sash windows. There is a door and paired loops. A 20th-century raised walkway provides access to the upper ground floor level. The parapet is ramped up to the right, with six loops at the upper level, two segmental-headed lights at the first floor, and doors to the right and left. The barrack blocks were not provided with bomb-proof roofs, as they were considered to be in a location protected from enemy fire.

The curtain walls along the seaward side are perforated by loops of an unusual form, designed for firing horizontally and at a 45-degree downward angle. On the inner side are two gun emplacements with semicircular pivot tracks and a magazine between them. Inside the fort, a splayed limestone tunnel leads to a vaulted chamber. The landward curtain wall has a fire-step and loops, rising up the spur to a looped ravelin on the summit. An archway, previously providing access to the north-east side, has since been removed.

The interior of the fort contains an extensive tunnel system. The Battery is situated 130 feet above high water mark. Its purpose was to prevent a landing in Cawsand Bay and it was armed with 6-pounder guns, as well as 7-inch and 8-inch breech-loading rifled guns, intended to support Picklecombe Fort if the enemy were to invade the sound. The construction cost £16,171. Local tradition claims the guns were fired only once, causing damage to houses in Cawsand village.