Mount Batten Tower

Mount Batten Tower is a coastal defense tower located at the top of a cliff, built in the 1660s on the site of an earlier battery. Constructed from Plymouth limestone rubble with some granite dressings, it features a flat lead roof behind an embattled parapet with a string course. The tower has a round plan and was originally designed with a basement store and heated room on each floor above, with the upper floor topped by a domed stone vault. Inside, a stone staircase runs within the thickness of the wall, leading to the principal upper room, which has a doorway accessed directly from the entrance. There are steps up to the parapet on the left and steps down to the entrance of the next room on the right. A small store is located at the top of the stairs, and a latrine is situated on the battlements.

The exterior features a pointed-arched roll-moulded granite doorway located midway up the wall, along with small granite stair windows placed irregularly. There is also a 4-centred arched doorway leading to the parapet store. Inside, the tower retains many original features, including a 4-centred arched granite doorway and two fireplaces—one with a timber lintel and the other with moulded jambs and lintel, featuring a triangular motif at the center. Additionally, there are three 17th-century cannons on 20th-century replica carriages positioned behind the battlements.

Historically, the tower was erected as part of the defenses of Plymouth Sound following the Civil War and is believed to be named after Captain Batten, who served as Governor of Plymouth during that time. The design of this tower is similar to Cromwell's Tower, built in 1651 on Tresco in the Isles of Scilly.