Monument record LWT 436 - South Fort

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Summary

Site of a coastal battery of 1744 and its successor battery of 1781-1880. Illustrated with fort plans.

Location

Grid reference TM 5550 9349 (point)
Map sheet TM59SE
Civil Parish LOWESTOFT, WAVENEY, SUFFOLK

Map

Type and Period (1)

Full Description

In 1744, a renewed attempt was made to defend Lowestoft by creating a 6-gun battery to the south of the town, but as so often before, within a very few years the guns were all dismounted and buried, and the battery ruinous. In 1781, an inspection of the fort by General Tryon found Lowestoft to be defended by two ruinous batteries and a rusty collection of cannon. Following this, three new batteries were built, to the designs of Colonel Debbeig, on the sites of the three previous batteries, at the south end of the town, on the Ness, and in what is now Belle Vue Park. This battery, Battery Green, was the largest of the batteries, and the fourth to be built on the site. It was an irregular hexagon surrounded by a ditch 18 feet deep and 15 feet wide and protected by a cheveaux-de-frize. th ebatery mounted 13 heavy guns in embrasures - ten 32-pounders and three 18-pounders. In the north-west corner was the magazine, and a guard room was provided. In the 1870s the council petitioned to turn the area of the fort into a park, and in 1880 the fort was sold to the Admiralty, who built a coastguard station behind it and obliterated the remains of the ramparts, (S1).

Sources/Archives (1)

  • <S1> Monograph: Kent, Peter. 1988. Fortifications of East Anglia.

Finds (0)

Protected Status/Designation

  • None recorded

Related Monuments/Buildings (0)

Related Events/Activities (0)

Record last edited

Jan 12 2022 1:36PM

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