Mount Edgecumbe Blockhouse was built c1540 across the water from Devil's
Point. It is situated in the gardens of Mount Edgcumbe House, and is open
all year round.
Between 1770 and 1780 Cawsand, Barn Pool and Amherst Batteries, and the
Maker Heights and Cremyll Redoubts were constructed to protect the southern
approach to Plymouth.
From 1860 to 1890 five additional batteries were built along the western
coast of the The Sound and Cawsand Bay.
Cawsand Battery
1779
It was built in 1on the site of an earlier battery dating from 1779, and in recent years has been converted to residential use.It
had 10 guns until 1895 when it was equipped with modern Quick Firing
guns. It was used until 1926.
Barn Pool Battery
1770
Maker Redoubts 1 to 5
1779-1790
Initally earthworks, Makers 4 and 5 were rebuilt in
stone in 1790. Redoubt No.5 was completed in 1783 and served to protect
theothers. Rather inaccessible and overgrown, it can be seen from
the Cremyll Road. Grenville Battery (Maker Redoubt 4) can be reached
by public footpath. It was constructed in 1887 within No.4 Redoubt.
Empacombe Battery
1803
Built in stone, also known as Maker Redoubt No. 6 .
Amherst Battery
1779
Cremyll Redoubt
1779
Picklecombe Battery
1849
The first battery was constructed of earth, but between
1864 and 1871 it was rebuilt into an imposing structure with granite
casemates and iron shields. Armed with fourty two 9" and 10" RML guns
it was at that time one of the three main gun platforms, along with
Bovisand Battery, Breakwater Fort and Drake's Island, protecting The
Sound. By the 1890s it was equipped with new armament, two Quick Firing
(QF) and two 6" Breech Loading (BL) guns. It was part of the World
War 2 fortifications. The iron shields have been removed and it has
been converted to housing with two new storeys added on the roof.
Garden Battery
1862 -63
Its granite casemates for 7 guns are in good condition
and can be seen in the gardens of Mount Edgcumbe House. It was still
in use in 1911 equipped with two Quick Firing guns.
Raleigh Battery
c1890
Once equipped with 10 inch BL guns, is now overgrown
and privately owned.
Hawkins Battery
c1890
It was a High Angle Battery initially with 9 inch RML
guns, but updated with two 9 inch BL guns by 1911. It is now a caravan
park.
Maker Battery
c1890
Equipped with one 12.5 inch Rifled Muzzle Loading (RML)
gun and two 6 inch BL guns in 1895. Current status unknown.
Polhawn Battery
1862-67
There were seven RML guns installed in its armoured casemates (designed for ten guns)
which had eight foot thick walls. It was sold in 1927 and is now a hotel specialising
in weddings. It still has a working drawbridge.
