The 1859
Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom identified Whitsand Bay as a weak point in the defences of
Plymouth and proposed two
Palmerston forts; Polhawn Battery at the eastern end, whose guns would cover the beaches and prevent an amphibious assault, and
Fort Tregantle at the western end which prevented an overland approach.
Polhawn Battery The battery was designed by Captain
Edmund Frederick Du Cane and was completed in 1864. It is a two-storey work built of limestone with granite facings, sited on the cliff overlooking the bay. The upper storey consists of seven
casemates which originally housed
68-pounder guns. The lower floor consisted of accommodation and a magazine. The rear was protected by a narrow ditch, crossed by a
drawbridge at roof level and defended by three
caponiers and numerous
loopholes in the rear wall. In 1885, the smoothbore guns were replaced by seven
64-pounder rifled muzzle-loaders, which served until 1898; a proposal to replace them with two
6-pounder quick-firing guns was not implemented. During the First World War, the battery was used for accommodation for gunnery officers and the magazine was used as a military detention cell. The battery was sold by the
War Office in 1927, becoming a hotel and tea room; the name appears to have changed to Polhawn Fort at this time. It was sold again in 1968 and has been restored as a hotel and wedding venue.
Tregantle Fort At the western end of Whitsand Bay,
Tregantle Fort stands 360 feet above sea level. It is
hexagonal in shape and is surrounded by a ditch on three sides. The fort was completed in 1865 and included a barracks designed for 1,000 men. It was intended to be armed with 22
7-inch guns but only seven were ever fitted. It was used for musketry training during World War I and gas warfare training and accommodation for US troops in World War II. It is currently part of the Defence Estate and is regularly used as a live firing range with red flag warnings and the path down to the beach closed.
Tregantle Down Battery was also built a short distance from the fort between 1888 and 1894.
Whitsand Bay Battery When the
Stanhope Committee reviewed the country's defences in 1887, it was realised that naval artillery had improved so much that it would have been possible for enemy warships to anchor in the Bay and bombard Plymouth without being threatened by the existing forts. To counter this threat, a battery of three
12.5 inch rifled muzzle-loaders and two
6 inch breech-loaders was constructed near Stone Farm at the top of Tregonhawke Cliff. The RML guns were mounted in concrete open barbettes and 6-inch guns on Hydropneumatic disappearing carriages. The battery was strongly fortified against land attack with a dry moat protected by three
caponiers. It was completed in 1893 at a cost of £25,991. but The 6-inch guns did not stay in place very long and were removed in 1897. Despite recommendations for rearming during the First World War, the RMLs remained the sole armament until the battery was fully disarmed in 1920. During
World War II, the battery was used for
radar training, as part of the Coast Artillery Training Centre, Plymouth. It was released by the military in 1951 and became a caravan park. Although the ditch has been filled-in, many of the original features can still be seen. ==References==