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Summary

An angled battery consisting of a platform behind stone walls, associated with the Elizabethan curtain wall across the Garrison neck.

Protected Status

• Listed Building (I) 62521: OUTER WALLS AND GATEWAY
• Scheduled Monument 15434: POST-MEDIEVAL BREASTWORK, CURTAIN WALL AND ASSOCIATED DEFENSIVE STRUCTURES ON THE PERIPHERY OF THE GARRISON, ST MARY'S

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: SV 91 SW 321
• National Monuments Record: SV 91 SW 322
• National Record of the Historic Environment to Historic Environment Records data transfer
• National Record of the Historic Environment: 1445595
• National Record of the Historic Environment: 1445599
• NBR Index Number: 111235
• OS No. (OS Quarter-sheet and OS No.): SV91SW 30.8
• Primary Record No. (1985-2009): 7906.09
• SMR No. (OS Quarter-sheet and SMR No.): SV91SW 31

Monument Type(s):

• BATTERY (17th Century - 1601 AD to 1700 AD)

Full description

Prior to the 1994 revision of the Garrison defences SMR, this site was recorded under PRN 7423.12 (b15).
An angled battery consisting of a platform behind stone walls, associated with the Elizabethan curtain wall across the Garrison neck (7906.04) and rebuilt in the C18, is situated on the low cliff on the north end of the isthmus. It is a Listed Building, Grade I and is a Scheduled site (h1). The 1655 plan shows Well plat(form) with NNE and ENE faces and short NW and SE sides, ditch on the east (7906.04), and C17 breastwork (7904.03) running NW from its NW corner (b1). Mid-C18 plans indicate it was rebuilt on the same site with a rear wall (b4, b5). Troutbeck's 1796 survey records a sundial on the E side of the battery and 5.4-pdrs mounted (b7), among the smallest cannon then on the garrison (b14). North in 1850 mentions 'the Master Gunner battery' here with three 18-pdr cannonades (b9). The west section of the rear wall was apparently removed by 1888 (b10) and the south by the 1980s (b12). Thomas notes that the names Well platform and Well battery refer to the nearby Gunners Well (7900.01) and the 'Master Gunner battery' refers to the Master Gunner Abraham Tovey's house (7905.05) beside the well (b13). The 1978 OS fieldworker describes the battery as rebuilt between 1715 and 1742, with walling 2.0m high now retaining a private garden (h2). The site was visited in 1988 (h3). A 1991 survey shows a recently built wall on the south side of the battery (h4). In 1993 Elizabethan stonework of irregular medium-large granite with some shaping for quoins was noted on the outer faces, with 3 or 4 courses of C18 ashlar above in some sections and forming the parapet inside (h5). The platform is paved on the north and west and drained through rectangular openings with no external spouts, three in the north wall and one in west. Part is used as a lawn and a wooden summer house stands in the SE corner. The monument is included in the Schedule.
(b15) - Parkes, C, 1994, Pers Comm, ,

The monument was described in 1995 (15): The Gunners Well Battery occupies the northernmost bastion, on the coastal cliff at the end of the c 1601curtain wall, It is pentagonal, pointing north east with the c.1601 curtain wall extending SSE and a later curtain wall extending to the NW. As it now survives, the battery walls enclose an internal area measuring up to 19m wide by 12.5m. The rear of the battery is not defined by an original wall. The battery's projecting outer walls are largely of the distinctive uncoursed irregular fabric with more regular quoins that denotes the c. 1601 masonry. The 1655 plan shows it to be of the same pentagonal shape as it is today but with a ditch outside its east and west faces and a breastwork extending the defensive circuit to the NW. On an illustration of 1669 buildings are depicted clustered around a well 20m SSW which gave the battery that element of its name.

The ashlar wall's large block fabric is typical of the mid 18th century works on the Garrison; this and the fact that it revets the battery interior against a 2m drop to the west strongly supports the view that is an original feature of the mid 18th century refurbishment of this battery. The rear of the battery is not defined by an original wall. The battery's projecting outer walls are largely of the distinctive uncoursed irregular fabric with more regular quoins that denotes the c.1601 masonry, supporting the historical evidence that this battery is not only on the site of the original defence's but actually preserves its outer form and fabric without major change. The walls rise c.3m to 4m above the coastal edge to the north and the modern yards to the east. The upper courses of the battery walls and the whole of its parapet are clearly a later addition employing coursed regular slabs. The parapet is 1.7m wide and 0.8m high on the inner face, built of large ashlar slabs, which together with its drainage slots indicate a rebuild probably in the later part of the 1715-50 period. The battery¿s SE flanking parapet is different; it stands 1.4m high on the inner face and is raised by courses of much smaller slabs. This fabric matches the that used to heighten the adjoining length of c. 1601 curtain wall and may reflect an earlier refurbishment similar to that at the Upper Benham to Lower Broom curtain walls that may indicate and early to mid 17th century date or an early post-1715 date may be preferable. The interior of the battery is under a lawn. Paved hardstandings for single guns extend back from the NW and SE flanks. A much broader paved hardstanding extends back from the battery¿s north-facing parapet. These hardstandings, characteristic features of the mid -18th century refurbishments, were levelled into the interior with backscarps c 0.15m high

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Site history:
1: 1958. UNKNOWN/IAM
2: 1978. NJA/OS
3: 1988. WATERS, A/CAU
4: 1991. UNKNOWN/EH
5: 1993. RATCLIFFE, J/CAU
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<1> UNKNOWN, 1665, A MAP OF THE HEW HILL THE CHEIFFE FFORTIFICATIONS, DD GO 575 (Unedited Source). SCO5453.

<2> Bowley, RL (Ed), 1980, The Fortunate Islands, 53 (Bibliographic reference). SCO5086.

<3> Lilly, C, 1715, A Plan of the Hugh (Unpublished document). SCO3869.

<4> UNKNOWN, 1742, A PLAN OF HUGH FORT ALIAS THE STAR CASTLE (Unedited Source). SCO5544.

<5> Tovey, A, 1750, A Plan of the Peninsula and Fortifications on St Mary's (Bibliographic reference). SCO4950.

<6> Heath, R, 1750, A Natural and Historical Account of the Islands of Scilly (Bibliographic reference). SCO3486.

<7> Troutbeck, J, 1796, Survey of the Ancient and Present State of the Scilly Islands (Bibliographic reference). SCO4965.

<8> Birch, JF, 1974, Plan of the Garrison on the Island of Saint Mary, Scilly (Bibliographic reference). SCO2851.

<9> North, IW, 1850, A Week in the Isles of Scilly (Bibliographic reference). SCO4004.

<10> Ordnance Survey, 1880s, 1st Edition 1:2500 Map (Cartographic materials). SCO4048.

<11> Ordnance Survey, 1900s, 2nd Edition 1:2500 Map (Cartographic materials). SCO4050.

<12> Ordnance Survey, 1970s, 1:10,000 OS Map (Cartographic materials). SCO4045.

<13> THOMAS, AC, 1989, THE NAMES OF THE BATTERIES ON THE GARRISON, ST MARY'S, ISLES IF SCILLY (Unedited Source). SCO8924.

<14> Carpenter, AC, 1984, The Cannon of Pendennis and St. Mawes Castles, Cornwall, 64 (Bibliographic reference). SCO5087.

<15> Field Investigator's Comments, MPPA/Hooley, D. 1995. (Survey). SCO29739.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• ECO3128 - Garrison Walls, Isles of Scilly, conservation plan
• ECO6309 - The Garrison, St. Mary's: Survey
• ECO3363 - The Garrison, St Marys: Survey, 2006-2011 (Ref: 39-2011)

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