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Archaeology Notes

Event ID 720611

Category Descriptive Accounts

Type Archaeology Notes

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/720611

NT67NE 53 68112 79348

See also NT67NE 18 and NT67NE 147 : this battery is situated between the two harbours at Dunbar.

Not to be confused with Dunbar Castle (NT 6782 7930), for which see NT67NE 8.

(NT 6811 7934) Battery (NAT) (rems of)

OS 6" map (1971)

This fort was erected in 1781 to protect the town of Dunbar from sudden invasion but more particularly to protect it from privateers. The battery mounted sixteen guns of differing calibres which were removed to Edinburgh when the fort was dismantled at the end of the Peninsular War.

Name Book 1853; NSA 1845 (J Jaffray)

The remains of this 18th century battery consist of a strong wall surrounding the site with an archway (with beam-holes in the jambs) to the W and embrasures for cannon in the other three sides. Internally the stone platforms for the guns and vaulted apartments are still visible and detail on the walls shows where roofed buildings had at one time abutted. The remains are in good condition.

Surveyed at 1:2500.

Visited by OS (DT) 28 August 1962.

The Battery, on Lamer Island, was built after an American ship had attempted to raid the harbour in 1781. It is a red-sandstone structure with an open gun-platform, embrasures for sixteen guns, and a covered magazine and quarters for the garrison.

A Graham 1971

Fort erected in 1781. Generally as described in RCAHMS. The site was not visited because the swing bridge was open. However the remains appeared to be in good condition except for two walls extending from the main building to these which are eroding at the seaward end.

Site recorded by GUARD during the Coastal Assessment Survey for Historic Scotland, 'The Firth of Forth from Dunbar to the Coast of Fife' 1996.

NT 6811 7934 A programme of historic building recording work was required as part of a conservation plan for the

development of Lamer Island as a visitor centre. The survey from 18-24 September 2007 identified that the D-shaped Battery underwent at least four phases of alteration as it developed from a late 18th-century military battery fortification into an invalid hospital for soldiers during the First World War. Many of the footings and features of its military life were present, although often in a fragmented form. All standing remains of the hospital structure have been removed, although the presence of a central drain and channels for iron framing are still visible in the fabric of the building.

An archaeological evaluation was also required and investigated a total area of 59m2 on the island. A number of previously unknown structural archaeological remains were recorded, such as a blocked-off passageway or guardroom and stone settings for a wooden gantry or platform. The original floor surface of the upper level of the battery was recognised. An exterior cottage structure was also investigated.

Archive to be deposited with RCAHMS.

Funder: Dunbar Harbour Trust.

Rob Engl and Suzanne Lilley, 2007.

People and Organisations

References