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Wellington Battery

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Coastal Battery (Second World War)

Site Name Wellington Battery

Classification Coastal Battery (Second World War)

Alternative Name(s) World War Ii; Car Ness; Carn Ness

Canmore ID 104705

Site Number HY41SE 52

NGR HY 4674 1450

NGR Description Centred HY 4674 1450

Datum OSGB36 - NGR

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/104705

Ordnance Survey licence number AC0000807262. All rights reserved.
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Digital Images

Oblique aerial view centred on the remains of the Wellington Battery, taken from the E.
Oblique aerial view centred on the remains of the Wellington Battery, taken from the E.Oblique aerial view.Oblique aerial view of Orkney, Car Ness, Car Ness and Wellington Batteries, taken from the NNE. Visible are the gun-emplacements, battery observation towers, searchlight platforms and Nissen huts for both batteries. The site of a heavy anti-aircraft battery is just discernable to the S.Oblique aerial view centred on Wellington coastal battery with Carness coastal battery adjacent, taken from the SE.Oblique aerial view of Orkney, Car Ness, Car Ness and Wellington Batteries, taken from the NW. Visible are the gun-emplacements, battery observation towers, searchlight platforms and Nissen huts for both batteries. The site of a heavy anti-aircraft battery is just discernable to the S.Oblique aerial view of Orkney, Car Ness, Car Ness and Wellington Batteries, from SE. Visible are the gun-emplacements, battery observation towers, searchlight platforms and Nissen huts for both batteries. The site of a heavy anti-aircraft battery is just discernable to the S.Oblique aerial view of Orkney, Car Ness, Car Ness and Wellington Batteries, from NE. Visible are the gun-emplacements, battery observation towers, searchlight platforms and Nissen huts for both batteries. The site of a heavy anti-aircraft battery is just discernable to the S.Oblique aerial view centred on Wellington coastal battery with Carness coastal battery adjacent, taken from the SSW.Oblique aerial view centred on Wellington coastal battery with Carness coastal battery adjacent, taken from the NE.Oblique aerial view centred on Wellington coastal battery with Carness coastal battery adjacent, taken from the NNW.General oblique aerial view of the cropmarks of the barrow cemetery at Carness with the battery beyond, taken from the SW.Oblique aerial view of Orkney, Car Ness, Car Ness and Wellington Batteries, from N. Visible are the gun-emplacements, battery observation towers, searchlight platforms and Nissen huts for both batteries. The site of a heavy anti-aircraft battery is just discernable to the S.Oblique aerial view centred on Wellington coastal battery with Carness coastal battery adjacent, taken from the SW.Oblque aerial view centred on the Wellington battery at Carness, taken from the N.

Administrative Areas

  • Council Orkney Islands
  • Parish Kirkwall And St Ola
  • Former Region Orkney Islands Area
  • Former District Orkney
  • Former County Orkney

Archaeology Notes

HY41SE 52.00 centred 4674 1450

For Carness Battery, see HY41SE 51.00

HY41SE 52.01 HY 46742 14507, HY 46731 14528 and HY 46702 14524 Gun-emplacements

HY41SE 52.02 HY 46723 14483 Observation post

HY41SE 52.03 HY 46816 14482 and HY 46625 14534 Searchlight battery

HY41SE 52.04 HY 46654 14459 and HY 46714 14480 Engine house; Building

Wellington Battery: Three 6-inch gun emplacements, magazines, shelters, observation post, engine room and searchlight platforms. The three 6-inch MkVII guns were on naval mountings. The battery was placed on care and maintainance in 1943. The emplacements are now used as animal pens.

J Guy 1993; NMRS MS 810/2; WO/192/115 PRO

A large 6-inch coast gun battery is situated to the W of a track at the northern end of Carn Ness. The surviving remains consists of three brick shuttered concrete gun-emplacements (HY41SE 52.01) with rectangular roofed crew shelters to the rear,shuttered concrete Battery Observation Post (BoP), engine room and a single searchlight platform. The site of the 6-inch shell magazine has been built over by a large modern farm shed.

All three gun-emplacements are now in use as animal pens and have had the open side closed off with wooden shuttering.

The coast battery is visible on RAF vertical air photographs (LEU/ UK 2, 7099-7101, flown 16 April 1948) which shows many of the hut bases for the accommodation camp and technical support. A plan of Wellington Battery is included with the gun record book ('Carness, plan of fort, scale 1:1875, layout of fort, map no.3'), held in the Public Record Office (PRO 192/110, 192/115), which annotates the use for which many of the buildings were used.

Wellington was armed in 1940 with three 6-inch Naval guns and was manned by 535 regiment (PRO WO 199/2627, WO 199/527).

Visited by RCAHMS (DE, GS), August 1999

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