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Rubha Nan Sasan, Cove Battery
Searchlight Battery (Second World War)
Site Name Rubha Nan Sasan, Cove Battery
Classification Searchlight Battery (Second World War)
Alternative Name(s) Loch Ewe Defences
Canmore ID 252850
Site Number NG89SW 4.03
NGR NG 81621 92058
NGR Description NG 81621 92058 and NG 81453 92171
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/252850
- Council Highland
- Parish Gairloch
- Former Region Highland
- Former District Ross And Cromarty
- Former County Ross And Cromarty
NG89SW 4.03 81621 92058 and 81453 92171
Two searchlight platforms situated on the flanks of the gun battery. Both constructed of brick and concrete and of standard design.
Visited by RCAHMS (DE), August 2000
Field Visit (4 September 2019 - 5 September 2019)
This searchlight battery comprises two lights about 200m apart. The SE light (NG 81622 92060) is approached from the WSW by a path made-up of rectangular concrete paving stones. Some of these have now become displaced where they overlie ground subject to waterlogging. The housing, itself, is recessed into a bare rocky promontory 28m NNE of a possible anti-aircraft gun emplacement (NG89SW 4.07) from where it has a fine outlook overlooking the mouth of the loch. It is rectangular on plan and measures 4.8m from NE to SW by 2.68m transversely within reinforced cast concrete walls up to 0.3m thick and 2.68m high – except on the NE where there is a parapet 0.68m high below a canopy forming the front of the flat roof. Hinges below the parapet and pivot holes on its top mark the former presence of iron shutters. A large circular vent in the roof above the position of the searchlight was provided to help dissipate its heat. A double doorway in the NW wall adjacent to the SW corner of the building provides access to the interior, but both the frame and the doors are missing. Internally, the ceiling bears the impression of the corrugated iron sheets with which it was shuttered during construction, while the walls are smooth. Both have been whitewashed, but the upper section of the compartment has subsequently been colour-washed in light and dark browns. In addition, thick horizontal and vertical black lines breaking up these colour fields in places. There are pegs in the walls for boards carrying electrical devices and baton marks for other fixtures, but the purpose of two small pipes just below the roof in the SW wall is uncertain. A duct for cabling in the concrete floor runs out from the midpoint of the SE wall towards where the searchlight was once located below the centre of the canopy.
The NW light (NG 81452 92171), which is of the same design, is approached from the SE by a similar path of rectangular concrete paving stones. Some are now twisted and displaced, especially where the ground steepens; but at such points they have been scored with lines to aid grip, with cement ridges being added where the possibility of slippage was considered a real danger. The housing, itself, is situated 30m NW of an engine-house (NG89SW 4.04) and like its counterpart, its footings are recessed into the bare rock immediately overlooking the loch. Its overall dimensions hardly differ, but it is orientated from NNE to SSW, with the double doorway in the ESE wall adjacent to the building’s SE corner. The internal washes to the ceiling and walls are similar and the only unusual feature is the survival of a length of the metal grating that originally covered the duct on the floor.
Visited by HES, Survey and Recording (ATW, AKK), 4-5 September 2019.
Measured Survey (4 September 2019)
HES surveyed the searchlight emplacement (NG 81452 92171) at Rubha nan Sasan with plane-table on 4 September 2019 at a scale of 1:100. The resultant plan and section were redrawn in vector graphics software at a scale of 1:200.
