Charles Hill Battery

HES surveyed searchlight emplacement No.2 at Charles Hill Battery on 29 August 2022 with tape and laser measurer at scale of 1:100. The resultant plan was redrawn in vector graphics software at a scale of 1:100.

HES surveyed searchlight emplacement No.3 at Charles Hill Battery on 26 August 2022 with tape and laser measurer at scale of 1:100. The resultant plan and section were redrawn in vector graphics software at a scale of 1:100.

This searchlight battery is situated on the eastern tip of the promontory immediately S of the gun emplacement (NT18SE 27.1) from which it is reached via a contemporary flight of concrete steps. It comprises three reinforced concrete buildings set at different angles and broadly facing E. They are described from N to S.

NT 18641 83776. This reinforced concrete building measures 4.88m by 2.9m transversely within walls 0.46m thick and it is orientated roughly E and W. It is rectangular on plan but with a rounded E end that contains three narrow (120mm) vertical slots 1.1m in height through which the searchlight beams once shone. The height of the ceiling is 2.44m at the W end and 2.28m at the E end, reflecting a slope in the roof down towards the River Forth. A doorway (1.53m wide) at the W end of the N side once had double doors but it is now devoid of all its fittings except truncated hinges. The doorway was served by a short flight of steps set into the natural slope into which the rear of the building was levelled. A 1.1m high brick retaining wall stands less than 1m from the rear of the building. A channel in the floor, which measures 150mm in depth, 300mm in breadth and 3.66m in length, runs from an aperture at the foot of the wall in the middle of the W end along the centre of the floor towards but not reaching the E end. It would have originally housed electricity and telephone cabling. An aperture measuring about 200mm in diameter which punctures the flat roof directly above the E end of the channel is likely to have housed a vent to allow the extremely hot air generated by the searchlight to be expelled. A small (90mm diameter) hole in the ceiling roughly halfway along the S side probably indicates the original presence of a stove. The function of a 150mm diameter ceramic pipe set into the concrete floor in the SW corner is not known. Both the internal and external walls bear graffiti.

NT 18642 83766. This reinforced concrete building measures 6.41m by 2.9m transversely within walls 0.46m thick and it is orientated WNW and ESE. It is rectangular on plan but with a rounded ESE end that contains three narrow (160mm) vertical slots through which the searchlight beams once shone. The height of the ceiling is 2.44m at the W end and 2.28m at the E end, reflecting a slope in the roof down towards the River Forth. A doorway (1.53m wide) at the W end of the N side once had double doors but it is now devoid of all its fittings except truncated hinges. The doorway was served by a short flight of steps set into the natural slope into which the rear of the building was levelled. Representing this is a cut (0.5m in depth) into the natural slope behind the building. A channel in the floor, which measures 150mm in depth, 300mm in breadth and 3.68m in length, runs from an aperture at the foot of the wall in the middle of the W end along the centre of the floor towards but not reaching the E end. It would have originally housed electricity and telephone cabling. An aperture measuring about 200mm in diameter which punctures the flat roof directly above the E end of the channel is likely to have housed a vent to allow the extremely hot air generated by the searchlight to be expelled. A small (90mm diameter) hole in the ceiling roughly halfway along the S side probably indicates the original presence of a stove. The function of a 150mm diameter ceramic pipe set into the concrete floor in the SW corner is not known. Both the internal and external walls bear graffiti.

NT 18637 83757. This reinforced concrete building measures 4.87m by 2.9m transversely within walls 0.46m thick and it is orientated NW and SE. It is rectangular on plan but with a rounded SE end that contains three narrow (120mm) vertical slots through which the searchlight beams once shone. The height of the ceiling is 2.44m at the W end and 2.28m at the SE end, reflecting a slope in the roof down towards the River Forth. A doorway (1.53m wide) at the NW end of the NE side once had double doors but it is now devoid of all its fittings except truncated hinges. A channel in the floor, which measures 150mm in depth by 300mm in breadth and 3.8m in length, runs from an aperture at the foot of the wall in the middle of the NW end along the centre of the floor towards but not reaching the SE end. It would have originally housed electricity and telephone cabling. An aperture measuring about 200mm in diameter which punctures the flat roof directly above the SE end of the channel is likely to have housed a vent to allow the extremely hot air generated by the searchlight to be expelled. A small (90mm diameter) hole in the ceiling roughly halfway along the NE side probably indicates the original presence of a stove. The function of a 150mm diameter ceramic pipe set into the concrete floor in the W corner is not known. Both the internal and external walls bear graffiti.

Visited by HES Archaeological Survey (J. Sherriff; A. McCaig) 25 July 2022.