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Puckpool Battery

Stand where the guns watched the Solent.

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The Sea-Face Guard · Puckpool Point22 seconds · sound on

Read the transcript

As technology advanced, the old fortress adapted.

The massive, slow-firing Victorian guns that once guarded Spithead were stripped away…

…replaced in the crisis of 1940 by fast-firing, high-angle anti-aircraft weaponry…

…to scan the skies for the Luftwaffe.

Did you know: the 1892 Armstrong protected barbettes mounted here were the only examples of their kind ever deployed in Great Britain.

The story

What happened here

Puckpool was built to hold the sea face — to cover the approach to Spithead from a low point on the shore.

The 1892 Armstrong protected barbettes mounted here were the only examples of their kind ever deployed in Great Britain.

Then the threat changed. The massive, slow-firing Victorian guns that once guarded Spithead were stripped away, replaced in the crisis of 1940 by fast-firing, high-angle anti-aircraft weaponry — and the crews stopped watching the water and started scanning the skies for the Luftwaffe.

Visit

Practical details

  • WherePuckpool Point, between Ryde and Seaview
  • Getting thereOn the coastal path from Appley. Parking at Puckpool Park.
  • OpeningOpen park land. Daylight recommended.
  • AccessibilitySurfaced coastal path; the battery earthworks are uneven.
  • Time needed20 minutes here; about two hours for the full walk from Ryde.
Nearby

While you are here

Café

The Dell Cafe

Continue your walk with food and refreshments nearby.

Get directions

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Go somewhere next

You are standing in it. Now walk to the next one.

Appley Tower

You've walked past Appley Tower. Now find out what you've been looking at.

Wartime Trail · Coming soon

Behind the story

Who made this

portrait-puckpool-battery800 × 800

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Sources

Where this comes from

  • Armstrong barbette records — 1892 emplacement type and deployment.
  • Wartime defence records — The 1940 conversion to anti-aircraft weaponry.
  • Site survey — Photography and measurements taken on site.

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