Beacon Hill Battery (also known as Beacon Hill Fort) was built to defend the port of Harwich, Essex. The site of a 1534 blockhouse, a new battery was built in 1888 with two breach loading (BL) guns and four quick firing (QF) guns, and a twin six-pounder in WWII.
Three sides of the site are protected by brand new 7' fencing, but the fencing on the fourth side is badly corroded and has a big hole, making access easy. People should hurry to visit before the council complete the entrapment. The ancillary buildings are very overgrown, but the emplacements are clear.
External links
Harwich Society description (http://users.quista.net/farnell/beacon_hill.htm)
BeaconHill is only a component of the defensive structures which were established in Harwich over the years.
Thus from start to finish the BeaconHillBattery was originated and developed in response to the interaction between technical advances in weapons, and political tensions, with the periodic threats of raids or invasion.
R M L. On 6 September 1888 authority was given to build on the new battery at BeaconHill, to be armed with a 10-inch BL and a 6-inch BL on HP carriages.
BeaconHill Fort is located on a natural south-east facing promontory on the south side of the Orwell Haven comprising the estuaries of both the River Orwell and the River Stour.
In 1804 a masonry tower was built on BeaconHill and six years later the Harwich Redoubt was built 100 metres to the north west of the fort.
A battery observation tower was constructed on top of the abandoned 4.7-inch emplacement, and a brick tower was constructed north of the fort for use in the early developments in radar at Bawdsey.
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