South Shields, Park Battery

HER Number:
966

District:
S Tyneside

Site Name:
South Shields, Park Battery

Place:
South Shields

Map Sheet:
NZ36NE

Class:
Defence

Site Type: Broad:
Battery

Site Type: Specific:
Coastal Battery

General Period:
Modern

Specific Period:
C20

Form of Evidence:
Documentary Evidence

Description:
In May 1940 Devon Battery, Royal Marines, arrived with two 6-inch Mk XII/VII guns. In March 1941 they were replaced by 348 Coast Battery, with two 6-inch Mk XI/VI guns from Frenchman's Battery to the south. For a time in 1941-3 the guns were removed, and only a searchlight remained, while a new battery was constructed, and in 1943 three 5.25-inch Anti-Aircraft/coast defence guns were installed. When the Coast Defence role ceased in 1951 the battery was handed over to AA Command and finally, in 1956, the battery was dismantled, and the site landscaped by South Shields Corporation. The site has recently been assessed by the Defence of Britain Project: it is in a very bad condition, but gun emplacements and layout were visible as parch marks on aerial photographs of 1994.

Easting:
368

Northing:
678

Grid Reference:
NZ368678

Lats/Lons:

Sources:
<< HER 966 >> D.H. Clarke & A. Rudd, 1989, The Defences of Tyneside, Park Battery, South Shields, Fortress Study Group Conference, p. 10 Defence of Britain Project, 2002, Defence of Britain Database, S0015123 D. Clarke & A. Rudd, 1989 Tyneside in the Breech Loading Era Fortress, No. 3, pp 33-42; English Heritage Hadrian's Wall WHS Mapping Project, 2008, 1399283; Aerial Photograph RAF 58/B/32 5422 16-MAY-1948