Documents

Where documents include maps, the use of this data is subject to terms and conditions (https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/termsandconditions).

The legal document available for download below constitutes the formal designation of the monument under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979. The additional details provided on this page are provided for information purposes only and do not form part of the designation. Historic Environment Scotland accepts no liability for any loss or damages arising from reliance on any inaccuracies within this additional information.

• Type

  Legal Documents

  Title

  SM13478_Legal Doc

  Download(https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/document/600014515)

Summary

Description

The monument is a First World War coastal battery, built in 1915 and in use until 1918. The battery comprises three concrete gun emplacements and two magazines. The gun emplacements are arranged in a horse-shoe shape facing SW and S across the NW approach to Scapa Flow, the home of the British Grand Fleet. Each of the gun emplacements has two ready-use ammunition lockers built into the concrete parapet on either side. The emplacements are connected to one magazine with double semi-circular rock-cut passages and the most westerly emplacement has a single passage to the second magazine. With the exception of the guns, which were removed at the end of the First World War, the battery survives in very good condition with many of its original features intact. The coastal battery is situated on a headland to the S of Stromness, 300m SSE of the Second World War Ness Battery complex. It is situated close to the coast, now within a golf course, at around 10m above OD with good views across Hoy Sound to the S and SW.

The scheduled area is irregular on plan to include the remains described above and an area around them within which evidence relating to the monument's construction, use and abandonment is expected to survive, as shown in red on the accompanying map. The scheduling specifically excludes the top 300mm of the golf course fairway that falls within the scheduled area, and the top 300mm of a landscaped area that runs between the westernmost emplacement and the W magazine to allow for their maintenance.

Statement of National Importance

The monument is of national importance as it has an inherent potential to make a significant contribution to our understanding of the past, particularly the defences built and manned as part of the extensive effort to defend Britain during the First World War, and specifically the key British naval harbour of Scapa Flow. The monument retains its field characteristics to a marked degree. The three gun emplacements and two magazines survive virtually intact, except for the guns. The battery is of particular interest as it is an unusual example, consisting of three gun emplacements, with smaller 5-inch guns, as opposed to the typical pairing of 6-inch guns. Its significance is further enhanced by the potential to compare this battery with numerous other contemporary defences in this area. This battery is the best-preserved of three batteries constructed near Stromness to protect Hoy Sound, the NW entrance to Scapa Flow. These batteries were particularly important because, unlike the other batteries defending Scapa Flow, they could not be supported by boom defences, anti-submarine defences or blockships as the strong currents in Hoy Sound prevented the deployment of such defences. If this monument was to be lost or damaged, it would significantly affect our ability to understand the nature and scale of the efforts made to defend Britain against enemy naval threats in the First World War, and diminish the associations between communities and their collective experience or memory of the war. These monumental concrete structures are a highly visible and powerful reminder of one of the defining events of the 20th century and of modern human history.

References

Bibliography

About Scheduled Monuments

Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating sites and places at the national level. These designations are Scheduled monuments, Listed buildings, Inventory of gardens and designed landscapes and Inventory of historic battlefields.

We make recommendations to the Scottish Government about historic marine protected areas, and the Scottish Ministers decide whether to designate.

Scheduling is the process that identifies, designates and provides statutory protection for monuments and archaeological sites of national importance as set out in the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979.

We schedule sites and monuments that are found to be of national importance using the selection guidance published in Designation Policy and Selection Guidance (2019)

Scheduled monument records provide an indication of the national importance of the scheduled monument which has been identified by the description and map. The description and map (see ‘legal documents’ above) showing the scheduled area is the designation of the monument under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979. The statement of national importance and additional information provided are supplementary and provided for general information purposes only. Historic Environment Scotland accepts no liability for any loss or damages arising from reliance on any inaccuracies within the statement of national importance or additional information. These records are not definitive historical or archaeological accounts or a complete description of the monument(s).

The format of scheduled monument records has changed over time. Earlier records will usually be brief. Some information will not have been recorded and the map will not be to current standards. Even if what is described and what is mapped has changed, the monument is still scheduled.

Scheduled monument consent is required to carry out certain work, including repairs, to scheduled monuments. Applications for scheduled monument consent are made to us. We are happy to discuss your proposals with you before you apply and we do not charge for advice or consent. More information about consent and how to apply for it can be found on our website at www.historicenvironment.scot.

Find out more about scheduling and our other designations at www.historicenvironment.scot/advice-and-support. You can contact us on 0131 668 8914 or at designations@hes.scot.