Saint Paul's Battery Explained

Saint Paul's Battery
Native Name:Batterija ta' San Pawl
Location:Marsaxlokk, Malta
Type:Artillery battery
Coordinates:35.8433°N 14.56°W
Open To Public:No
Site Area:13500m2[1]
Built:1881–1886
Used:1886–1900
Builder:British Empire
Materials:Limestone and concrete
Condition:Abandoned

Saint Paul's Battery (Maltese: Batterija ta' San Pawl), also known as Ta' Lombardi Battery (Maltese: Batterija ta' Lombardi), is an artillery battery in Marsaxlokk, Malta. It stands on high ground at the shoreward end of Delimara Point, above il-Ħofra-z-Zgħira. It is a polygonal fort and was built by the British from 1881 to 1886. It commands a field of fire northwards over St Thomas' Bay and Marsaskala.

Approximately 350m (1,150feet) south is Fort Tas-Silġ, a much larger polygonal style fortification.

History

St Paul's Battery was built between 1881 and 1886 by the British to help Fort Tas-Silġ cover the defence of St Thomas Bay. The battery has a D-shape, with three gun emplacements for RML 7 inch gun, which were mounted on six-foot platforms. Its gun crew and garrison were stationed at Fort Tas-Silġ.

The battery's guns were removed and it was abandoned around 1900 since it had lost its importance as a defensive position.[2]

Present day

The battery remains abandoned to this day and in very poor condition. It is covered with trees and shrubs and its ditch is filled with debris, but the gun emplacements, ditch and entrance to its underground magazine are still visible.[3]

In 2015, the battery was shortlisted as a possible site for the campus of the proposed American University of Malta. It was not chosen, and the campus is to be split up between Dock No. 1 in Cospicua and Żonqor Point in Marsaskala.[4]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: The American University of Malta - Preliminary Alternative Sites Evaluation Report. Office of the Prime Minister. https://web.archive.org/web/20151116215006/https://opm.gov.mt/en/Documents/AUM/Preliminary%20Alternative%20Sites%20Evaluation%20Report.pdf. 16 November 2015. 11. August 2015.
  2. Web site: Delimara Gas and Power Combined Cycle Gas Turbine and Liquefied Natural Gas receiving, storage and re-gasification facilities - Environmental Impact Assessment - Appendix Two Volume One. MEPA. ERSLI Consultants Ltd on behalf of Enemalta Corporation. https://web.archive.org/web/20150329025345/http://www.mepa.org.mt/EIACMS/documents/Delimara/B02i_CCGT-LNG_DPS_EIS_App02i_ESRs_A4_Simplex.pdf. 29 March 2015. 33. 20 December 2013.
  3. Web site: St Paul's Battery. Wikimapia. 31 December 2014.
  4. News: 'American' University to occupy Dock 1 buildings and reduced Zonqor site. 20 August 2015. Times of Malta. 20 August 2015.