Description

The monument consists of the extensive remains of a Second World War emergency coast battery, built in 1941. Surviving structural elements include two gun houses in each of which a 6" Mark 7 (naval) gun would have been mounted, two searchlight emplacements, a battery observation post, engine houses or generating rooms, magazines and two emplacements for (possibly 20mm Oerlikon) anti-aircraft guns.

The remains of other unidentified buildings can also be seen, while evidence of accommodation blocks survives in the form of concrete floors to the S and W, mainly outwith the area proposed for scheduling.

The battery was hastily erected at a time when there was a perceived threat of German attack on the British coast and, for this reason, is known as an emergency battery. The battery, as well as protecting the Loch Ewe anchorage, provided covering fire for an examination vessel which checked the credentials of all ships entering the anchorage.

From January to September 1942 the site was manned by 308 Independent Coast Battery (Royal Artillery) and from September 1942 until April 1944 by 154 Independent Battery, after which date it was placed on a care and maintenance basis. There is no record of the battery ever firing in anger.

The area to be scheduled is irregular in plan, extending a maximum of 175m N-S by 200m E-W, defined to the N and E by the top of low rocky coastal slopes, to the W by the top of a low escarpment and to the S by a line extending from the end of the access track eastward to the head of a small creek, all as marked in red on the accompanying plan.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

The monument is of national importance as, arguably, the most outstanding surviving emergency coast battery on mainland Scotland, and possibly in the UK. The assemblage of buildings at Cove is typical of emergency batteries constructed at other strategic points around the British coast at this time, and includes survivals of all the key elements of such an installation. The condition and extent of the battery, with so many surviving elements, make it a rare example which enables less well-preserved or documented sites to be more easily identified and interpreted.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography
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Source: Historic Environment Scotland