Description

The monument is a coast artillery battery, built during the First World War and upgraded during the Second World War. It forms part of a network of coastal batteries constructed during both the First and Second World Wars to defend the key strategic naval harbour of Scapa Flow. Holm Battery overlooks and was built to protect Holm Sound, an important access route into Scapa Flow from the E (before the construction of the Churchill barriers). The remains are visible as a series of concrete structures, hut bases and communication and cabling trenches. The battery comprises two First World War 4-inch gun emplacements and three Second World War brick and concrete gun emplacements: two 12-pounder quick-firing (QF) gun emplacements and a twin 6-pounder emplacement. The associated remains include: a battery observation post; two crew shelters; magazines and searchlight emplacements; two engine houses; a machine gun nest; several concrete hut bases; and a series of cabling and communication trenches. The battery is located on a slope overlooking Holm Sound, at between 10-15m OD.

The scheduling consists of two areas, both irregular on plan, to include the remains described above and an area around them within which evidence relating to the monument's construction and use is expected to survive, as shown in red on the accompanying map. The scheduling specifically excludes the above-ground elements of the post-and-wire fences around the site and the top 300mm of the surface of the track to allow for their maintenance and upkeep.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

This monument is of national importance because it has an inherent potential to make a significant addition to our understanding of the past, specifically, the network of defences constructed in the First and Second World Wars to protect the key British naval harbour of Scapa Flow. This is a well-preserved example of a coast artillery battery in a strong strategic position, retaining some rare features (such as the unique searchlight emplacements) and showing multiple phases of construction. The monument offers considerable potential to study the relationship between the various components of the site, and its relationship both with the other elements of the Scapa Flow defences and the wider defences in place around Orkney and beyond. 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 both the First and Second World Wars, and diminish the association between Orcadians today and their ancestors who lived and served in the Wars. These monumental concrete structures are a tangible and powerful reminder of one of the defining events of the 20th century.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

RCAHMS records the monument as HY40SE 12.

References

Brown, I 2002, 20th Century Defences in Britain: an Introductory Guide, Council for British Archaeology, York.

Stell, G 2011, Orkney At War: Defending Scapa Flow, volume 1, World War I, Kirkwall, 89-93.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland