Description

The monument is the remains of a coastal artillery battery and associated accommodation camp, established in 1915 and used during the First World War. It is visible as a series of upstanding concrete structures, with associated earthwork and concrete remains. It forms part of a network of coastal batteries built to defend the key strategic harbour of Scapa Flow: this battery was one of six covering the southern approaches to Scapa Flow. It is located on the coast at Roan Head at around 10m above sea level, overlooking the Sound of Hoxa to the SE.

The main battery comprises four gun emplacements, together with a magazine, access trenches with traverses and a number of ancillary and support structures surviving as earthworks and concrete bases.

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 and use is expected to survive, as shown in red on the accompanying map. The scheduling specifically excludes the above-ground elements of all post-and-wire fences in the area and the above-ground elements of the modern shipping beacon to allow for their maintenance.

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 World War to defend the key strategic harbour at Scapa Flow. This is a well-preserved example of a coastal battery, with remains of its associated accommodation camp. Its significance is enhanced by the rare survival of features such as the traverses in the magazine access trenches and the adaptor plates for the guns. The monument offers considerable potential to study the relationship between the various elements of the site, and to enhance our understanding both of the Scapa Flow defences and the wider defences in place around Orkney and beyond. These monumental concrete structures are a tangible and powerful reminder of one of the defining events of the 20th century. 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 association between Orcadians today and those who lived and served in Orkney during the war.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

RCAHMS records the monument as ND39NE1.

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

Stell, G 2010, Orkney at War: Defending Scapa Flow - Volume 1: World War 1, The Orcadian, Kirkwall, 68-72.

Canmore

https://canmore.org.uk/site/81808/

Source: Historic Environment Scotland