Grey Point Fort: A Coastal Battery Defending Belfast Lough
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.4
- Popularity
- Low
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Primary era
- Modern
- External website
- Open
- Eras represented
- Modern
- Civilizations
- British
- Site type
- Military
- Remains
- Fort
On this page6 sections
History
Grey Point Fort is a coastal battery at Helen’s Bay near Bangor in the United Kingdom, forming part of the coastal defences of Belfast Lough. Construction began in 1904, and its guns were mounted by 1907 to control access to Belfast against a possible enemy invasion.
Construction and the First World War
The battery was built by W. J. Campbell and Son of Belfast. Its construction, together with that of the battery at Kilroot on the opposite side of Belfast Lough, was noted in the Owen Report of 1905, a report recording the development of the two coastal works. During the First World War, additional buildings were erected to house men of Kitchener’s Army, the large British volunteer army recruited during the conflict.
Second World War and later service
Two coastal-defence searchlights were installed in 1936. During the Second World War, the battery was operated by the 525th (Antrim) Coast Regiment, Royal Artillery, the British Army branch responsible for artillery, including coastal-defence guns. Both gun positions were then given concrete overhead covers.
Maintenance continued after the Second World War, and a mobile radar installation was added in 1954. The battery was disarmed in 1956 after coast artillery was abolished. Between 1992 and 1996, two guns from fortifications in County Cork were installed at Grey Point, one from Fort Mitchel on Spike Island and the other from Fort Davis.
Grey Point Fort is a State Care Monument of Northern Ireland, meaning that it is a protected historic monument maintained under the care of Northern Ireland’s public authorities. It contains a military-history museum and is controlled by the Northern Ireland Environment Agency.
Remains
Battery and gun positions
Grey Point Fort is constructed mainly from concrete and earth. Its two gun positions are arranged on either side of a central magazine, a protected store for ammunition. The battery was originally armed with two 6-inch Mark VII breech-loading guns, which were loaded through openings at the rear of their barrels. During the Second World War, concrete overhead covers were added above both positions. The fort remains intact and in good condition.
Searchlights, accommodation, and radar
The wider battery includes buildings added during the First World War for the accommodation of soldiers. Two coastal-defence searchlight installations date from 1936, while the mobile radar installation placed at the fort in 1954 represents its later adaptation to changing methods of coastal defence. The guns now installed at the position came from Fort Mitchel on Spike Island and Fort Davis in County Cork during the work carried out between 1992 and 1996. Access for people with physical disabilities is limited.
Nearby sites
