Princess Caroline's Battery

File:Three princesses by Maingaud.jpg (Anne, Amelia, and Caroline), after whom three batteries in Gibraltar were named]]

Princess Caroline's Battery (pictured at right) is in Gibraltar, the British Overseas Territory at the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula.{{cite web|title=List of Crown Dependencies & Overseas Territories|url=http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/publications-and-documents/treaties/uk-overseas-territories/list-crown-dependencies-overseas|work=fco.gov.uk|publisher=Foreign and Commonwealth Office|access-date=13 October 2012}}{{cite news|title=Neandertals' Last Stand Was in Gibraltar, Study Suggests|url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/09/060913-neanderthals.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061114082310/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/09/060913-neanderthals.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=14 November 2006|access-date=13 October 2012|newspaper=National Geographic News|date=13 September 2006|author=Roach, John|agency=National Geographic Society}} The artillery battery is located at the northern end of the Upper Rock Nature Reserve, above the Moorish Castle and below Princess Anne's Battery. The site is at the junction of Willis's Road and Queen's Road, and is accessed from town via the former.{{cite web|title=Upper Rock Nature Reserve|url=http://www.discovergibraltar.com/pages/mainlogo/mainfrm.htm|work=discovergibraltar.com|publisher=DiscoverGibraltar.com (Click Upper Rock Nature Reserve)|access-date=14 October 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130905140025/http://www.discovergibraltar.com/pages/mainlogo/mainfrm.htm|archive-date=5 September 2013}}{{cite web|title=Criminal Offences - Restricted Areas Notice|url=http://www.gibraltarlaws.gov.gi/articles/1968.08.20.pdf|work=gibraltarlaws.gov.gi|publisher=Government of Gibraltar|access-date=14 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120725162546/http://www.gibraltarlaws.gov.gi/articles/1968.08.20.pdf|archive-date=25 July 2012|url-status=dead}} It was constructed in 1732 and named after Princess Caroline of Great Britain (pictured at left), the third daughter of King George II.{{cite web|title=Military Heritage|url=http://www.gibraltar.gi/tourism/?language=en&category=1&item=5|work=gibraltar.gi|publisher=Official Gibraltar Website|access-date=13 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130616064304/http://www.gibraltar.gi/tourism/?language=en&category=1&item=5|archive-date=16 June 2013|url-status=dead}} Princess Anne's Battery is often mistakenly referred to as Princess Caroline's Battery, because access to the former is through the junction with Willis's Road, adjacent to the latter battery.

The battery saw action during the Great Siege of Gibraltar and required repairs.{{cite book|title=History of the Late Siege of Gibraltar|url=http://www.dotcom.gi/siege/chapter05.htm|author=Bethune, John Drinkwater|author-link=John Drinkwater Bethune|access-date=14 October 2012|chapter=Chapter 5}}{{cite book|title=A history of the late siege of Gibraltar|year=1786|edition=2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yT4OAAAAQAAJ&q=Princess+Caroline%27s+Battery&pg=PA294|author=Bethune, John Drinkwater|access-date=14 October 2012|page=181}} In 1871, the battery featured a 9-inch rifled muzzle loading gun, with an Elswick Ordnance Company carriage and platform.{{cite book|title=Extracts from Proceedings ..., Volume 9|year=1872|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ggg0AQAAMAAJ&q=Princess+Caroline%27s+Battery&pg=PA145|author=Great Britain. War Office. Dept. of Director of Artillery|access-date=14 October 2012|pages=144–145}} In 1905, the battery was refurbished to accommodate the 6 inch Mark VII gun (pictured below) that was installed on top of the magazine. While the battery has been decommissioned and the gun removed, the same hoists (pictured below) that were utilised to arm the weapon are still present.{{cite web|title=Princess Caroline's Battery Memorial, Gibralta|url=http://www.roll-of-honour.com/Overseas/gibraltarbattery.html|work=roll-of-honour.com|publisher=Roll of Honour|access-date=13 October 2012}}{{cite web|title=Princess Caroline's Battery and Military Heritage Centre|url=http://www.discovergibraltar.com/pages/mainlogo/mainfrm.htm|work=discovergibraltar.com|publisher=DiscoverGibraltar.com (Click Upper Rock Nature Reserve, then Princess Caroline's Battery and Military Heritage Centre)|access-date=14 October 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130905140025/http://www.discovergibraltar.com/pages/mainlogo/mainfrm.htm|archive-date=5 September 2013}} The explosive charges that propelled the 6 inch gun's shells were housed in a room with three small interior windows. Lanterns in the windows illuminated the cartridge storage chamber without the risks inherent with an open flame. The explosive charges were passed through the dispensing hatch (pictured below) at the floor level and were then raised by a hoist to those manning the gun. In order to avoid the danger of an inadvertent explosion caused by a spark, soldiers changed their clothes in an adjacent annex, and even wore special footwear.

File:Princess Caroline's Battery 6 inch gun.png on top of the magazine at Princess Caroline's Battery in Gibraltar]]

The Military Heritage Centre at Princess Caroline's Battery is a small underground exhibition centre.{{cite web|title=Princess Caroline|url=http://www.visitgibraltar.uk.com/attractions/princess-caroline/item/princess-caroline|work=visitgibraltar.uk.com|publisher=Gibraltar Tourist Board|access-date=13 October 2012}}{{cite web|title=Historical Gibraltar Attractions (continued)|url=http://www.gibraltarinformation.com/gibraltar-attractions-2.html|work=gibraltarinformation.com|access-date=13 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120226201055/http://www.gibraltarinformation.com/gibraltar-attractions-2.html|archive-date=26 February 2012|url-status=dead}} In addition to relics from the battery, the facility is home to the Memorial Chamber. The relics exhibited date from the eighteenth century to the present, and include weapons, shells, and other artefacts. The Memorial Chamber features the roll call of those regiments deployed to Gibraltar since the early eighteenth century. In addition, the ensigns of the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy are displayed in the Memorial Chamber (pictured below). There is also a monument which commemorates British Regiments. While no names are listed on the monument, the dedication is inscribed on its face: "Dedicated To The Memory Of All Those Who Have Made The Supreme Sacrifice In Defence Of Gibraltar."

Princess Caroline's Battery is listed with the Gibraltar Heritage Trust.{{cite web|title=Gibraltar Heritage Trust Act 1989|url=http://www.gibraltarlaws.gov.gi/articles/1989-12o.pdf|work=gibraltarlaws.gov.gi|publisher=Government of Gibraltar|access-date=14 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120827091758/http://www.gibraltarlaws.gov.gi/articles/1989-12o.pdf|archive-date=27 August 2012|url-status=dead}} The site is under the supervision of the Gibraltar Tourist Board, although its day-to-day operation is licensed to a private company. The arrangement is similar to that for O'Hara's Battery, although the latter was opened more recently to the public, in 2010.{{cite news|title=O'Hara's Battery becomes visitor attraction|url=http://www.panorama.gi/localnews/headlines.php?action=view_article&article=5975|access-date=14 October 2012|newspaper=Gibraltar news from Panorama|date=20 May 2010}}

In May 2011, Princess Caroline's Battery and Princess Anne's Battery were the themes of the 22nd annual painting contest sponsored by the Gibraltar Heritage Trust. Prizes were awarded to the winners of the competition by the Governor of Gibraltar Sir Adrian Johns.{{cite news|title=Gib Heritage Trust Painting Winners Bring 'Batteries' Into Focus|url=http://www.chronicle.gi/headlines_details.php?id=21759|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130107143846/http://www.chronicle.gi/headlines_details.php?id=21759|url-status=dead|archive-date=7 January 2013|access-date=13 October 2012|newspaper=Gibraltar Chronicle|date=19 May 2011|author=Mascarenhas, Alice}}

File:Princess Caroline's Battery hoist.png|Military Heritage Centre, with an original hoist used to arm the gun above the magazine

File:Princess Caroline's Battery Military Heritage Centre.png|Military Heritage Centre, with annex to the left and cartridge storage room to the right

File:Princess Caroline's Battery Memorial Chamber.png|Memorial Chamber in the Military Heritage Centre, formerly the cartridge storage room

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• [http://www.roll-of-honour.com/Overseas/gibraltarbattery.html Photograph of Monument in the Memorial Chamber of the Military Heritage Centre at Princess Caroline's Battery]

{{Fortifications of Gibraltar}}

Category:Artillery battery fortifications in Gibraltar

Category:Coastal artillery

Category:Monuments and memorials to British women