Sandown Barrack Battery, a 19th century Royal Commission coastal battery, situated on the cliff top approximately 2 kilometres south-west of Sandown Fort. Construction began on the battery in 1861 and was completed in 1863. It was rectilinear in plan, with the cliff edge open and the sides and rear enclosed by a dry moat containing a loopholed brick wall. Entry was via a drawbridge and gate on the landward side, protected by demi-bastions projecting from the wall. The northern demi-bastion was also used as the cookhouse and guardhouse, and the southern as an artillery store.

Other brick buildings constructed around the inner face of the wall included a smith's shop, machine gun store, artillery general store, coal bunker, ablutions room, war shelter and a cartridge and shell store. The battery initially mounted five 7-inch rifled breech loader (RBL) guns in concrete emplacements, superseded in 1872 by 64-pounder rifled muzzle loaders (RML). In 1882 two 10 inch RML guns and two machine guns were added, but in 1893 the 10 inch guns were removed. The two remaining 64-pounder RMLs were replaced by two 12-pounder quick firing (QF) guns in 1898. Major rebuilding work was undertaken from 1900-03, involving the construction of underground magazines and concrete emplacements within the centre of the battery, to mount two 6 inch breech loaders (BL). The original magazines were used as a battery command post and three emplacements were apparently demolished. In 1905 the 12-pounder QF guns were relegated to training and in 1910 the 6-inch BL guns were put into reserve. It was subsequently converted for use as a public park. Scheduled.

Sources: http://pastscape.english-heritage.org.uk/hob.aspx?hob_id=461512#

Sources: http://www.palmerstonforts.org.uk/data.htm

Sources: PDF's are reproduced with kind permission of the Palmerstonforts Society