TORRY BATTERY
150 Years of History
Torry Point Battery has commanded the entrance to
Aberdeen harbour since 1860. The Battery has had a
long and varied history: by turns, it has been a coastal
defence battery, emergency housing and a sanctuary
for migratory birds. Today it is one of the best-loved
historical monuments in Aberdeen, and holds a special
place in the hearts of many Aberdonians.
HARBOUR DEF
HARBOUR DEFENCE
Torry Point Battery was built to
defend the city and the harbour of
Aberdeen. It superseded a number
of older structures including the
blockhouse, built in the 1490s as a
response to a perceived threat of
sea-borne attack by English forces.
The blockhouse was rebuilt several
times but remained the primary
defence for the city for many
centuries. It was the medieval
battery, the storehouse for the
town’s armaments and, on occasion,
acted as a place of execution for
pirates.
The blockhouse was replaced in
the 1780s by a new battery built
on the beach, which was very
quickly in need of repair.
Negotiations between the City
Council and the Board of
Ordnance were intermittent
between 1806 and 1860 with neither
side willing to fund repairs, or a
new battery, or compromise.
During those long negotiations,
several sites were suggested
including the Bay of Nigg and
Torry Point.
In 1858, agreement was finally
reached for a new series of coastal
batteries in Aberdeen, one at
Torry Point and the other on the
beach. It has been stated that fear
of an invasion by Napoleon III
caused the batteries to be built.
Although Napoleon I had been a
very real threat to the security of
Britain, the case was not that clear
cut with his nephew, Napoleon III.
In the late 1850s, when it was
agreed to build Torry Point
Battery, Britain and France were
in fact allies during the Crimean
War and the Second China War.
Although a French threat was
always in the background the battery
was built because: first, a new
battery had been required for some
time and second, the experience
of the Crimean War broke the
deadlocked negotiations between
Aberdeen and military authorities.
Britain and France eventually did
‘win’ the war, but the media,
reporting on a war for the first time,
told a story of decadent generals,
inadequate supply lines and poor
military organisation. This debacle
shocked the nation and the resulting
change of attitudes caused the
deadlocked negotiations to end and
a new battery to be built.
1860 - 1914
1860 - 1914
Construction began on Torry Point
Battery in 1859 and it was
completed in March 1861. The
Battery was first manned by a
volunteer force. This was another
dimension of new attitudes adopted
after the debacle of the Crimean
War: the defence of the nation
was to receive a shot in the arm,
through the creation of new
volunteer defence forces. They
were to be trained like the regular
army, but would remain civilians
until called on. They were the
forerunners of the Territorial Army.
A circular was issued on 12 May
1859 by the Secretary of State for
War inviting proposals for raising
artillery corps and riflemen on a
voluntary basis. On 24 October
1860 the 1st Aberdeenshire Royal
Garrison Artillery (Volunteers)
was formed, adopting the blue
uniform common to most of the
new corps.
On completion the Battery was
armed with nine heavy guns: six
68 pounders and three 10-inch
shell guns. Later in 1861, two of
the heaviest known armaments of
the day were delivered: 200lb
Armstrong guns. They have been
described as being capable of
‘dropping a ball from Torry as far
as Newburgh…’ and were installed
in September of that year, the
month drill formally began at the
Battery.
In 1895 the Battery was partially
dismantled when the guns and
mountings were returned to the
ordnance stores at Leith.
Thereafter, the Battery was used
principally as a training ground
for the volunteer forces. In 1904,
the Gunners of Torry Battery won
the King’s Cup at the Scottish
National Artillery Association
Competition. In the same year the
decision was taken to reconstruct
the Battery. At this time two new
6 inch MK VII guns, on CP MK
II mountings, were also installed.
The works took two years to
complete at a cost of £5640.
1
2
3
4
1914 - 1945
1914 - 1945
During the First World War the
Battery was again manned on a
permanent basis and used as a
training ground. During the interwar years the Battery was not
permanently manned but did
retain its guns. The inter-war
years saw the start of a housing
shortage in Britain and this was
the first time the Battery was used
as temporary accommodation.
During the Second World War,
the Battery’s guns were provided
with concrete overhead covers as
protection against dive-bombing
attacks and land-ward attack. The
dramatic changes in technology,
and the heavy reliance on fighter
planes, meant that the Battery also
had to have anti-aircraft guns and
search lights installed. Throughout
the war Battery personnel liaised
closely with the RAF squadrons at
Dyce, and in 1943 a combined army
and navy plotting room was built
at the Battery.
The Battery was staffed by a variety
of personnel during World War II,
including men from the Home
Guard and the City of Liverpool
Battalion of the Royal Artillery.
Artillerymen who trained at Torry
Point Battery saw action all across
the world.
World War II was also the only
time the Battery’s heavy guns
ever opened fire. On the night of
3 June 1941 two unidentified
vessels approached Aberdeen
harbour. As only Admiralty ships
were allowed to enter the harbour
at night, the gunner took no chances
and fired two shells. As it turned
out the vessels were friendly ones.
Later in 1941 the Battery’s machine
guns engaged a German plane,
which had dropped bombs off
Kinnaird Head. It was later brought
down in flames at St Cyrus.
1945 -1970
1945 - 1970
After the war, Aberdeen, along
with the whole country, experienced
an acute housing shortage. In 1945,
a number of families began to
squat at the Battery. The City
Council eventually formalised the
pattern that had emerged, and a
large number of families were
housed there. Locals recall a great
sense of community spirit amongst
those living there.
In 1953, the housing crisis was
over and the families left the
Battery. The guns were next to go,
although they had a brief reprieve,
owing to the growing Suez crisis.
The following years were the
wilderness years for the Battery:
gone were its guns, functions and
looks. The Battery was partly
demolished, the site abandoned
and gradually became a ‘dangerous
eyesore’.
The buildings that survived the
demolition were without roofs and
windows. The main square was
littered with debris from the
building’s past and its partial
demolition. At this time calls were
made to demolish this eyesore,
championed by the mothers of
children who played on the wrecked
buildings. The City Council never
completed the demolition. It was
during this period that the remains
became home to many species of
migratory birds. Around thirty
different species, some of them
rare to these shores, took up
residence, including the Ortolan
Bunting and the Wryneck. In the
mid 1960s proposals were put
forward to turn the structure into
a hotel.
7
6
5
8
Photographs
Front cover, main: Battery with nets
View of Torry Battery, prior to partial demolition, showing staked-out and
drying fishing nets.
(Copyright Aberdeen Journals Limited)
Front cover, inset: Blockhouse
Detail of Parson Gordon’s Map of Aberdeen, 1661, showing the
Blockhouse on the Sandness, where Pocra Quay is today.
(Copyright National Library of Scotland)
1) The Artillery Galop
Illustration from front cover of a late 19th century song sheet.
(Copyright National Museums of Scotland)
2) Volunteers
Illustrations of the various uniforms used by different volunteer groups in
late nineteenth century Aberdeen.
3) Milk bottles
View of a gun loop being used as storage for a milk bottle during the
period in the 1930s when the Battery was used as emergency housing.
(Leonard Pelman)
4) Manned guns
View of gun practice at the Battery during the late 1930s.
(Copyright Aberdeen Journals Limited)
5) Sketch showing arrangements of Infantry Defence. 1913
(Copyright The National Archives)
6) Aerial view taken during World War II showing the Battery when fully
manned and mobilised.
(Copyright The National Archives)
7)Families at the gate, 1930
(Leonard Pelman)
8)Record Plan of Torry Point Battery, 1896
(Copyright The National Archives)
Opposite: Volunteers at archaeological excavation at Torry Point Battery.
1970 - PRESEN
1970 - PRESENT
In the early 1970s action came in the
form of a facelift for the Battery.
During this renovation period the car
park was laid out and the retaining
walls reinstated.
In 2004, shortly after the Battery was
scheduled as an ancient monument
by Scottish Ministers, in recognition
of its national significance, an
archaeological excavation explored
areas of the Battery’s interior. The
dig confirmed that the heavy gun
emplacements on the east side of the
Battery had been fully demolished in
the 1960s and the area used for
disposal of building materials.
However, well-preserved
foundations of rooms against the
outer wall of the Battery were
carefully excavated and recorded by
the archaeologists. These were some
of the buildings occupied by military
personnel from the 1860s and by
Aberdeen families in the period after
the Second World War. One room
first used as a barrack and later as a
bedding store had a coal-fuelled
fireplace with an elaborate external
flue. Objects found included
structural ironwork, domestic pottery
and a few bullets, reflecting the
varied functions of the Battery over
the years. The excavation was led by
archaeologists from Aberdeen City
Council, with a team of local
volunteers of all ages.
Plans are currently being developed
to consolidate the Battery structure
to ensure the preservation of this
richly historic Aberdeen landmark.
Today Torry Point Battery and its
surrounding area is an important area
for wildlife. Spring and autumn
migrations include many common
and rare birds. In the spring Willow
Warblers and Blackcaps are regular
visitors; less common are Barred
Warblers or Yellow-browed Warblers.
In the autumn you may be lucky to
see flocks of a thousand or more
Fieldfares and Redwings arriving from
their Scandinavian breeding grounds.
At sea the elegant Eider Ducks often
shelter close in shore whilst Gannets
plunge-dive for fish. The harbour
entrance is one of the UK's best
places to watch dolphins and porpoises
while also providing a rare chance of
seeing a Minke whale moving up
and down the coast.
Torry Battery Point is a Scheduled Ancient
Monument, and it is protected by law. It is
an offence to damage it in any way.
How to find Torry Battery
www.aagm.co.uk