Gun battery at Brazen Ward, Lundy

Reasons for Designation

Lundy is a small, steep sided island in the Bristol Channel, 16m north of Hartland Point, north Devon. Aligned north-south, it is 6km long by 1km wide and supports a predominately moorland vegetation. The 100m high cliffs and tabular form give it a striking appearance, visible in clear weather from parts of south west England and south Wales. Lundy's remoteness and (until the 19th century construction of the Beach Road) its inaccessibility, combined with a lack of shelter and cultivable soils, has meant that it has escaped more recent occupation or development. It therefore preserves a remarkable variety of archaeological sites from early prehistory (c.8000 BC) onwards, representing evidence for habitation, fortification, farming and industry. There are also archaeological remains in the waters surrounding the island - over 150 shipwrecks are already recorded. Most of the island's archaeology is well documented from detailed survey in the 1980s and 1990s.

The battery at Brazen Ward was constructed during the 16th or early 17th century and remains largely intact, despite some localised erosion. Part excavation of the site in 1967 demonstrated the survival of buried archaeological remains.

Details

The monument includes a gun battery situated on the end of a short rocky promontory 15m above the shoreline on Lundy's east side. It was constructed to prevent landing in the bay to the north and the shore immediately to the south, including the area known as Threequarter Wall Bay. There are two main structures. The first, on the northern side, comprises a possible powder store and stronghold with a gun embrasure and a strong retaining wall. The second, a weaker structure to the south, has a wall around a promontory and a retaining wall with a small guardhouse built into the cliff. The cliff behind each feature is quarried back to form the platforms for the battery. The northern building survives up to 1.75m high and measures 6m by 3m internally. This has a strong outer wall on the east side which extends to the north of the building to form a parapet with a gun embrasure. It then doubles back to form a three-sided, rectangular chamber. The outer wall is 2.35m thick, and the chamber measures 4m by 4m internally. This suggests an emplacement for a single cannon with a powder store beside it. To the north a wall 1.4m thick continues for 15m before meeting the cliff side. The ground behind this has been quarried into the cliff and levelled. To the south, beyond a break where it appears to have collapsed, the wall continues, retaining a 4m wide platform. This wall stands up to 1.75m high suggesting a parapet for muskets rather than a platform for cannon. The second, weaker structure is 15m to the south of these defences. This consists of a walled and flagged area on a natural projection facing east and about 5m wide and 9m deep. To the south is a further wall, partly fallen away and following the line of the cliff edge for about 40m. Behind it to the west the cliff has been quarried back to make a platform some 4m wide. There are the remains of a small rectangular building set into the cliff at the north end. This was possibly a guard house, measuring 2m by 2m externally. The battery was partly excavated in 1967.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract. It includes a 2 metre boundary around the archaeological features, considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

27640

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
The National Trust Archaeological Survey, (1989), 30
Gardner, K, Lundy an Archaeological Field Guide, (1979), 22

End of official list entry

All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.