Scheduled Monuments›England›Knowle battery

Knowle battery

England

List entry 1002614

Nation

England

The designation

Reference

List entry 1002614

Authority

Historic England (NHLE)

Status

Scheduled Monument

Scheduled area

0.85 hectares

Grid reference

SX 46303 59556

Boundary

Scheduled area

Overview

History & significance

Knowle battery is a coastal artillery fortification located in Devon, England. The battery dates from the English Civil War period or the Commonwealth era, when coastal defences were constructed to protect against naval threats and maintain control of strategic positions along the Devon coast. The site represents the physical remains of a small-scale defensive work characteristic of seventeenth-century military architecture, constructed to mount cannon and provide covering fire across the adjacent waters. Like many similar batteries from this period, Knowle battery reflects the military engineering priorities of its time, when England's maritime security was of paramount concern.

Knowle battery is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1002614. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Knowle battery?

Knowle battery is a coastal artillery fortification located in Devon, England. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1002614.

Who is responsible for protecting Knowle battery?

Knowle battery is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic England (NHLE) — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in England. The official designation reference is 1002614.

What other scheduled monuments are near Knowle battery?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Battery with Royal Commission fortifications called Redoubt No.5 at Maker Heights (8 km), Heavy Anti-Aircraft Battery at Maker Heights (8.6 km), Two batteries and part of a third at Maker Heights called Redoubt No1, Redoubt No2 and Redoubt No3 (8.8 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Knowle battery

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Knowle battery's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:

Overview

An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.

Monuments

The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.

Battlefields

The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.

Roman Britain

The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.

Domesday

The settlement's entry in the 1086 Domesday Book: who held it, what it was worth, and the people who worked the land.

Civil War

The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.

Geology

The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.

LiDAR

Laser-scanned terrain that reveals earthworks hidden under fields and woodland, with likely features flagged.

Local Names

What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.

Historical Maps

Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.

Literature

The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.

Legal

The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.

Spotlight

A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.

Target Zones

For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.

Timeline

The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.

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Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.

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Nearby

Other scheduled monuments within 10 km

Battery with Royal Commission fortifications called Redoubt No.5 at Maker Heights

8 km

Heavy Anti-Aircraft Battery at Maker Heights

8.6 km

Two batteries and part of a third at Maker Heights called Redoubt No1, Redoubt No2 and Redoubt No3

8.8 km

Battery and Royal Commission fortification called Grenville Battery

8.8 km

Staddon Heights Defences including Fort Staddon Fort, Brownhill Battery, Watch House Battery, Staddon Heights Battery, Staddon Battery and associated features and structures

The ground beneath

The bedrock under Knowle battery

Knowle battery stands on Upper Devonian Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Late Devonian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.

Domesday entry for Budshead, Devon →

All Scheduled Monuments