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Laira Battery is a coastal defence work located near Plymouth in Devon. The battery dates from the Napoleonic Wars period, constructed in the early nineteenth century as part of the extensive fortification scheme protecting Plymouth Sound and the Devon coast. It comprises earthwork fortifications typical of Napoleonic-era coastal batteries, featuring gun positions designed to command approaches to the harbour. The site represents the strategic military priorities of Britain during the Napoleonic conflict, when invasion threats necessitated rapid expansion of coastal defensive infrastructure along the south coast.
Laira Battery is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1021134. View the official record →
Laira Battery is a coastal defence work located near Plymouth in Devon. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1021134.
Laira 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 1021134.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Round barrow on Burrow Hill (3.5 km), Mount Batten: prehistoric and Romano-British settlement (4.1 km), Fort Stamford (4.1 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Laira Battery's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Laira Battery stands on Upper Devonian Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Late Devonian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.