© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Historic Environment Scotland
Skerry Battery is a coast battery built during the Second World War, situated 460 metres north-north-east of Bu in Orkney, Scotland. The site stands on Middle Old Red Sandstone bedrock dating from the Middle Devonian period, comprising conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone and mudstone that forms the foundation of this part of Orkney. The exposed, weathered stone of the surrounding landscape would have offered limited natural cover, making the positioning of defensive installations on this northern coastline a strategic choice during wartime.
Coastal batteries such as Skerry Battery were constructed across Orkney to defend against enemy naval attack and invasion during the Second World War. These fortifications typically comprised gun emplacements, ammunition stores, observation posts and associated military structures arranged to command views of the sea approaches. The rugged Orkney coast, with its strong tidal streams and rocky outcrops, presented both natural obstacles and strategic vantage points for such defences.
The battery is protected by Historic Environment Scotland as a scheduled monument under reference SM13525, recognising its significance as evidence of wartime military engineering and the defence preparations undertaken across the northern islands. Remains of such installations survive across Orkney, forming part of the broader landscape of Second World War fortifications that shaped the islands' experience of total war.
Skerry Battery, coast battery (WW2) 460m NNE of Bu is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM13525. View the official record →
Skerry Battery is a coast battery built during the Second World War, situated 460 metres north-north-east of Bu in Orkney, Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM13525.
Skerry Battery, coast battery (WW2) 460m NNE of Bu is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic Environment Scotland — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Scotland. The official designation reference is SM13525.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Graemsay Battery, coast battery and camp (1.5 km), Upper Cairn,souterrain,Braebuster (1.7 km), Slack, square barrow cemetery 360m S and 550m SE of, Braebuster, Hoy (1.9 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Skerry Battery, coast battery (WW2) 460m NNE of Bu'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.
Skerry Battery, coast battery (WW2) 460m NNE of Bu stands on Middle Old Red Sandstone (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Middle Devonian. The rock here is conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone and mudstone.