{{Short description|Artillery battery in Malta}} {{Infobox military installation |name = Garden Battery |native_name = |location = Tigné Point, Sliema, Malta |image = Malta - Sliema - Tigné Point - outer trail 04 ies.jpg |image_size = 300px |caption = Gun emplacement at Garden Battery in 2013 |type = Artillery battery |coordinates = {{coord|35|54|28.7|N|14|30|41.1|E|type:landmark|display=inline}} |ownership = |controlledby = |open_to_public = No |built = 1889–1894 |used = 1894–1940s |builder = British Empire |materials = Concrete |height = |condition = Intact |battles = World War II |events = }}
'''Garden Battery''' is an artillery battery in Sliema, Malta. It was built by the British between 1889 and 1894. The battery is located at Tigné Point, between Cambridge Battery and Fort Tigné.
==History== The battery was first proposed in 1885, and was built between April 1889 and December 1894 at a cost of £7806, as part of a new series of fortifications meant to house breech-loading (BL) guns.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Stephenson|first1=Charles|title=The Fortifications of Malta 1530-1945|date=2004|publisher=Osprey Publishing|isbn=1841766933|page=41|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XsQ1CdqvyqUC&pg=PA41}}{{Dead link|date=May 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
Garden Battery had a ditch connecting Fort Tigné with Cambridge Battery. It was armed with two 6 inch and one 9.2 inch BL guns on disappearing mounts. The 6 inch guns were located on the ends of the battery while the 9.2 inch gun was in the centre.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Forrest|first1=Michael|title=Garden Battery: Sliema: Malta: 1889-1894|url=http://www.victorianforts.co.uk/gall/malta1.php|website=Victorian Forts and Artillery|accessdate=11 January 2015|archive-date=3 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303235800/http://www.victorianforts.co.uk/gall/malta1.php|url-status=dead}}</ref>
The battery's armaments were removed in 1907. From 1937, just before World War II, an anti-aircraft unit was stationed at the battery, and four QF 3-inch 20 cwt anti-aircraft guns were installed. These were removed in 1943, and the battery was decommissioned and handed to civil authorities some time later.
Eventually, the battery's ditch was filled in and other buildings were built over the glacis and gun emplacements.<ref name=times2006-11-13/> The battery was believed to have been destroyed.<ref>{{cite news|title=Hotel Removed from Tigné Point development|url=http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2012-01-20/news/hotel-removed-from-tigne-point-development-304670/|accessdate=11 January 2015|work=The Malta Independent|date=20 January 2012}}</ref>
==Present day== thumb|The site of the battery has been built up, but its remains have been preserved under the new development
In the late 1990s, the green light was given to excavate and dismantle the area of battery to build a tunnel as part of the Tigné Point development project. However, in 2000-2001 The Malta Environment and Planning Authority (MEPA) appealed for the preservation of the battery. The developers, MIDI plc, changed the original plans and agreed to preserve and restore the battery.
The area was eventually excavated and the battery was rediscovered in 2005,<ref>{{cite news|last1=Cini|first1=George|title=British era battery unearthed in Tigné|url=http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20050418/local/british-era-battery-unearthed-in-tign-eacute.93037|accessdate=30 January 2015|work=Times of Malta|date=18 April 2005}}</ref> so the gun emplacements can be seen once again. When development of the area is complete, the battery is to form part of a heritage route.<ref name=times2006-11-13>{{cite news|last1=Massa|first1=Ariadne|title=Developers opt to save 19th century battery|url=http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20061113/local/developers-opt-to-save-19th-century-battery.35461|accessdate=11 January 2015|work=Times of Malta|date=13 November 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title='Lost' British military battery being restored|url=http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20090813/local/lost-british-military-battery-being-restored.269336|accessdate=30 January 2015|work=Times of Malta|date=13 August 2009}}</ref>
==Further reading== *[http://www.pa.org.mt/news-details?id=1209 Planned restoration] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170701210241/http://www.pa.org.mt/news-details?id=1209 |date=2017-07-01 }}
==References== {{commons category}} {{reflist}}
{{Batteries in Malta}}
Category:Sliema Category:British fortifications in Malta Category:Artillery battery fortifications in Malta Category:Buildings and structures completed in 1894 Category:World War II sites in Malta Category:19th-century fortifications Category:Military installations established in 1894 Category:Military installations closed in 1943