{{Short description|Artillery battery in Sliema, Malta}} {{Infobox military installation | name = Lembi Battery | native_name = Batterija t'Għar il-Lembi | partof = Fort Manoel | location = Sliema, Malta | image = | caption = | map = Lembi Battery map.png | image_mapsize = 300px | map_caption = Map of Lembi Battery | type = Artillery battery | coordinates = {{coord|35|54|33.3|N|14|30|31.4|E|type:landmark|display=inline}} | ownership = | controlledby = | built = 1757 | used = 1757–1795 | builder = Order of Saint John | materials = Limestone | height = | fate = Demolished | battles = | events = }}
'''Lembi Battery''', also known as '''Qala Lembi Battery''' ({{langx|mt|Batterija t'Għar il-Lembi}}), was an artillery battery in Sliema, Malta. It was built in 1757 by the Order of Saint John, and was considered as an outwork of Fort Manoel. The battery became obsolete with the construction of Fort Tigné in 1795, and it was briefly used as a summer residence before being demolished. In the 1870s, Cambridge Battery was built close to the site of Lembi Battery.<ref>{{cite web|title=Fort Cambridge Development Brief |url=https://www.mepa.org.mt/file.aspx?f=3445 |website=MEPA |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20151120140953/https://www.mepa.org.mt/file.aspx?f=3445 |archivedate=20 November 2015 |page=11 |date=January 2006 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
The battery was also referred to as '''Fort Lembi''', '''Lembi Tower''' or '''Lembi Redoubt'''.
==History== Lembi Battery was built in 1757, and was regarded as an outwork of Fort Manoel, as it was intended to prevent an attacking enemy from bombarding the northern flank of the fort. The battery had a triangular gun platform and a small blockhouse attached to one side, and it was surrounded by a ditch.<ref name="times2005-09-25">{{cite news|last1=Thake|first1=Conrad|title=A Case of mistaken identity|url=http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2005-09-25/letters/a-case-of-mistaken-identity-81554/|accessdate=14 June 2015|work=The Malta Independent|date=25 September 2005}}</ref> It was armed with six 12-pounder guns.
The battery became obsolete when Fort Tigné was built in 1795,<ref name="times2005-09-25"/> and its artillery was removed. It became a summer residence of the knight Fra Amante de Fargues.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Spiteri|first1=Stephen C.|title=Fort Manoel|journal=ARX Occasional Papers|date=2014|issue=4|url=http://www.militaryarchitecture.com/index.php/Journals/arx-fort-manoel-occasional-papers-4.html|accessdate=14 June 2015}}</ref>
During the French blockade of 1798–1800, Maltese insurgents built a number of batteries close to the former Lembi Battery in order to bombard Fort Tigné, which was held by the French.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Spiteri|first1=Stephen C.|title=Maltese 'siege' batteries of the blockade 1798–1800|journal=Arx – Online Journal of Military Architecture and Fortification|date=May 2008|issue=6|pages=41–43|url=http://www.militaryarchitecture.com/images/stories/Arx/arx6-2008.pdf|accessdate=14 June 2015}}</ref>
The battery was demolished later on in the 19th century. In 1878, Cambridge Battery began to be built close to its site.
==References== {{commons category}} {{reflist}}
{{Batteries in Malta}}
Category:Artillery battery fortifications in Malta Category:Hospitaller fortifications in Malta Category:Military installations established in 1757 Category:Demolished buildings and structures in Malta Category:Sliema Category:Limestone buildings in Malta Category:Military installations closed in 1795 Category:1757 establishments in Malta Category:19th-century disestablishments in Malta Category:Buildings and structures demolished in the 19th century Category:18th-century fortifications Category:18th Century military history of Malta
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