What is Harding's Battery at Europa Point?

Short answer

Harding's Battery is a restored 19th-century gun battery at Europa Point. It displays a 38-ton 12.5-inch rifled muzzle-loading gun above an underground magazine that now serves as a visitor centre.

Detailed answer

The battery is named after Sir George Harding, Chief Engineer in 1844, and was built on the site of the earlier 7th Europa Battery. It was first armed with two 24-pounder guns, replaced by 32-pounders in 1863. Between 1877 and 1878 it was rebuilt to take a 12.5-inch rifled muzzle-loading gun, and the emplacement you see today dates from that work.

By 1904 the gun was obsolete and its barrel was thrown over the cliff into the sea. In the Second World War the site served as a light anti-aircraft battery with a searchlight. It was later buried under earth and rubble until the redevelopment of Europa Point exposed it.

The original barrel still lies on the seabed, so an identical barrel that had been stored at the Dockyard South Gate is on display instead. It was made between 1865 and 1870 and weighs around 38 tons. It sits on a £60,000 replica carriage built by Casais (Gibraltar) Ltd, and was inaugurated on Tuesday 11 June 2013. The interior, with its magazine and loading chambers, opened to the public in June 2012 and houses a visual and audio display on the history and nature of Europa Point.

Visit Gibraltar lists opening hours of Monday to Friday, 09:00 to 20:45. The battery is close to the Europa Point lighthouse, the Shrine of Our Lady of Europe and the Ibrahim-al-Ibrahim Mosque, so it fits easily into a visit to the southern tip. For current details, contact the Ministry for Heritage on +350 200 68001.