Blyth Coastal Defence Battery - May 2008

Had a look at this place with Sausage. It was built in World War One and is also known as Fort Coulson. It was a coastal defence station, and a few hundred yards away are the searchlight buildings which shone horizontal light onto sea. Unfortunately we didn't have time to take pictures of those

It incorporates two gun emplacements, a magazine with 3 seperate chambers which were for storing the propellant, the fuse and the actual shell, and it also had a blast chamber. There is a rangefinding tower that utilized a Barr & Stroud prism rangefinder and various shelters and workshops.

Here are a few pictures:

This is the magazine. The smaller holes near the top were for pressure relief in case of a blast.


Some shots of the twin gun emplacements








On top of the gun emplacement


The roof was only added during the second world war, when this complex was re-commisioned


Sausage inside one of the day shelters.


Rangefinder tower. This used a Barr & Stroud twin prism device to calculate distances to enemy ships.


Thanks to Sausage for this one.

Nice find, next time I am up that way I will check it out. Thanks for the photo's

Nice one guys. Whilst it is nice to find them well preserved (like this one) it is also nice to find them in a natural state of decay. I expect access to the magazines was sealed?

Bryag said:

Nice one guys. Whilst it is nice to find them well preserved (like this one) it is also nice to find them in a natural state of decay. I expect access to the magazines was sealed?

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Thanks Bryag, yes the magazine is sealed, although the pigeons still seem to find their way in and out!

Nice shots BigLoada. I would post my pics up but they are just the same! I think places like this need to be preserved for future generations.

Sausage said:

Nice shots BigLoada. I would post my pics up but they are just the same! I think places like this need to be preserved for future generations.

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Yes they do, but do they have to impose their H&S upon us and seal off all the "dodgy" areas? Let us decide what we are prepared to do. Do they close Ben Nevis or Snowdon because it is dangerous? NO! Yet there are hundreds of rescued every year at the tax payers expense due to numpties going up there, ill equipped. A 75 year old man was airlifted off Ben Nevis at the weekend FFS!

Let me go down a hole in the ground, I promise the rescue will cost you no more than a chap with a rope! (And that chap is most likely to be my mate who was with me anyway, as I am not a fool)

I severly doubt anyone to bring a successful legal action against Ben Nevis, a council on the other hand?

A lot of this ite is sealed off at the mo due to some of the buildings being in use for storage etc. Blyth canoe club and Blyth lifeguard club rent some of the buildings. A purpose built facility is being constructed nearby so that these clubs can be relocated to a more suitable site.
They also have problems with pervy people hanging round the area. It was only last week a local man was prosecuted for some sort of indecency offences. This could also be part of the reason for sealing buildings (for now).

This is great stuff! Love the rangefinder tower. Shame about the searchlight emplacements, but the rest of the site is excellent.
I absolutely agree with you Bryag, and prefer to see military sites such as those on Gibraltar which haven't been bricked up or tarted up. I suppose it's a difficult fine line for councils as, to preserve these places, they also tend to make them a bit touristy.

They are all getting a facelift etc, The bandstand has just been re-vamped.. I might get some pictures of that up for yous. Also the promenade has all just been done up.. Also 20 beach huts have just been built and opened (There was originally a row of beach huts - but they were demolished years ago. I can just remember them so it was probs more than 15 years ago)

I may (if BigLoada reads this and he allows me to hijack a bit) add some internals of these buildings.

Before the battery was handed over to the contractors dealing with the restoration I was allowed unlimited access to the rest of the site. I basically did it to record what would be painted over, removed, tarted up and made safe. Some of the finds were unexpected to say the least!!

I am glad that the buildings are being restored - even if they are taking away a lot of the character.

Sausage said:

I may (if BigLoada reads this and he allows me to hijack a bit) add some internals of these buildings.

Before the battery was handed over to the contractors dealing with the restoration I was allowed unlimited access to the rest of the site. I basically did it to record what would be painted over, removed, tarted up and made safe. Some of the finds were unexpected to say the least!!

I am glad that the buildings are being restored - even if they are taking away a lot of the character.

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Well to be honest when i said restoration what i heard was that all the buildings were going to be done up like they used to be when in use and it to be like a outdoor museum during the summer etc. Could have changed though.

Yeah add some internal pictures!

I spoke to someone on Flickr who had something to do with the restoration. I was worried it would be tarted up all modern like a lot of places are, and ruined but she said it would be kept authentic. I also got some internal shots when I was allowed inside one time with Sausage, I'll try to find them.

Well I now have the go-ahead from BigLoada. I'll only post 3 for now (bad filing system!) and if I find that bl**dy disc I'll do some more.

I climbed onto the old lifeguard station. This is a sort of landscape thingy which gives you more of an idea of some of the layout. To the right is the old range finder tower. During the war it was disguised as a farm cottage - complete with fake smoking chimney.
To the left is where the two huge guns were placed.
The view is looking South along Blyth Beach and in the distance to the left in the mist is St Marys Lighthouse near Whitley Bay.



This photo was taken inside the building I was standing on in the above shot. I think it was a lookout tower of sorts (need to read up a bit!). It is a concrete column painted up with numbers and letters. I believe it was a "reminder" to the crew as to what their guns could reach with what charge etc. I have no idea if it will be left as it is during the restoration though I do hope it is.
In the background can be seen Acro Props which are keeping the roof from collapsing. The rusty girders had started giving way. That rusty girder has now been replaced with new.



The third and final picture (gotta find that disc...) is of a store room which is located behind one of the gun positions. The local council and dear knows who else had been throwing all sorts of crap in there.
These doors were part of the storage system of keeping charges till they were required.
The site spans from first, second and beyond the wars and over the process of updating they were no longer required.
I just love the rust and abandonment in this shot.



I've probably got some of the info wrong in these few pics so apologies if I'm wrong.

I'll find that disc yet....

I know one of the towers was used as the lifeguard tower for the beach for years up untill the 90s. I think its the one you see in the first pic. next to the one your standing on.

Vintage said:

I know one of the towers was used as the lifeguard tower for the beach for years up untill the 90s. I think its the one you see in the first pic. next to the one your standing on.

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It's the one I'm on the roof of.

Sausage said:

It's the one I'm on the roof of.

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Haha. it just doesn't look like its been used at all for anything!

just another update for those who are interested. The renovation of these buildings has begun. For some strange reason they've painted half of them PINK! or Salmon!!!

Vintage said:

just another update for those who are interested. The renovation of these buildings has begun. For some strange reason they've painted half of them PINK! or Salmon!!!

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SOunds like an undercoat. Hopefully anyway! The dome at Spanish City was a dirty pink recently when the renovations were taking place, could be similar

The different colours are actually the colours it was during different periods of use. I forget the "order" now but at first I think it was grey (WW1) then pink (WW2) and then some other colour till it was stood down.
There are some small "paint test" areas but the colours will be different to help folk understand what stood there at different periods of time.