Historic artillery battery within Gibraltar’s fortifications near the Moorish Castle.
Grand Battery is an artillery battery in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. It forms part of the Fortifications of Gibraltar and lies near the Moorish Castle. Formerly the Muralla de San Bernando during the Spanish period, it was adapted to mount cannon facing the isthmus.
Grand Battery is an artillery battery in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar and forms part of the Fortifications of Gibraltar. It is an artillery battery within Gibraltar’s defensive system and is owned by the Government of Gibraltar. A view from 2013 shows the Grand Battery together with the Moorish Castle, illustrating its position within Gibraltar’s northern defences. To the west of the Grand Battery there was a very formidable flank described as a great annoyance to the besiegers during a siege of Gibraltar. During Gibraltar’s Spanish period the site was known as the Muralla de San Bernando, or St. Bernard’s Wall. It was fully adapted to mount cannon facing the isthmus, with old Moorish archery towers removed and replaced by bastions to accommodate the artillery. The Grand Battery forms part of a series of Castle Batteries built on the Moorish and Spanish lines that zigzagged up the hill of the Moorish Castle to the Tower of Homage on the Rock of Gibraltar. Seven of these batteries were formed along the city’s walls, integrating the Grand Battery into a broader fortified line.
