Restored coastal artillery battery at Europa Point, southern tip Gibraltar.
Harding's Battery is a restored artillery battery at Europa Point, Gibraltar. Built in 1859 on the 7th Europa Battery remains, it once mounted heavy Rifled Muzzle Loading guns and later a Bofors 40 mm anti-aircraft gun. Today its Europa Sunken Magazine serves as a visitor centre on local history.
Harding's Battery is a restored artillery battery forming part of the Fortifications of Gibraltar, at Europa Point on the southern end of Gibraltar. The site had earlier Spanish, Moorish and British fortifications, including walls, scarping and several nearby batteries supported by a local barracks. Harding's Battery itself was built in 1859 on the remains of the 7th Europa Battery and named after Sir George Harding, Chief Engineer in 1844, who helped destroy Spanish fortifications including Fort St. Felipe and Fort St. Barbara. For a time the battery mounted two 18‑pounder guns, replaced in 1863 by two 32‑pounders. Following recommendations by Colonel William Jervois, it received a 12.5‑inch 38‑ton Rifled Muzzle Loading gun, commissioned in 1878. The large gun was later removed, and from the start of World War II the position carried a Bofors 40 mm anti‑aircraft gun. After years abandoned and buried under sand, the battery was unearthed and refurbished from 2010; the underground Europa Sunken Magazine was converted into a visitor centre with displays on Gibraltar’s history. In 2013 a 12.5‑inch 38‑ton RML gun from the 1870s, identical to the original, was installed on a replica carriage with support from the Gibraltar Heritage Trust.
