The Garden Battery is a 19th-century artillery fortification set within the Grade I listed Mount Edgcumbe House and Country Park on the Rame Peninsula. Once part of Plymouth’s coastal defence system, it was later adapted as a saluting terrace but has since fallen out of active use. This project, supported by Cornwall Council and in partnership with the National Marine Park initiative, reimagines the Garden Battery as a public destination. The proposals include new public entrances, internal staircases, accessible routes, interpretation boards, seating, and landscaping, alongside essential repair and conservation works. The aim is to reveal and celebrate this historic asset, embedding it within the wider visitor experience of the Park and Plymouth Sound National Marine Park.
Location
Plymouth, Devon
Client
Currie & Brown
Service
Architecture, Conservation, Landscape
Sector
Public Realm, Refurbishment
Sustainability
Flood-risk management measures, ecological mitigation, conservation, low maintenance longevity, low carbon travel encouragement
Completed
Ongoing
Project Vision
The vision is to transform the Garden Battery from a closed and under-appreciated monument into a dynamic public space that connects people with both heritage and landscape. As part of the National Marine Park, the project aligns with the ambition to improve access to coastal heritage, support inclusive recreation, and inspire a deeper connection to Plymouth Sound’s natural and cultural environments. By unlocking the Battery’s hidden architecture and layered history, the project seeks to engage visitors of all ages with stories of defence, landscape, and the sea.
Design Approach
The design responds sensitively to the Battery’s heritage and marine setting, introducing carefully considered interventions that enhance rather than compete with the historic fabric.
Two new corten-steel entrance structures provide access at either end, echoing the chamfered openings of the casemates and using perforated patterns to interpret the crescent-shaped plan of the fort. Internally, simple staircases and enlarged landings provide circulation and create new viewing platforms, while interpretation is integrated into the architecture itself.
Accessibility has been central to the approach, with gently sloped routes, dual handrails, and dedicated viewing decks ensuring that the Battery can be experienced by as wide an audience as possible.
The restrained material palette, corten steel, granite, and sympathetic landscaping, ensures longevity in the harsh coastal environment while creating a clear dialogue between old and new.
Project Outcomes
Public Access: For the first time, the Battery will be freely accessible, providing visitors with a new layer of experience within Mount Edgcumbe Country Park.
Heritage Celebration: Integrated interpretation highlights the Battery’s defensive origins, its later ceremonial use, and its relationship to the wider fortifications of the Rame Peninsula.
Wellbeing & Engagement: New routes and spaces encourage walking, discovery, and active lifestyles, enhancing the social value of the Park.
Visitor Economy: The project supports the Park’s sustainability by extending dwell time, strengthening the offer to tourists, and creating knock-on benefits for local businesses.
Conservation: Essential repair works, ecological mitigation (including bat roost protection), and flood-risk management measures safeguard the Battery for future generations.
Sustainability Approach
The Garden Battery project balances heritage conservation with long-term environmental resilience. The choice of corten steel and durable finishes ensures low-maintenance longevity in a salt-laden coastal environment.
Landscaping proposals include compensatory planting and sensitive integration with existing mature trees to protect the Park’s character.
Ecological surveys have guided the design, with mitigation measures in place to protect roosting bats and maintain biodiversity.
Flood risk has been carefully addressed, with operational protocols for closure during extreme weather and subscription to Environment Agency alerts.
Importantly, the project embodies the National Marine Park’s sustainability ethos by encouraging low-carbon travel to the Park (via ferry, walking, cycling, and public transport), promoting outdoor activity, and creating a resource that supports social, economic, and environmental wellbeing.
Related Projects
National Marine Park Mount Batten
