Date: 1870                                                                         

Visible Markings:

RGF 67 1870on left trunnion

First reinforce - 1-19-?-?

First reinforce - cypher of HM Queen Victoria

Material: Wrought Iron                                                

Mounting: On slide.

Remarks: The RML 10-inch guns Mk I – Mk II were large rifled muzzle-loading guns designed for British battleships and monitors in the 1860’s to 1880’s. They were also used for fixed coastal defences around the United Kingdom and around the British Empire until the early years of the 20th Century.

The weight markings are normally shown on British guns below the cascabel. Only two of the original four figures on this piece are visible and reflect the larger weight and size in gun barrels cast from the mid-19th Century onwards. The figures 17-19-1-0 therefore represents the Imperial ton (t= 2240 lbs) hundredweight (1 cwt=112 lbs), quarters (1 qr= 28lbs) and pounds (lb) the weight of the gun barrel was therefore:

19 x 2240lbs. = 38,080 lbs.

1 x 112 lbs. = 112 lbs.

= 38,192 lbs minimum

RGF = Royal Gun Factory

In 1880, three heavy 10-inch RML emplacements were constructed at South Bastion with the work completed a year later. The guns were removed in 1900.

The 10-inch RML gun at Southport Gates is one of the three guns removed from South Bastion.

Link to: South Bastion

Queen Victoria cypher on first reinforce.

Weight markings, only first two numbers are visible.

Left trunion markings, detail.

Royal Army Ordnance Corps plaque at Southpor Gates.