Harding’s Battery is named after Sir George Harding, who was Chief Engineer in Gibraltar in 1844. It was erected on part of the 7^th Europa Battery, and in between the later 1st and 2nd Europa Batteries of 1859. The Battery, first known as Harding’s Fort was initially equipped with two 18-pounders, which were later changed for 24-pounders following the Lefroy/Owen Report.

By 1863, however, the battery had again been upgraded to two 32-pounders placed on pivots and traversing carriages. These mountings are clearly shown as such on the War Department and Admiralty Properties 1861-63 map.

The magazine is of much earlier origin, built in support of the old Europa Batteries along the sea wall. An early photograph taken by George Washington Wilson before 1863 shows the magazine and part of the Europa Batteries and the flat waste ground ground where the mound for the ‘fort’ would be erected acting as a sort of cavalier above the sea wall in support of the 1^st and 2^nd Europa Batteries.  

George Washington Wilson's Europa Flats showing the magazine and waste ground.

In 1868, a new scheme of artillery defence recommended by Colonel WFD Jervois was approved. It was decided that the battery should receive a heavy RML gun; however, this was not carried out. However, in 1877, it was rebuilt to be able to accommodate a 12.5-inch RML gun on a barbette mounting. The gun was fed from two main underground chambers from where the ammunition would have been loaded into the gun. The heavy shells required hoisting up through floor openings with the help of derricks, and then wheeled on rail to the muzzle and completed by September 1878. A second 12.5-inch RML was emplaced nearby at Europa Hutment Battery.

Harding's Battery Fort dated to 1861.

In December 1872, the Director of Artillery and Stores reported that it was intended that one 9-inch RML gun should be installed on a Moncrieff disappearing mounting. In the event, this proposal was never implemented.

The location of the two 12.5-inch RML Batteries attracted much criticism because the guns were considered too exposed to enemy fire. There was a proposal to move the guns further away but nothing came of it.

Authority was in fact given for a 6-inch BL gun, later changed to a 9.2-inch BL gun to be placed in the battery instead of the 12.5-inch RML but this too was discarded. The 9.2-inch gun was to have been a 9.2-inch BL Mark 1-VI on Disappearing Mounting Mark I. The scheme was nevertheless funded and the gun and mounting were to have come from Inchkeith Island in the Firth of Forth.

No information is available as too when the 12.5-inch RML was decommissioned and dismounted, but by 1904 these types of guns were considered obsolete and replaced by the much more powerful 9.2-inch guns located further up the Rock. When the battery was dismantled, the barrel was thrown over the cliff and remains in the sea just off Europa Point.

Link to: 12.5-Inch RML Mk I, Harding's Battery

Harding's Battery Record Plan sheet, Sheet I, 1892.

Harding's Battery Record Plan sheet, Sheet II, 1892.

During WWII, it was used as a Light Anti-Aircraft (LAA) battery and had an Anti-Aircraft Search Light (AASL). The site was camouflaged by covering it with earth and rubble and remained in this state for many years.

Harding's Battery Gibraltar RML late 19th Century.

It regained its original appearance only after the redevelopment of the wider Europa Point area, which began in 2010. By 2011, the emplacement earth and rubble was removed and the gun pit finally exposed. Together with the underground loading chambers, the entire site was found to be in a condition that could potentially be restored to its original state. Nevertheless, the site remained closed off to the public until for over a year.

The original intention was to leave the site as found, but pressure by Mr Richard Labrador of the Gibraltar Heritage Trust convinced Government to look for quotes for the manufacture of a replica carriage. The original quotes were considered prohibitive (£200,000) but Jorge Leiria, director of Casais (Gibraltar) limited was then approached. Following over 100 hours of research by the Company, Cassais presented a detailed design and quote for the carriage for a much more reasonable £60,000. The quote included both the manufacture of the carriage and transporting all the parts, together with a similar 12.5-inch RML and placement of the same at Harding’s Battery. A 12-inch gun barrel found half-buried next to the Dockyard South Gate was identified as suitable for this purpose. This barrel, dating back to the 1870, was originally mounted at Alexandra Battery and was in fact identical to the Harding’s Battery original gun. The whole assembly and mounting of the gun was completed by June 2013.

The site is now completely accessible to tourists, and the underground chambers serve as a visitor centre. The nearby magazine, whose roof was removed, is now an open-air information point about the area.