Wilġa Battery

Wilġa Battery (Maltese: Batterija tal-Wilġa), also known as Saint James Battery (Maltese: Batterija ta' San Ġakbu) or Zondodari Battery (Maltese: Batterija ta' Zondodari),[1] is a former artillery battery in Delimara, Marsaxlokk, Malta. It was built in 1714 by the Order of Saint John as one of a series of coastal fortifications around the coasts of the Maltese Islands. Today, the battery's gun platform is largely destroyed, but its blockhouse remains intact and has been restored.

Wilġa Battery
Batterija tal-Wilġa
Marsaxlokk, Malta
Wilġa Battery's blockhouse
Map of Wilġa Battery
Coordinates35°50′10.1″N 14°33′7.8″E
TypeArtillery battery
Site information
OwnerGovernment of Malta
Controlled byPrivate owner
ConditionBlockhouse intact
Gun platform largely destroyed
Site history
Built1714
Built byOrder of Saint John
MaterialsLimestone
FatePartially demolished, 1994

History

Wilġa Battery was built in 1714 as part of a chain of fortifications that defended Marsaxlokk Bay, which also included six other batteries, the large St. Lucian Tower, two smaller De Redin towers, four redoubts and three entrenchments.[2] It is located on the Delimara peninsula, roughly opposite St. Lucian Tower, and between Del Fango Redoubt and Delimara Tower.

The battery originally consisted of a large pentagonal gun platform, which lacked a parapet, with an L-shaped blockhouse on one side of the platform.

Over time, the roof of the blockhouse collapsed, leaving the structure in ruins. Most of the gun platform was demolished in 1994 to make way for the new road to the nearby Delimara Power Station.[3]

The collapsed blockhouse of the battery was rebuilt. It was leased by the Lands Department to a private owner in 2004, and it is currently used for private functions.[4]

References
  1. de Boisgelin, Louis (1805). Ancient and Modern Malta: Containing a Full and Accurate Account of the Present State of the Islands of Malta and Goza, the History of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, Also a Narrative of the Events which Attended the Capture of These Islands by the French, and Their Conquest by the English: and an Appendix, Containing Authentic State Papers and Other Documents - Volume II. London: Richard Phillips. p. 189.
  2. "Vendôme Tower" (PDF). Mare Nostrum. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  3. "Wilga Battery". maltamilitary.0catch.com. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  4. "Delimara Gas and Power Combined Cycle Gas Turbine and Liquefied Natural Gas receiving, storage and re-gasification facilities - Environmental Impact Assessment - Appendix Two Volume One" (PDF). MEPA. ERSLI Consultants Ltd on behalf of Enemalta Corporation. 20 December 2013. pp. 24–25. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 March 2015.
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