Wolseley Battery

Wolseley Battery (Maltese: Batterija ta' Wolseley) is an artillery battery in Delimara, Marsaxlokk, Malta. It was built by the British between 1897 and 1899, and is located close to Fort Tas-Silġ. Today, the battery still exists, but it is not accessible to the public.

Wolseley Battery
Batterija ta' Wolseley
Marsaxlokk, Malta
The pillbox at Wolseley Battery in 2019
Coordinates	35°50′7.8″N 14°33′27.9″E
Type	Artillery battery
Area	14,700 m^2 (158,000 sq ft)[1]
Site information
Open to the public	No
Condition	Intact
Site history
Built	1897–1899
Built by	British Empire
In use	1899–1916
Materials	Concrete

History

The Wolseley Battery is nicknamed by locals as Tal-Basal, meaning "of the onions".[2] It was built between 1897 and 1899 to defend the area stretching from Delimara Point to Xrobb l-Għaġin. It formed part of a new series of fortifications meant to house breech-loading (BL) guns. The 18th century Tombrell Battery was demolished in the 19th century to clear Wolseley Battery's line of fire.[3]

The battery has an oval plan with four gun emplacements, which originally contained two 9.2 inch and two 6 inch BL guns.[4] The gun emplacements are surrounded by a shallow ditch, which was originally defended by barbed wire entanglements. The rear of the battery was sealed off by an iron fence. The battery also had machine gun emplacements, and it was the first fortification in Malta to have these features.[5]

Wolseley Battery became obsolete by 1906, and its 6-inch guns were transferred to the newly built Wardija Battery near St. Paul's Bay in 1915.[6] The battery was fully decommissioned a year later in 1916.[3]

A stone-clad pillbox was built behind the officers' quarters in the 1930s.

Present day

Today, the battery still exists, but there is no public access since it is private property.[4] It is located close to the Delimara Power Station.

In 2015, the battery was shortlisted as a possible site for the campus of the proposed American University of Malta. It was not chosen, and the campus was split up between Dock No. 1 in Cospicua and Żonqor Point in Marsaskala.[7]

References

1. "The American University of Malta - Preliminary Alternative Sites Evaluation Report" (PDF). Office of the Prime Minister. August 2015. p. 11. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 November 2015.
2. Camilleri, Alex. "It-Toponomastika ta' Malta: Il-Port ta' Marsaxlokk u Madwaru" (PDF). L-Imnara. 1 (32): 30.
3. "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. 28–31. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 March 2015.
4. "Marsaxlokk, Delimara-St Thomas Bay Trail: Wolseley Battery". eh4-marenostrum.net. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
5. Stephenson, Charles (2004). The Fortifications of Malta 1530-1945. Osprey Publishing. p. 41. ISBN 1841766933.
6. Debono, Charles (26 April 2015). "Major land, sea, air offensives during the first half of 1915". Times of Malta. Archived from the original on 12 June 2015.
7. "'American' University to occupy Dock 1 buildings and reduced Zonqor site". Times of Malta. 20 August 2015. Retrieved 20 August 2015.