A HISTORIC military battery on the Cornish shores of Plymouth Sound is being restored in a £942,000 project which will open a hidden part of Mount Edgcumbe to the public.

The Garden Battery, on the Rame Peninsula, has been inaccessible since the Ministry of Defence handed it back in 1946.

Now the granite fortification is being given a new lease of life as a gateway to Plymouth Sound National Marine Park, creating a new attraction on Cornwall’s side.

The restoration is part of a £22m project to establish Plymouth as the UK’s first national marine park, backed by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

The scheme will reveal another chapter of the estate’s maritime story, with plans for heritage interpretation, education, community activities and private hire opportunities for visitors to enjoy.

The Garden Battery was completed in 1862 following Royal Commission recommendations.

Built on the site of an earlier saluting battery, it housed up to six guns protecting the Hamoaze and approaches to Plymouth Sound. It also has a royal connection. A gate and pier were built ahead of a visit by Queen Victoria and survive today, with the gate still bearing royal insignia.

The Queen was so taken by Mount Edgcumbe’s beauty that she sketched the estate from Plymouth Harbour.

By 1910, the battery was among the first coastal defence sites to use electric defensive lights and played a role in protecting Plymouth during both World Wars. Its guns and lights were removed in 1927 before the MoD relinquished the site.

The project is being delivered by Cornwall Council and Plymouth City Council through the Mount Edgcumbe Joint Committee and Friends of Mount Edgcumbe. Cornwall-based PLACE Architects is leading the design, working with Chadburn Conservation Architects.

The restoration will bring the fortification back into public use, adding another layer to Mount Edgcumbe’s blend of parkland, royal history and military heritage.