Royal Battery, Central [c.1846-c.1884] | Gwulo: Old Hong Kong

Royal Battery, Central [c.1846-c.1884]

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Submitted by Rob on Mon, 2012-03-19 21:43
Current condition: 
Demolished / No longer exists
Date Place completed: 
c.1846-01-01 (Year is approximate)
Date Place demolished: 
c.1884-01-01 (Year, Month, Day are approximate)

Year completed is: Approximate
Condition at last visit: Demolished
Date of last visit: Jul-1998
Ref: ROB-00149
Other: May have been called Central Bty.

Timeline:

  • 1845: Proposed 9 gun Bty.  (WO 78/479).
  • 1846: A sum of £11,717 for erecting a Battery, to be called Central or Royal Bty.  (WO 1/598).
  • 1882: Royal Bty marked on waterfront adjacent buildings of North Barracks.  (MPHH 1/465).
  • 1886: The area previously marked for Royal Bty now a Public Recreation Ground.  (WO 78/811).

For a background to these notes, and a glossary of terms used, please see: http://gwulo.com/node/24630

Tags: 
battery
Harbour Defence Battery
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Photos that show this place

1860

Comments

Submitted by Herostratus on Thu, 2016-05-26 17:49.

The battery was the other side of Connaught Road, where Hutchinson House was. 

Submitted by David on Fri, 2016-05-27 16:48.

Hi Rob,

The marker definitely needs to move south, as a contemporary map (1866) shows it is in the sea!

http://gwulo.com/node/11030#16/22.2809/114.1623/Map_by_ESRI-1866_HK-Mark...

Herostratus, please do you have any sources you can share for the Hutchinson House location?

Regards, David

Submitted by Herostratus on Fri, 2016-05-27 18:04.

Its shown on the 1845 Collinson map on the waterfront just to the west of the North Barracks. You can also see it on the Beato panorama, it\ is the stone walled area on the waterfront just above A Head building. 

Submitted by Rob on Sun, 2016-05-29 14:40.

Yes, definitely not out in the harbour. Must have got my conversion numbers wrong.

The earliest I have is a map with the proposed position of Central Battery marked on it, dated 13th Jan 1846. It shows the position of a multi-gun batteryalmost on the (then) shoreline immediately northwest of what would become North Barracks. Later maps show the outline still on the coastline but more reclamation has started changing the area, and a track (road?) called Murray Pier Road passes between North Barracks and the battery outline. On a 1904 map, the road is now Murray Road, the outline has gone, and the reference area now called Hong Kong Cricket Ground. Sometime later it became Chater Gardens apparently. (Start queuing now to tell me that statement is incorrect.)

Submitted by Herostratus on Tue, 2016-05-31 13:03.

Location looks pretty accurate. I would shift it to the other side of Murray Road which was the dividing line between Military and town. Perhaps in the Gardens next to Lambeth Walk