# Sandown Barrack Battery - Isle of Wight - Mar 09



## Urban Mole (Mar 20, 2009)

Ok, this place Im not too clued up on, so Ill do my best.
This place has been a garden as long as Ive known it, so its been partially demo'd for atleast 30yrs.
They have left the main outer wall and carponiars, and some of the outer buildings, which have been turned into toilets and a cafe, the gun positions have been demod and turned into nice flower beds 
More tech info and stuff can be found here ---> http://www.palmerstonforts.org.uk/pdf/sand2.pdf

Here is a map of the site in 1938;





The bit marked barracks, is no longer there anymore, but the battery is to the right of it over the road in that big white patch.
Im guessing they wouldnt have shown batteries on maps back then.

Here is a ariel view of said battery;





And a plan, from the above mentioned site;





And after some photoshopping, Ive overlayed the plan to get an idea of the layout of it;





After messing about with it all, I managed to find a way into the underground part of the battery, which I believe hasnt been accessed for quite sometime, due to access being very difficult, but me and Dan have managed it .
Heres a few external shots.









































Right, now onto the underground ones 





The Lamp Room.





One of the many old lights, that are still in this place.










Looking towards the magazine room










One of the shell lifts.





Winding handle and chain.





Issue hatch.





This is where a vetical shell lift would have been, but removed.





Shell lift.





Looking towards the filled shell store.





Inside the magazine, notice the light covers still in situ, glass broken tho 





Another lamp.





Close up of issue hatch inside the magazine, and lamp windows.










Stood in the changing area, before they would enter the magazine and shell stores.





Another shell lift.





And the position of another vertical lift, missing, and also issue hatch.





Looking back towards the filled shell store again.





The winding handle again, of the other lift.





Gun racks.





Artillery store.





Switchgear inside the lamp room.





Inside the artillery store, unsure of the brackets tho.










The main doorway into the bunker from the trench.

So there you go, another one off the list 
Hope you liked, as usual, comments and suggestions welcome, and thanks for viewing


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## ww2nut (Mar 20, 2009)

*nice find*

great shots, despite the numerous changes that have been made, the original structures still hold that military feel and look, nice to see loads of shots of the place giving you a real feel for the explore


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## Amiee (Mar 20, 2009)

Lovely Pics and good job actually get in there


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## huffhuff (Mar 20, 2009)

Great pics guys. I'm in the IOW a fair bit recently so next time will take my camera, torch and...rope apparently  (lucky im a rock climber hey)


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## DigitalNoise (Mar 20, 2009)

High five mate, awesome explore!


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## BigLoada (Mar 20, 2009)

Brilliant! Underground wartime stuff is ace. Good work on the research mate


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## graybags (Mar 20, 2009)

*forts*

Excellent post and phots

Check this out - very similar

http://www.derelictplaces.co.uk/main/showthread.php?t=4899&highlight=lentney

G


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## the_historian (Mar 20, 2009)

Nice pics, Mole. Parts of the underground galleries are similar to Carlingnose Battery at North Queensferry, Fife, which is almost identical to that lentney Battery.
It's still intact but now privately owned and swamped by a housing estate, so all my pics are old ones.


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## Urban Mole (Mar 20, 2009)

Thanks for the comments guys.
And Id have to agree, it does look like Lentney, its also a similar design, if not the same, to Culver Battery(in another report of mine) so Im guessing there a standard design.

Also, something I noticed when I was in there, there isnt any steps from the surface into the trench, these must have been demo'd, at the same time, which might explain the random piles of rubble inside.


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## Foxylady (Mar 21, 2009)

Can't see any of the pics...just getting the dreaded red x's, even after restarting my puter.


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## Urban Mole (Mar 21, 2009)

The server thats hosting my pictures is still down :icon_evil  
Keep checking tho


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## Foxylady (Mar 21, 2009)

Urban Mole said:


> The server thats hosting my pictures is still down :icon_evil
> Keep checking tho



Cheers, Mole. I thought it was my poor old computer!  They're back up now.  
Cracking explore...you always find the coolest stuff!


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## spikey (Mar 21, 2009)

Cracking site m8

first time i seen pic's of the winching handles nice one


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## Urban Mole (Mar 21, 2009)

Thanks guys, its a great feeling to knowyour prob the only people to have been inside for a very long time, theres not even any foot prints in the mud inside, so Ive a feeling no one has been inside since it was levelled.
Also, not alot of people know this parts still exists, everyone Ive spoken to, said, its all been filled in, little do they know 

Just messing about with images again, thought Id post this up;





This image I posted earlier, from 1938

and 





This one is one I marked out showing the newly developed areas.


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## T-bar (Mar 22, 2009)

was good fun but getting up the rope was a mare IF we go again then we need a rope ladder defo


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## huffhuff (Mar 22, 2009)

Hee hee. A rope ladder or you could buy a cheap ascender...or simple prusik loop/knot. The old prusik has got me out of some sticky situations


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## T-bar (Mar 22, 2009)

loop knots are awful to climb yeah they can be handy but hurt like hell when the loops crush your foot as you put weight on it lol


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