# Watch House Brake PF Station & Musketry Gallery, Plymouth - 2009



## Badoosh (Oct 30, 2009)

The old defences around Staddon Heights is impressive to say the least & littered with forts, coastal gun batteries, searchlights, submarine mining station, position finding cells, a mint WWII barrage balloon site & what must be the largest rifle range in the UK. To do a comprehensive report on this area would result in a lot of photos. Some of the old defences, protecting the South Eastern approaches to Plymouth Sound, can be found on this forum with a simple search.

The Musketry Gallery was built in the late 19th Century, within the huge ditch that ran from Fort Bovisand to Fort Staddon & was designed to protect the former Watch House Brake Battery above. A doorway leading from the gallery & a short walk across the ditch leads to the Watch House Brake PF Station. This was constructed around 1894 & used to supply Frobisher & Staddon Heights Batteries with target data. A total of six semi-sunken position finding cells connected via a passageway, with the original entrance via the ditch. Until a few years ago, the PF instrument pillars within each cell contained script that provided essential range data. For example, one pillar would have had the markings of the distance of the Mewstone in Yards. Since the documentation of these for a well known publication, the markings have disappeared due to weathering unfortunately. Last documented in the early 1990's, the majority of the PF Cell roof were intact but have since been removed, probably for safety issues as we couldn't see any trace of collapse within.

I had visited the Musketry Gallery before with another friend & Graybags. The PF cells had been located too but the connecting passageways had not been entered until now. A recent visit with theterrorwheel & Laurabops who hadn't seen this part before finally put paid to that & we can finally bring you some pictures from the connecting passageways for the first time since they were "blocked up" in the 1960's. 

For anyone wishing to do this please beware, the first time i tried, i fell a good few feet into a void & it wasn't pleasant. This time we had luck on our side but still come away with scars of the relentless amount of gorse bushes on our legs. My pics were taken from 2 different visits here. Not much to see but another of the Plymouth defences off the list!

Firstly the Musketry Gallery....

View looking up the defensive ditch with the gallery at the end...






....and looking back down the ditch from the gallery





Entrance to the musketry gallery





Looking up into the gallery













Looking down the gallery









A view from one of the eleven loopholes within the gallery





Gallery entrance to the ditch with cable routing groove in the floor





View from the gallery doorway across the ditch, looking at the entrance to the PF Station





View of the Musketry Gallery from within the defensive ditch





Remnants of original cabling within the ditch






Now onto the Position Finding Station....

Steps lead up from the ditch into the PF Station entrance.....





....peeking through the gate. Steps lead up, straight ahead is the North Cell, the doorway to the right leads to a long descending passageway to a further five Position Finding Cells, although just out of sight this is bricked up (2nd pic)









On top of the North Cell, showing one of the six air vents & looking back at the musketry gallery





Views from the roofless PF Cells, some with all three instrument pillars





















Views from inside the cells connecting passage, from the North bricked up entrance down to the sixth & last cell





















Looking down the last section to the South cell, something of interest was to be found. From a distance these looked like filing cabinets but on closer inspection they seem to be some kind of storage heaters. Not bad condition for 100 years old!

















Grafitti scribed into one of the door frames





Original wooden frame





Finally a view from one of the PF Cells






Cracking little explore, & good to see Laurabops out again. Congratulations on tying the knot & best wishes for the future to you & Si!


----------



## GeorgieKirrin (Oct 30, 2009)

A most comprehensive report as ever! I'll post some pics shortly. Good to see you and TTW - it's good to be exploring again!


----------



## spikey (Oct 30, 2009)

Nice report mate - tis a good explore up there - got sum other planned as well


----------



## kernowexpeditionary (Oct 31, 2009)

its an interesting area (if you know what to look for!) spent many an hour on those hills with nemesis grubbing about! the view from the BOPs below watch house is stunning... 

agree about the deep holes etc up there! a few are fenced off, but theres a few lurking! 

im sure theres more to find around there, nice 1 m8


----------



## night crawler (Oct 31, 2009)

That was rather good, enjoyed the report


----------



## Badoosh (Oct 31, 2009)

Apologies for not getting all the pics up in one go as my PC began to freeze up midway. I've now edited the OP to include the PF Station.


----------



## spikey (Oct 31, 2009)

kernowexpeditionary said:


> im sure theres more to find around there, nice 1 m8



yer sum involve abit of climbing


----------



## Badoosh (Oct 31, 2009)

spikey said:


> yer sum involve abit of climbing



The submarine mining station looks good, not very big but interesting.


----------



## Timmy (Oct 31, 2009)

i spent a hole day with my dog walking around that place looking down them entry points i too lost the battle against them brambles and had a few cuts... ideal thing about a small dog on a harness is if she falls thru the over-growth then its not a good idea to follow her 

Paul could you shed light on the 3 pillers at each openings as when i first looked at them i thought they was new as they wasnt covered in mossy type stuff also in a pm could you say weather you got inside the tunnel or just stuck you camera thru the caged off door way? 

as i said the other night gimme a bell for when you and TTW want to meet up again i have Wednesday and Thursday off next week if your good with any thing...

Timmy

p.s love the tunnel with the T'lights going up the steps... some cracking pictures... again


----------



## spikey (Oct 31, 2009)

submarine mining station ? im not sure where that is? i was refering to the search light on the cliff face below the path - with need some decent kit to get to - not that i done it yet, but i got the kit 

timmy the post ur refering i think / look like marble? - but ur right there very clean for there age, prob badoosh can shed some more light on what they were used for


----------



## Timmy (Nov 1, 2009)

spikey said:


> submarine mining station ? im not sure where that is? i was refering to the search light on the cliff face below the path - with need some decent kit to get to - not that i done it yet, but i got the kit
> 
> timmy the post ur refering i think / look like marble? - but ur right there very clean for there age, prob badoosh can shed some more light on what they were used for



me and badoosh has been talking about the search light buildings (below the pathway) its quite a trek for 50 meters or so of rock due to it crumbling... (old quarry site) it was (if im right - and my dad for that matter) a search house for locating subs under water being 3 of them for getting an approx location there is one of the buildings with no roof (well the front part) my dad and a few other people was the ones that took it down due to being very unsafe (kids/us lot could get trapped inside if it had fallen) but he has stated a way to get to the old quarry (way he went is the way i plan to do the same...) but ive been asked not to do it yet by a few guys on here... and its more than 1 person job to do!


----------



## spikey (Nov 1, 2009)

yer mate it defo more than a one person job - looked at in the summer and it defo a ab in - we tried walking in from the bottem but it was too difficult - along the (we think) the old path to the search light


----------



## Badoosh (Nov 1, 2009)

If we are on the same track, it's definitely sub mining station. The OP shown in the below pics is attached via a passageway at the rear.


----------



## Timmy (Nov 1, 2009)

Badoosh said:


> If we are on the same track, it's definitely sub mining station. The OP shown in the below pics is attached via a passageway at the rear.





Paul thanks for uploading the different angle pictures was only ever able to see a semi birds eye view!... never knew you was a water lover  on a carm day i mite get out and snap a few on the shore line


----------



## Badoosh (Nov 1, 2009)

Your welcome dude. Have some pics taken from the top path somewhere, i'll post them up when i can find them.


----------



## spikey (Nov 1, 2009)

yup thats it was gonna ab in from the top !


----------



## Badoosh (Nov 1, 2009)

spikey said:


> yup thats it was gonna ab in from the top !



We thought about that but then it's a climb to the station, although tbh iuntil you're at that level in the quarry, i'm not sure the ascent to it easily assessed. Ab down sure looks the easy way but you have seen how thick them bushes are. We need one of them rescue sleds lol


----------



## spikey (Nov 1, 2009)

was gonna go down frontward with a chainsaw or slasher and get rid of the bushes that way attached of course then hopefully ab over the quarry and down to OP hopefully


----------



## mk1kebab (Nov 1, 2009)

nice looking place, we need to get over the plymouth side more often!!! looks like alot to explore!


----------



## Badoosh (Nov 2, 2009)

spikey said:


> was gonna go down frontward with a chainsaw and get rid of the bushes that way attached of course then hopefully ab over the quarry and down to OP hopefully



PMSL now that would be a sight to see. I can just imagine the looks on the people's faces walking the track....priceless!


----------



## spikey (Nov 2, 2009)

yer would be good, imaging the pics im quite up for it  haha


----------

