St Paul’s Battery is a late-19th-century British coastal artillery work built from 1881 to 1886. It formed part of the wider defensive landscape around Delimara and Fort Tas-Silġ, with fields of fire toward St Thomas Bay.
This is a compact British coastal battery designed for three heavy gun positions on open emplacements (barbette-style), served by protected internal spaces and a surrounding ditch/moat system. Contemporary-style descriptions record that the design aimed to mount three guns, and that the planned gun type changed during construction to 7-inch 6.5-ton RML guns.
| Names | St Paul’s Battery; Ta’ Lombardi Battery; Batterija ta’ San Pawl |
|---|---|
| Builder | British Empire / British administration in Malta |
| Confirmed build dates | Construction commenced 1881; completed by end of 1886 (built 1881–1886) |
| Strategic role | Support and complementary coverage within the Delimara / Tas-Silġ defensive complex |
| Confirmed modification | Gun plan changed during construction to three 7-inch 6.5-ton RML guns |
| Decommissioning | Guns removed / battery decommissioned around 1900 |
| Protection | Scheduled Grade 1 (Planning Authority, 2024) |
| Site area (recorded) | ~13,500 m² (AUM alternative sites report) |
